7/7/2008 12:57PM
WALL-E
Droid Love, Droid Heroism ... and Fred Willard!

If there's one 2008 summer movie to see, it's WALL-E from Disney/PIXAR. Dystopian fantasies has never been this entertaining, engrossing, thought provoking and hilarious ... all at the same time.

The movie outlines the dire consequences of rampant materialism run amok - not exactly the kind of thing one associates with kid-friendly movies and popcorn entertainment. Above and beyond the stunning CGI eye candy that is a hallmark of PIXAR films, the film manages to make the story of a garbage-clogged earth and its former inhabitants palatable. It does this with the deft use of android characters imbued with a affecting degree of emotional depth, not to mention unexplained AI capacities allowing them to rise above their programming. Borrowing equally from silent comedies (a strong Chaplin/Keaton influence is immediately evident in the lead character) and pulp sci-fi, this message movies is a highly entertaining affair. All the jokes, gags and clever asides provide the sugar that makes the harshness of the message a little easier to swallow.

With this movie, PIXAR walks a very fine line between art-house movie and Hollywood fluff. The message never gets in the way of the fun, and the fun never gets in the way of the message. Not many movies aspire to such lofty heights, much less managing to pull it off with such style and panache.

Oh, and the lead-in PIXAR short is killer. It's like a 1940's Warner Bros cartoon, cubed.