This weekend our kids begged us to take them to see “WALL-E”. Besides being an always-reliable Pixar film, we were introduced to a lovable, doe-eyed robot that leads us through a story with a message more important than I’ve seen in a movie in recent years.
What bothers me is the message seems to be a real afterthought for all of the reviews I’ve read. I haven’t heard a “buzz” so it was actually unexpected. I don’t believe this will be a spoiler (because it’s only a part of the storyline) but the message was truly profound. In a nutshell (and I won’t give you any more detail than this, so as NOT to get nasty emails!), Planet Earth becomes uninhabitable because it becomes overrun with trash, trash and more trash. It’s a wasteland, littered with humans’ remnants of excess.
Our kids are a little young to entirely pick-up on the message, but it was a golden opportunity to talk about it with them. They really embraced the idea and started talking about “yeah, that’s why we recycle” and “it’s baaad to litter!” Ahhh, my little sprouts make me proud!
My husband and I also picked up on some shots at big corporate greed and mega-retailers and appreciated the jabs they threw in. But more than anything, I love that they included a real message about the dangerous course that we, as Earth’s inhabitants, are currently on…and the abuse we are permitting.
I can only hope that movie-goers actually hear the message and recognize a story that I believe was entirely intentional, and (sadly)…very true.
Wow.. that’s nice to hear. I haven’t brought my 3 1/2 year old to any movies because I was quite disturbed when we popped in Ratatouille and within minutes a pixar lady is try to kill the rat with a rifle. Yeah, I don’t think so.
But I’m glad this is a good one. Love the message.
the mama bird diariess last blog post..jersey girl
Mama – I know what you mean about Ratatouille! Could have done without the rifle scene too! WALL-E definitely has a message that’s a great springboard to “earth-conscious” conversation with kids.
I’d use a trap not a rifle. 🙂 a) cleaner (put the trap in a piece of PVC Pipe) & b) easier! 😀
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