Wall-e is not only the name of this movie, but it is also the main character. However, the name of the movie has deeper roots. Wall-e deals with all the trash the humans left behind. So we get the message that we have thrown away too much trash and destroyed our planet. Yet we are not personally offended because the way this is dealt with makes it seem less significant. If this movie had a different name, say “Robot Love” for example, that would change the focus of the story. It would now be focused on the love story between Wall-e and Eve instead of the other more significant and important messages.
The opening of the movie provides you with images of space and then wide, panning shots of earth destroyed and deserted with trash everywhere. Then we see Wall-e compacting blocks of trash by himself. This creates feelings of desolation, abandonment, and depression. I feel the producers started with this tone so they could slowly change the tone to a happier one throughout the movie. It also helps one better understand the impact of what has happened to Earth.
The last images of the movie were of humans planting the plant and watering it. Then it skips ahead and shows a lot of plants all spread out while the camera pans outward. These images emphasize that no matter how bad something is, it can get better if you make an effort and try. I think these last images are eco-inspiring. They seem to be telling us to take care of the earth. It will restore the earth and the environment and make everything better and happier for everyone and everything.
The closing credits of the movie show hieroglyphic-like images of the humans recolonizing earth, such as discovering fire again and farming to grow food for themselves. The images also show humans and robots working together but the humans are mostly fending for themselves. Then the credits show earth flourishing through paintings. The last image is of Eve and Wall-e underneath the big tree that started it all – the plant that was in the boot. All the while there is a happy, hopeful song called “Down to Earth” playing. The closing credit story is opposite from the rest of the story that is played out in the movie because the humans are actually doing something and fending for themselves instead of the robots doing most of the work. Whereas during the movie, the humans do nothing and the robots do all of the work.
I feel that one of the important eco-relevant scenes is when the captain decides to override the autopilot and go back to Earth, even though the autopilot has orders to never return to Earth. Seeing the plant and knowing that Earth can now sustain life makes him want to do something. He escapes from the norm and starts walking in order to shut down the autopilot and achieve his goal. All because of a plant. I feel this scene has a strong impact and therefore clearly gets this point across.
If elementary students were watching this movie, they would be focused more on the robots instead of the overall message of the story. But it would also teach them not to throw so much trash away. A college student would focus on the destruction of the Earth and the important and somewhat hidden messages of the story. Parents taking their children to this movie would notice the screens in front of the humans’ faces and how everything is electronic because they might feel that that is the kind of world their children are growing up in.
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