Even as a lifelong fan of Star Wars, cute robots never did much for me. R2-D2 is a nice supporting character, but I don’t know if he could carry a movie. So I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Pixar team, led by writer/director Andrew Stanton, managed to make a small boxy trash compactor as adorable as a lost puppy. Given their past success I probably shouldn’t be surprised at the appeal of Wall-E (the character and the movie). Set 800 years in the future, Wall-E is the last functioning waste-disposer left behind by humanity to clean up the mess on planet Earth. Those centuries of solitude have allowed Wall-E to develop a personality and a yearning for companionship. That appears to arrive in the form of a sleek egg-shaped robot, Eve, on a search for signs that Earth is habitable again. Soon Wall-E and Eve are on a star cruiser where people (also egg-shaped) laze around in flying chairs with liquid meals served to them and entertainment piped directly into their heads through video screens. Our heroes must overcome their own directives and the rest of the robots to wake people from their complacency.
There is an evil robot reminiscent of Hal and a couple of other nods to 2001: A Space Odyssey. The story is engaging, but it’s the charm of that little robot that carries the movie, made even more impressive by his lack of dialog. He has quite a collection of toys from his years of garbage collecting and compacting, but no one to show them to. Only an old videotape of The Music ManHello Dolly! with its intriguing images of humans interacting with each other. Wall-E’s presentation to Eve of his collection is perhaps his most appealing moment. Writing this review makes me want to see it again.