Let me begin this review with a very simple, yet profound reaction to Disney/Pixar’s latest venture ‘Wall-E’. Wow. We sat down to watch it early Friday morning, the very first showing. The daughter was settled comfortably between us and the theater was pretty packed by the time the previews began to air. I’ll admit, I had some reservations about Wall-E from the first time I wrote about it right up until the moment the first flicker of film filled the screen. 
Boy am I happy to say how wrong I got it.
The Story
Wall-E is a trash compacting robot. We meet him in his lonely desolate corner of Earth where he is cleaning up the refuse of generations. We watch him gathering souvenirs, trinkets of the humans that once walked there before compacting the rest. He adds his little squares of trash to the pile and then packs it in for the day. The camera pans out and you see the scope of his ‘pile’ which exceeds some skyscrapers in the area.
The skies are yellowish, the air is dirty and everywhere there is trash, debris and dead earth. Windstorms blow up and Wall-E hurries into the shelter of his container where he watches an old film on VHS and keeps his precious treasures. The humans have long abandoned Earth to the cleanup of the robots and apparently, Wall-E is one of the only ones left. His harvests parts from the others to keep himself in good working order, but his entire existence changes with the arrival of Sara. I won’t tell you anymore, because this treasure really must be enjoyed on the big screen.
What I Loved
The sheer, simple brilliance that this film achieves cannot be described in words. Most likely because for the first half of the film there’s little to no dialogue. Yet, we grow to care and to empathize with this little robot that could and his adventures. We feel his lonely desolation and we are moved by the lengths he will go to achieve contact with others.
What I Hated
Absolutely nothing.
What to Keep in Mind
This may be a tough film for the very young to follow, but children 5 and older will soon fall in love with Wall-E and willingly follow his journey. Parents, be aware that your kids will have questions about the film and the environmental message that it delivers. Don’t worry, they don’t beat you over the head with the message as they did in Happy Feet because the story isn’t about the environment, it’s about Wall-E.
What I Think
Quite simply the best movie that Disney Pixar has ever made, bar none. It may not have the quirkiness of Toy Story or the get the monsters out of the closet charm of Monsters, Inc – but what Wall-E has is a generation of innovation, fantastic cinematography and a story that needs no words to convey emotion. Wall-E is A Plus in my book.