WALL-E (2008)

Prometheus, bringer of fire: Little WALL-E, a robot built to compact trash into cubes, is left all alone centuries after humans have abandoned the waste-strewn Earth. I guess they forgot to turn him off, and now he spends eternity cubing trash and finding useful little trinkets. I loved following around this pitiable product of science. Thumbs up.

Artemis, goddess of wilderness: Not only was this movie cute, but the theme of ecological disaster raises awareness among youth. I've stood by and watched the wilderness fill with trash for too long. My wrath is at the kindling point. But this movie gives me some hope. I hope it inspires recycling, reusing, and waste reduction among children. Thumbs up.

Dionysos, god of wine: Humans go off on a five-year pleasure cruise around the solar system while robots clean up the planet, but centuries later the Earth still isn't re-habitable. Gods, even I couldn't stand a party that lasted seven-hundred years! I usually cringe at "family" movies, but this one was pretty good. Pixar's animation is top-notch as usual. The junk-planet trashscapes are particularly luscious. At points I could hardly tell if they were animated or not. Thumbs up.


Three thumbs up.

WALL-E
When the world-dominating Buy n Large corporation covers the planet with unrecycled trash, they propose to send humanity on a pleasure cruise while WALL-E robots clean up the Earth. But after five years, the planet is deemed a lost cause and humans are left on perpetual vacation. Seven-hundred years later, micro-gravity and luxury have turned them into obese Jabba the Hutts. Meanwhile, only one robot remains functional on Earth, a lonely WALL-E unit that goes around cubing trashing and collecting curiosities. This pitiful existence is interrupted one day when an egg-shaped, feminine EVE robot appears, apparently searching for life on Earth.
Director: Andrew Stanton
Cast: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy, Sigourney Weaver
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 96%
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DID YOU KNOW? While the Greeks did not tell stories of man's industrial waste (not surprisingly), they did have a myth of ecological calamity. The great hunter Orion was so successful that he threatened to kill all the creatures on the earth. This angered the earth goddess Gaia, who sent a scorpion that slew him. Thereafter Artemis, goddess of the hunt, placed her companion Orion in the stars, producing the constellation we know today.