Wall-E

The title of the movie is derived from the name of the main character Wall-E who is a small, trash compacting, robot.  We see personification of this robot in that he shows several human emotions such as fear and love.  This allows the audience, mainly children, to connect with the protagonist and feel empathetic for one of two moving things we see living in a wasteland caused by our own excess.  Wall-E appears to be the only “eco-friendly” machine built by humans throughout the entire movie.  He is solar powered, which aids in the audience supporting the protagonist.   It shows to us that we have the ability to make “green” choices every day and this will certainly help the earth as we lower the use of fossil fuels and the emission of greenhouse gasses

The message that is certainly intended to be gained by Wall-E is that the excessive human consumption with no regard to the environment will certainly result in our own demise.  In the opening scene, we easily discover the motive behind the film as we see massive piles composed of trash with windmills placed on top that shows that every day we continue to consume and disregard the environment.  Humans have become so attached to technology, they have become addicted.  This addiction will eventually cause us to lose hold on what’s real in this world, and it will cause us to miss out on the finer things in life.  For example, until the man was knocked from his chair and the woman had her screen turned off, their eyes were opened to their surroundings.  This allowed them to develop a relationship between each other.  The movie is setting out to show that technology is actually pushing us apart from each other and the world around us.  

While viewing this movie, I observed what I thought to be several problems.  Its message is clearly a message to be heard by all but as I viewed Wall-E, which is presented to us in a cartoon form, I began to think that maybe it focused a little too much on being comical as opposed to environmentally focused.  We see Wall-E getting tossed this way and that which was indeed humorous but it distracts us from the moral of the story.  I also felt as if there was a heavier emphasis on the “love story” between Wall-E and the robot searching for life, Eve, than on the negative effects humans are having on the environment.  This is certain to get the attention of the children but this focus surely makes them overlook the real message behind the movie. The movie has the right idea, and raises several good points, but its target audience will not likely receive the message that is intended.