Wall*e is a beautifully done, awesome film.
The premise, I think, is not so much against consuming, as against being absorbed in a telescreen-style entertainment world. Go out and do stuff. I thought a nice demonstration of that was a couple of passengers forced to jolt out of their complacency and say “I had no idea we had a pool!” That’s virtual reality against real reality, with real reality winning.
I think the reviewer realized that he had no chance of being noticed with 122 out of 125 reviews being fresh and decided the film needed a rotten review for it to be seen. I do not think Andrew Stanton or Steve Jobs is going to suffer from having oh, three bad reviews out of 125?
I am a libertarian/conservative and the problem with BuyNLarge was that it grew to encompass the entire economy and thus become the government. You could almost think of the structure as an anti-government rant, even though BuyNLarge is technically a corporation.
But Andrew Stanton is on record in interviews as saying that Wall*E is not a political movie and he is not making a political statement. I believe him; he’s making a sociological statement to appreciate your freedom and see the world as it is. Ironic in an animated movie that’s just bursting with cleverness and ingenuity but there you have it.
I will admit that I doubt Andrew Stanton has done much shopping in a Wal-Mart. Heck, he probably eats most of his meals at the Pixar cafe. I will leave to your imagination the quality of food at the Pixar cafe, but somehow I doubt that Pixar spends much, if any, of their catering budget in a Wal*Mart.
However, I am sure Andrew has visited a Wal*Mart for the sake of research, perhaps many times. Those carts fat and disabled people use to get around Wal*Marts were probably an inspiration for his automated hover chairs in the movie.
Since I moved from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh, something I fear that I regret every day, I understand very well why Wal*Mart is so successful – businesses here are bad, and Wal*Mart provides better products at lower prices. That’s not true in San Francisco or Los Angeles and that’s why denezens of those communities look down at Wal*Mart. I did myself when I lived in one of those places; in rural or underdeveloped areas, Wal*Mart is almost always the best option.
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