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> waLL-E sunDay
Author: aLmich
Sunday came once again. It was some how rainy and gloomy. To better enjoy it, Kiko and JC’s presence should be there. So after watching TV, pancit canton, tapsilog and seeing the new batch of ABS-CBN’s Star Circle, we went into our usual banters. It was a lovely and funny afternoon as everyone shared their comic sides and shared each others stories.
I have not seen them since I got back from Baguio so we thought that it’s a must to go out. Many suggestions had been considered but all agreed to just watch WALL E.
We made our way to Gateway, goofed around, took our snacks at Burger King and reserved ourselves theater seats.
Wall-E brought a desolate vision of the future that is softened by sophisticated storytelling, memorable characters and a good sense of humor — impressive, considering the film is largely lacking in dialogue. Humans have abandoned Earth for luxury liners in space following a catastrophic buying blitz that has left the surface of the planet covered in waste.
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 into motion one of the most exciting and imaginative comedy adventures ever brought to the big screen.
Joining WALL•E on his fantastic journey across a universe of never-before-imagined visions of the future, is a hilarious cast of characters including a pet cockroach, and a heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots.
Younger audiences may squirm as the first half hour or so goes boldly without much dialogue, but Wall-E’s personality-infused whistles and squeals are executed seamlessly. I was not sure of my feelings at the earlier part of the movie. I was just there listening to people. Jc was laughing and so as the people behind me. I then thought maybe it’s the effect of too much Vodka I had the other night. So I tried to focus on understanding and feeling the movie. After few minutes, I found myself being drawn to it at last.
It is supposedly a story of robots. But Wall-E’s got the hearts [and maybe even the tear ducts] of audiences in the bag. Even though he has the company of a pet cockroach, his loneliness is heartbreakingly palpable — especially when viewers catch sight of the bot’s broken-down robobrethen, and it hits home that the tender droid has been by himself for a long, long time.
The film’s pace picks up when an egg-shaped probe called Eve arrives on Earth. She’s a sleek, white, laser-equipped fembot sent by the megacorporation that fueled the current disaster. Although Eve has an infectious digigiggle, her itchy trigger finger and cool exterior don’t radiate charisma quite as deeply as lovable Wall-E does.
Still, it’s love at first pixel for Wall-E, who does his best to woo Eve with his treasure trove of salvaged goods before a simple sprout wins her heart and simultaneously shuts her down, summoning her mothership.
From then on, the film is a wild ride through space that lands Wall-E and Eve on Axiom, the spaceship that contains what’s left of the human population. The first glimpse of humans nearly 1,000 years into the future — they’re “giant babies, completely devolved” — is not a pretty sight.
After hundreds of years aboard Axiom, humanity has turned into a sea of lazy, machine-dependent consumers content to float on plus-size hovering recliners and slurp supersize sodas. People are immobile blobs of overindulgence, but the ugly reality is deftly delivered as comedy.
The CEO of Buy ‘n Large reveals that humans are never meant to return to Earth. His revelation results in a 2001: A Space Odyssey-inspired fight scene between the ship’s captain and Axiom’s autopilot that raises lingering questions about humanity’s future and our relationship with technology.
A truly romantic film at heart, the film ends on a cheerful note — for Eve and Wall-E. The fate of humankind is left rather vague, probably wisely, since their enlarged physiques, jellied bone structure and total lack of agricultural knowledge doesn’t exactly spell promise for rebuilding Earth.
It’s a message kids might miss, but a potent, topical theme that will surely ring with adults.
At least the robots will love, and live on.
Behind Wall-E’s puppy-dog binocular eyes lies a deep-rooted message: If we don’t clean up our act, our Roombas are going to inherit the Earth.
