17 Sep Movie Review – A Dive Into Wall-E
On earth, garbage covers the surface. The only soul to be seen is Wall-E; a robot with the purpose of cleaning the planet. After 700 years, Wall-E has developed a personality with human-like characteristics and emotions. When Eve, a robot whose objective is to find proof of life, is introduced, Wall-E is captivated by her. Without either character speaking, we are clearly shown that Wall-E (played by Ben Burtt) and Eve (played by Elissa Knight) are more than what they were programmed for.
In movies such as ‘The Hunger Games’ (2012) and ‘Snowpiercer’ (2013), the film opens with text to give the audience a backstory. In “Onward” (2020), narration is used to give the context of the world the movie is set in. In the 2008 film, Wall-E directed by Andrew Stanton we are given this in a much more engaging way. The film opens with longshots of the planet, and the polluted surface with towers of garbage. Then we are introduced to Wall-E. Wall-E is, from the beginning, a personified and lovable character. While he spends his days working on cleaning the garbage, he is also curious about the world around him.
After finding proof of life, Eve is sent back to the Axium, a spaceship where humanity lives and is served by robots while waiting for earth to be habitable again. Wall-E follows her and accompanies her on her adventure to prove that the earth is ready for humanity to return.
What makes ‘Wall-E’ so different from other animated movies is that we, as the audience, get to know the robot characters throughout the film without them speaking, except for their own and each other’s names. In other movies, we can tell emotions through facial queues and the characters speaking their mind.
The complex concept of such a beautiful and fun story being told with no words said from the main character of this story is not only just impressive but absolutely genius. It’s something that hasn’t been done at all and this aspect of the film is highly underrated. The creators of ‘Wall-E’ had to be more creative with robots without faces and the ability to communicate through speech.
Rather than doing only what they’re made for, Wall-E and the robots onboard the Axium have learnt to be curious, to take matters into their own hands, and to find new purposes. One of the messages this movie portrays is that the environment is something we need to take care of.
We see these two robots on a journey. A journey that initially started off as something broken and rotten, the world. But the creators are able to make something beautiful out of a tragedy. The relationship Wall-E forms with Eve develops an emotional attachment and investment to us as viewers. ‘Wall-E’ is a lovable adventure for the whole family.
by Caleb Mwamini Mwashomah – Year 11