WALL-E!

So I am on vacation in Southern California with my in-laws (having a great time!) and I saw WALL-E the other night. I didn't take any kids cause I heard it might be too boring for the little tykes. While I do think it is geared more towards adults I think kids will probably still enjoy it. More on that later.

I know that WALL-E has gotten a lot of hype so I feel stupid saying it but this is honestly easily the best movie I have seen so far this year and perhaps the best Disney Pixar collaboration to date. That's hard for me to agree with because I really like The Incredibles and Monsters Inc. But WALL-E is just...more.

Quick plot summary. Humans left Earth 700 years ago because mankind made it uninhabitable. But we left behind a handful of robots like WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) to clean up the mess. WALL-E has been taking all the garbage and crushing it into cubes. But WALL-E at some point found a copy of Hello Dolly. All of his knowledge of interaction between individuals, and more specifically love, comes from Hello Dolly. Consequently he has become very lonely. I never really liked Hello Dolly but it is perfect in this film. In fact we see and hear it so much that Michael Crawford probably ought to get his name in the credits. So one day a new robot EVE is sent to earth searching for life. WALL-E immediately falls in love and follows her back into outer space where they find themselves on a mission to bring humans back to earth.

So visually the film is stunning. It ought to be. Pixar has had plenty of practice. But the story is sublime. It really is just a love story between two robots. If you don't like romantic films you probably won't dig WALL-E. I've heard some people say they slept for part of the film. I can see that. Part of that might be due to the very little spoken dialogue. There are human actors but they don't have many lines, especially for the first half. So I'm just saying if romance isn't your cup then, well I'm just saying. Kids aren't really gonna get the relationship stuff, but there is plenty of humor and and action so that most kids should still dig this film.

So what makes this film so extraordinary is that they have created a story and characters that work so well that you care deeply for them. You hope that WALL-E and EVE find a way to be together. There is especially a scene at the end that I won't give away but if it doesn't get you just a little bit then...well I don't know but it just should.

Anyway, highly recommended. Barring 7 or 8 really amazing films this year I honestly expect WALL-E to get a Best Picture nomination. We'll have to see. But in the meantime, if you haven't seen it yet I strongly recommend that you do. Enjoy!