Drifting without direction, crippled by convenience and firmly affixed to the furniture, the hamster-like humans featured in Pixar’s recent animated epic are meant to remind us of ourselves – those of us still inhabiting this obsolete orb called Earth. It’s a light-hearted but heart-breaking exposé of our tendencies to become motionless machines of malaise. Funnily enough, in the midst of our laconic laziness, it’s a robot that is reminding us how to be human.
If you’ve ever wished you were more inquisitive and adventurous, and able to find meaning and value in the mundane refuse that surrounds you, you should meet Wall*E. The tiny tank-like trash-compactor robot from the movie of the same name, Wall*E is a binary binner that puts the most avid dumpster-diver to shame. He can find more excitement in a thrown-away VHS tape of an old musical than most of us exhibit when we encounter major milestones in our lives.
Seeing Wall*E celebrate what the rest of us would abandon, and innovate where the rest of us would have given up, was embarrassingly enlightening. It was as if Wall*E had called me an unimaginative and lethargic sad-sack who should start being more grateful and involved with my surroundings and clean up after myself. Except, of course, this was communicated through chirps, beeps, metal fingers tapping together, timid politeness, and plenty of old-timey musicals.
MORE POSTS FROM KEVAN GILBERT
- Movie Review: Juno
- Movie Review: Melinda and Melinda
- Music Review: Radiohead, “In Rainbows”
- The 10 Most Amazing Performances of the 2007 Calgary Folk Music Festival
- The timeless literature of Dan Brown (or, why The Da Vinci Code just plain sucks)
Kevan Gilbert is a life-size replica of a 5'8" tall human being, and comes with several interchangeable outfits and a realistic haircut. In the daytime hours, Kevan works as a Project Manager at Vancouver’s Union Gospel Mission. When he’s not spending time with his beautiful wife Kendra in their hometown of Burnaby, BC, Kevan is available to meet, chat and collaborate.
I love this movie…it made me want to be a better person. Cartoons haven’t made me do that since I was an eight-year-old on a Saturday morning!
I take it back, Lion King made me not be able to wait to be king.
Just watched the movie this week with my daughter. I am constantly amazed at the nuggets of truth that one can find from animation films. I like the way you put it … “it’s a robot that is reminding us how to be human”.