The good people at Pixar have done it again. Just when the dust was settling from Cars and Ratatouille, here is WALL-E. Though not as thrilling, fast and exciting as the former or sophisticated and story-oriented as the latter, the slow pace and the impassive "faces" of the characters make it easy to imbibe the spirit of this movie. A very strong message is highlighted by carefully though out details like the dark, dull color of earth instead of the usual green as seen from space, the dark oceans, the space junk, slush river and the omnipresent trash compared to the sanitary and robotic yet "peaceful" existence of the people aboard the space cruise liner.
By far the steal of the movie is the adorable Wall-E. It doesn't have the spunk or charm of Lightning McQueen or the rustic hillbilly enthusiasm of 'Mater but the almost expressionless binocular eyes exude pure innocence - almost like that of a newborn baby. Contrast it with the "know-it-all" aura surrounding his friend, EVE, and you have yourself an irresistible pair.
The storyline could have been developed a little more and the pace is slow, but the effort is valiant and so is the theme. My 4 year old son stayed up way past his bedtime to finish the movie and that is a big indicator of the charm of this movie to an audience that does not really get the save-the-Earth message.
A good watch - 3.5/5.
