Wall-E (Widescreen Single-Disc Edition)

WARNING, CONTAINS SPOILERS!
I was amazed at Cars. After boycotting Disney movies and toys for well over a decade I broke off my boycott after reading the Cars book before the movie came out. I took the kids to see it over and over. Cars really tested audiences to see if they could be more than entertained. Cars was a think peace but not so open and in your face about it as Wall-e is.
Keep in mind I have boycotted Disney for close to fifteen years but after reading the Wall-e book can you imagine me in line for the first screening on opening day of Wall-e! There I was with my family and we were almost the first people in line. The movie was even better than the book because of the visual depictions of the polluted earth, the characters, and the settings. The Cars movie's creators warned us of forgetting our past, not stopping to smell the roses, blindly embracing the future, and the American life style of just moving around and going places for the sake of just moving and going. Wall-e's creators warn (more strongly) about blindly embracing the future and not stopping to smell the roses. They warn about our impending destruction of our mother (Earth) but offer hope in the form of the Axiom's Captain. Although he realizes that there are no dances, farms, music or anything left on earth he chooses to return people to earth to care for it. The closing credits give us a glimpse of how this will possibly be accomplished.
There is a use of live action actors in this move that isn't really well like by some people but I think it's use is brilliant. It is used to separate the human beings of present day (in the movie the people of 700 years ago) from the people of the future, or the time the movie is to take place. They don't look the same, so kids can understand there is a difference. A secondary use is that it shows the damage done to earth was caused by people, not cartoons, and helps deliver the message more affectively to children.
I have to agree with early reviewers of the book and movie: As an adult with a degree in electronics I was disappointed to see Wall-e could be repaired to "himself" after having every part of him replaced. He would have been a hero dead or alive, but it is a Disney movie so it has to have that "Disney movie ending".
Watch it over and over. And for the record, Mo presses the self destruct button, not Wall-e as indicated in some of the printed book versions. Watch that scene closely for those of you who have read only the books.

A+++++ This movie is one of my favorites and I would highly recommed it to anyone, kids and adults alike. Wall-e is a masterpiece and I will be watching it for many years to come!

My favorite Disney Pixar movie of all time is Toy Story and now I can say that it is WALL*E. If you enjoy the Pixar movies, you will love this movie. Even if you aren't a fan of animation, I whole heartily recommend you go see WALL*E. As an adult I was taught a lesson. When a child and adult can leave a movie together and talk about the same things they watched and ask questions, that is really an amazing thing.

Synopsis: What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, WALL*E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL*E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, WALL*E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets an adventure into motion. Joining WALL*E on his journey across the universe is a cast of characters including a pet cockroach and a heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots.

The first few minutes of WALL*E are a bit depressing. Earth is a vast wasteland of garbage. And when I say wasteland, I mean that in the literal sense. Humans have left Earth because of the output of garbage, waste and abuse to the environment. The year is 2775 and all that remains are skyscrapers, filth and waste. As I sat there, the six year turns to me and asks what has happened to the Earth? Why all the garbage? I honestly have no answer for him and as he turns back to look at the screen he says, garbage is very bad. Things become a bit lighter as we see WALL*E on the screen. The character of WALL*E is so very much like a child. He sees things as a child would. Even though his job is to clean up the garbage the best he can, he likes to collect things such as Rubik Cubes, light bulbs and utensils. WALL*E has such an incredible personality that shows he is not just a mindless robot. He enjoys watching an old time 1950's musical and loves the music and the dancing. He especially enjoys watching one scene over and over again where a man and woman are holding hands and sing to each other. WALL*E assumes love means holding hands; but he has no one to hold hands with.

EVE comes down to Earth with a directive in mind. She reminded me of a mutant egg, but quickly just as WALL*E tugged at my heart, EVE will do the same with you. WALL*E welcomes her with open arms, so very happy he has another to share his toys with. He assumes she will want to stay with him and perhaps she will be the one to finally hold his hand. (The hand holding becomes very important throughout the movie) But WALL*E has in his possession what EVE is searching for. WALL*E has found a small plant growing out of all the waste and gives it to EVE. By plant life beginning to grown on Earth again after hundreds of years, that means humans can return to their home and begin a new.

EVE is taken back to her ship and WALL*E follows her because he thinks she is in danger. EVE is sent back to a huge giant like cruise spaceship where humans live as if they are on permanent vacation. Another disturbing fact is that because robots do everything for humans, humans have become big lazy blobs who ride around in chairs as they drink fatting shakes and watching TV very oblivious to life around them. When the Captain of the ship receives the plant, it means they can return home to Earth. But his co-pilot, which is a robot and so very much like HAL from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey has specific instructions that humans can not return to Earth. It takes over the ship's controls and tries to stop WALL*E and EVE from placing the plant in a certain part of the ship that will enable them to go back to Earth.

So many lessons were taught and learned in this simple animated movie. It is heartbreaking to think in hundreds of years, Earth may no longer be inhabitable by living things and we would have to leave to travel in space with no meaning. WALL*E in some ways is very much like 2001: A Space Odyssey and as an adult I laughed at so many hidden jokes that came straight from the movie. But like 2001, there is hope and in WALL*E even though things look hopeless, that is not the case. Even though Earth is devastated, things can change. By the end of WALL*E my depression that I felt at the beginning of the movie became a feeling of hope. You must stay till the very end and watch the closing credits because as Peter Gabriel sings, we see through very amateur drawings how humans can make Earth so very green again because of a robot who should have no feelings or personality was able to deliver one small plant that will become the roots for a future of hope.

Katiebabs

Loved the movie, enjoyed the extras (especially the director's commentary), hated the package. I'm fine with eco-friendly packaging, but someone got cute with this one, and there's a flap on the inner box that catches on the flap on the outer box/sleeve, which makes removing the inner box a toughie. Solution is to insert the inner box backwards, but it shouldn't have been necessary. At least they didn't have the evil seal on the thing (you know--the one that's meant to guarantee that the DVD or CD is factory new and is hard to get off completely).

My family and I saw Wall-e at the theater and wanted the DVD as soon as it came out. Unfortunately the disc is defective and will not play on my system without constant freeze-ups. This does not happen with any other DVD's. Sadly, I'm going to go through the refund/return process. My two star on the movie is my frustration with the disc, not the movie itself. Wall-e is one of the cutest little animated characters produced. Some might call the film a message movie, I don't think that's the primary point. A case can be made for most animated films having some kind of message, it's all how/why you want to see it. Be a kid again, then watch these kinds of movies!