Popcorn and Pen

The geniuses at Pixar Animation Studios (“Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles” and “Cars”) decided to venture down a new path with its recent release “WALL-E.” While still creating a loveable main character, the studio also hits on the controversy of consumerism, pollution and global corruption.

Its 800 years in the future and mankind has left Earth for good. In the wasteland that has become our planet, only one robot remains, continuing to function day after day as he was programmed to do.

The last of his kind, Wall-E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) collects knick-knacks as he continues to build towering blocks of compacted trash the humans left behind. In his lonely world, Wall-E survives with the help of his pet cockroach, which he feeds Twinkies, and a VHS tape of “Hello Dolly,” which he watches nightly and listens to daily on his self recorder.

The audience can not help but fall in love with Wall-E immediately due to his loveable look, humorous antics and longing for contact and a counterpart like he sees on the musical.

Wall-E discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot name EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator). Immediately smitten, Wall-E rescues EVE (or EVA as he calls her throughout the film) and she learns he has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet’s future.

After collecting the key, EVE turns off to become a preservation container. During the time, we learn that Wall-E takes care of her night and day. When her search beacon is recognized and she is retreived, Wall-E joins the trip and becomes an uninvited guest upon Axiom, a cruise ship the humans have lived on since leaving Earth hundreds of years ago.

Trapped aboard a ship with technology he’s unaccustomed to, Wall-E’s only goal is to save EVE, while her goal is to complete her lone function in life – return the planet’s key to the ship’s captain.

When the Axiom’s auto-pilot learns about the two’s intentions, it sets out to use very tool in the ship’s arsenal to prevent them from achieving their goal – which include destroying the robots. 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 heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots.

The movie is just what we’ve come to expect from Pixar - a solid film with a life lesson, filled with fantastic imagery and breathtaking animation.

The film also hits on weight and technology.

In “WALL-E,” humans have become dependent on computers and technology. They have grown massively obese and no longer use their legs to walk – humans travel on beach chair recliners – and use computer screens to communicate with one another instead of talking face to face.

The film bounces between comedy, action and drama. One minute you’re laughing the next minute you’re on the edge of your seat and minutes later you notice your wife wiping away tears.

One item is lacks to a point is voices.

For about the first 20 or minutes of the movie, the only voices you hear come from “Hello Dolly.” In fact, the entire movie features only humans talking. The robots only speak names and make grunts and other noises. The lack of talking causes a craving of conversation, but the action on screen and music help take the focus off of the missing vocals.

Wall-E may be Pixar’s most loveable creation – he’s like the robotic “Rocky.” He takes a beating and is determined to succeed no matter the odds. The whole film thrives on the audience’s connection to Wall-E’s heart, which is filled with determination and unconditional love.

“WALL•E,” a Pixar Animation Studios release, is rated G. Running time: 97 min.