GC Movie Review - WALL*E

By Rhonda Ridley

Please, allow me to share a quirky experience I had at the screening the other day. I knew that when I was asked to screen this movie, I’d like it, but when I attempted to do research on it, the tag line, “A robot, spends every day doing what he was made for. But soon, he will discover what he was meant for” drew me in. Primarily because I believe that’s what we do (I‘ve done it) in our very own lives; we work in jobs that we don’t like, we settle in relationships that are not righteous and sometimes, we even busy ourselves with God’s work only to miss God’s true appointed purpose for us. So, in the end, what have we really accomplish?

It was after reading the tag that I decided not to view anymore information on the film. I wanted it to be a pleasant surprise. I did, however, see the trailer on TV and thought WALL*E was adorable. Well, when I arrived at the screening, there was a cardboard version of WALL*E right outside the theater we were scheduled to screen in. From somewhere a squeal, much like a child, came out of my body. I remember hearing myself say, “I want it, I want it. It’s so adorable, I have to have it and take it home.“ Laugh all you like, but believe me, when you go to the movie and you see the cut out, (it looked so real) your reaction will be the same. Embarrassing, but true and I do intend to see if I can get it. Thanks for listening. Now on to WALL*E.

Well, this film in all of its animated glory will cause those feelings to resurface.

WALL*E’s primary job is to clean up all the excess trash on earth - alone. Trash has completely out weighed the human population and their ability to remain on earth. Unfortunately, someone, a human, forgot to turn him off, and he just goes about doing what he was made to do. You almost get the feeling that he‘ll be on earth, alone forever. Like Tom Hanks in “Cast Away” who’s stuck on an island all alone with no sign of human life form, you feel sorry for WALL*E. As much as this theory affects, us the viewer, WALL*E seems ok with the way things are going. Nothing seems out of place to him - just yet, because you can‘t really miss what you‘‘ve never had, right?