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WALL-E (2008)
Director: Andrew Stanton
Synopsis
In the latest Pixar creation, a trash-compacting robot discovers a world beyond his polluted home on Earth.
Movie review
From Time Out New York
Arriving at a point when one might think that Pixar could top itself only by supersizing, WALL-E plays the remarkable gambit of going minimal: The first half eschews dialogue almost entirely, establishing our presence on an abandoned Earth circa 700 years from now via meticulous design work and a sensational soundtrack—much of it the vocal stylings of Ben Burtt, who supplied R2-D2’s beeps.
Our hero is WALL-E, an irrepressible, E.T.-ish trash compactor whose start-up chord suggests he’s a descendant of the Steve Jobs empire. Lonely in a polluted city, he collects the tchotchkes of the human age: a Rubik’s Cube, silverware, a VCR that only knows from Hello, Dolly! The arrival of a mysterious robot named Eve brings first a duel, then intergalactic courtship, then a journey into space, where—in a funnier but somehow darker corner of the universe—the humans now reside.
Mankind is corporate-controlled, overweight and resigned to live in a kind of pastel Matrix. (You’ll also catch obligatory nods to Star Wars and 2001.) WALL-E and Eve wind up bringing humanity back to the humans, and director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) pulls off some terrific set pieces along the way. Eco-friendly, pro-exercise and featuring a glorious use of a fire extinguisher, WALL-E sparks with genuine creativity.
Author: Ben Kenigsberg
Time Out New York Issue 665: June 26 -July 2, 2008
User reviews of this film
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- gregleeds said...
- Posted on Aug 25 2008 07:59 The kids were mesmerised!! An amazing film with a great message. Humour, love, and social commentary. Excellent.
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- Janet said...
- Posted on Aug 05 2008 13:33 I thought this film was great. I took my kids who are 4 and 7. After half an hour the 4 year old was bored and wanted to go home. We managed to stay until the mutiny broke out. I would love to find out what happened in the end!
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- Peter Kazmierczak said...
- Posted on Aug 04 2008 11:06 Something different, and no bad thing for that. The broad vistas of a dying planet were particularly impressive. Not a film for belly laughs, but one to ponder on. Just because the film has a G certificate (or U in the UK) doesn't necessarily mean that it's aimed solely at children.
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- unhappy said...
- Posted on Aug 04 2008 06:29 took my 3 1/2 year old grandson . It was so boring not a kids film at all most of the children were restless obviously bored. It was a drab ,colourless film and i struggled to keep awke.
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- Frank said...
- Posted on Jul 19 2008 16:06 Boring. Absolute trash. metal and a few green leaves wandering round in space ! End of ... ! Son of ten agreed. No laughs at all.. we sat there like mummies waiting for the end ! Best bit ? Wall-e saying Wall-e. There you go. Absolute trash.
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- James said...
- Posted on Jul 18 2008 12:55 Jamie-Leigh - I'm not sure what your argument is...are you saying that because a film is animated, it can't have a message that's debatable?
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- Jamie-Leigh said...
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Posted on Jul 18 2008 05:11
I think every one is thinking too much about the film, It s film, nothing is real, my god!!!! It’s a a huge debate over something that does not exist its pointless, I loved the film, and so did my children, if you Children did not like the film, then fair enough, every one has different tastes, I know I do!!
Just Get over it!!! - Report as inappropriate
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- Carol said...
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Posted on Jul 17 2008 21:59
Slow start but does pick up speed after a while. Cute love story. Gives hope to an earth that has been devastated and has become a wasteland. It just takes 700 years for this to happen..
be devastated with pollution. - Report as inappropriate
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- Alex VZ said...
- Posted on Jul 13 2008 10:30 Well said Moriazbane; It's interesting that in the US (I am British) opinions of any kind that are not mainstream are branded 'left wing', revealing a very strange ignorance about what this actually means. American media coverage of the presidential election is full of this kind of erroneous terminology - equating environmentalism with socialism is distinctly American and not very accurate.
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- Moriazbane said...
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Posted on Jul 12 2008 12:52
1. The movie is green. Pollution and waste is shown in a bad light. You should make a movie where pollution and waste is shown in a good light and see who flocks to it.
2. Capitalism is evil? How about sloth, laziness, distain for the environment? They showed that monopolies may put profit over the well being of fellow man. That never happens in real life now does it? No corporation has ever gut corners.
3.*The male is clumsy, disheveled, and emasculated, the butt of the joke. The female is slim, perfect, smart, and powerful. Role reversal is now complete. “Girls rule.”*
Did you see any slender female humans in the movie? Maybe you were too scared to look? I thought the Hero..Wally was pretty brave. Maybe that was a bad light to you? Undo your bowtie, wash the brylcreem out of your hair and watch it again without your imaginary family...of course the way you talk, It might be possible your family are mummys.
Wally was a great fun movie. With a great message.
It's too bad you are not able to see it. Any chance your father was a crony of Sen. Joe McCarthy?
Oh well, that's why this isn't Communist Russia..freedom to choose, to like or not like.
You have the right to not like Movies with powerfull women in them, green messages and talk about freewill.
Try Borat. Your kids won't behave as mummys . - Report as inappropriate
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- James said...
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Posted on Jul 12 2008 06:47
borrisbatanov: Don't worry...pro-corporate, anti-green, chauvinistic messages still get equal time on the silver screen.
Is it really so terrible that a film has the values on display in Wall-E? That life is about more than what you possess, that for our own sake we need to protect the earth, and that a woman can be every bit as strong as a man?
What horrible thoughts these are! Good thing this movie's only 90 or so minutes long...it's tough going that long without beer commercials flashing female flesh at you through the tube, isn't it?
Wall-E is wonderful entertainment with a strong, important message. It's as near perfect as any film has been this year. - Report as inappropriate
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- Ian said...
- Posted on Jul 09 2008 14:44 I laughed more at this than I did at kung fu panda
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- Moriazbane said...
- Posted on Jul 05 2008 21:56 borrisbatanov, life must be unbearable for you. Get professional help. This was an amazing movie..one of the top 10 I have ever seen in my 52 years. I disliked Nemo (frying nemo I call it) I didn't like ET all that much either...but Wall-E was perfect.
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- Robin Smith said...
- Posted on Jun 30 2008 04:54 I loved it . It has done really well on the imdb which is good.
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- Dude said...
- Posted on Jun 30 2008 04:53 Amazing and so well made!
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