I'm in love...with a robot.

This post has been a long time coming, but I couldn't resist writing about such a great movie. Ben and I went with his sister and her blind date and saw WALL-E a couple weeks ago. I have to say that it's probably one of the best movies I've seen all year. Don't let my glowing review sway you one way or the other...you definitely have to check this one out for yourself.

When I first saw a preview for this movie several months ago, I sort of shrugged it off. "Pssh...yeah, like a robot movie is going to be that good." Then my new brother-in-law mentioned how it was supposed to be this great film and how he and Natalie were excited to go see it. Not wanting to be left off the bandwagon, I did a little more research, watched some full trailers...and hey, it didn't look too bad. After all, Pixar is putting it out--it can't be too horrible! After all, I've adored pretty much all of their other films.

More recently, I had heard great things about the film. Critics were raving that Pixar had done it again and made a smash hit. I was a bit skeptical but easily persuaded. I mean, it would be one thing for some rogue critic to find it charming and lovely while everyone else and their dog absolutely despised the piece of trash...but every critic was gushing about the quality of the film, its message and execution.

As for the actual movie--seriously, go see it--I loved every minute of it. There aren't many movies that I can honor with that praise. I've got ADD as bad as any kid, so I need to be entertained in new and witty ways, and yet I want it to be intelligent and not make me feel dumber than when I first sat down to enjoy the flick. WALL-E did this and much more. I almost cried--twice. (Disclaimer: I cry during lots of movies...Apollo 13 is just one example of a movie where no one else cried but me.) There were some extremely touching parts that made me reflect on what kind of a person I am and what great people I have in my life. Could just me, though...just sayin'...

I was surprised at how intriguing a movie could be where the first 45 minutes have no dialog. You would almost think that the viewer would be begging for some reprieve from the wordless black hole. This was no black hole, my friends. It was genius how I could be watching a robot--supposedly devoid of feeling and personality--and be so intrigued by its state of affairs. WALL-E has a bug friend, and just watching the play-by-play of the relationship he had to his work and his collection of human artifacts and this bug...it was almost surreal how it tugged at the heartstrings. The writers of this film are brilliant.

WALL-E also has a few different messages that it portrays in a satiric light, but I didn't feel like these issues were being drummed into my head or that anyone's agenda was being weighted too heavily. The morals were served very carefully in a light, huh-I-should-really-think-about-how-my-actions-affect-society manner. I guess a few viewers were offended by the "environmental message" that was being addressed. Hmm...I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that shouldn't we ALL be worried about destroying our own environment? In the film, Earth has become so overrun by consumerism and commercialism that any surviving plantlife becomes a miraculous treasure. Yeah, I understand that's pushing it to the extremes, but a very intriguing thought indeed.

All in all, quite an enjoyable couple of hours. I highly recommend it to movie-goers young and old. It was a cute, fun film that didn't feel diluted or pushy.