Movie Review

Movies for kids who love the planet

Wall-E

The film Wall-E is not typical, in that the main character is not human, not animal––not even a living creature! “Wall-E” is a strangely imaginative and caring robot living on a future life-deserted earth, and his only job is to smash small piles of trash into squares and stack them away to “clean up the earth.” This job is necessary so humans can eventually come back from their giant spaceship where they wait (and gain weight). But he has somehow developed consciousness and even compassion, dreaming of a friend or a love of his own, and is lonely… Meanwhile, the humans seem to have forgotten all about the trashed earth they’ve left behind.

But one day a probe comes to the dystopian earth, and Wall-E wonders if he’s found love…but the robot on the probe wonders if she’s found the earth’s last bit of remaining life. A misadventure takes Wall-E and EVE, the probe’s robot, to the massive commercial spaceship where ignorant — or maybe just clueless?— humans live, obese and unimaginative, while their servant-robots tend to their every want and need. But if the humans find out that they can return to their world, will they? After all, they left their planet in quite a sorry state…

This heartwarming movie is for all ages and offers a thoughtful reminder of the way things might go if we’re not a little more careful with our living planet.

All ages: PG