Worr-E

It's no secret that I have a certain (some would say unhealthy) affinity for all things Disney and Disneyland.  I celebrated both my high school *and* college graduation at Disneyland, the only difference between those and my childhood trips being the penis jokes that arose (excuse me) from the prevalence of signs advertising "foot-longs." (There are lots of hot dog stands there.) So, maturity all around, really.  Yesterday I dragged my (very cooperative, thank you) boyfriend to see "Wall-E" on opening weekend.  Yes, I paid $10.50 to watch a cartoon.  But it turns out, it was not just a good Disney movie, but a really good movie.  

In fact, the main thing I would worry about with Wall-E, is that I have no idea how it is going to connect with kids.  The movie has almost no dialogue, and is really a pretty bold environmental and societal statement.  There are more references to "2001: A Space Odyssey" than anything else, and most of the jokes will go straight over kids' heads.  I think the kids sitting next to us dozed off halfway through the movie.  All of the laughs and awwws came from the adults in the audience (including me).

Of course, there is some hypocrisy inherent in the film, especially since it is coming from Disney. (Don't think just because I love to ride the Peter Pan ride, I don't know how evil Disney is.  It is an internal conflict I deal with every day.)  For those of you who don't know, Wall-E is a movie about a trash-compacting robot who is left on earth after it has been deemed uninhabitable by humans.  The remaining humans are left flying on Royal-Caribbean-style cruise spaceships, where their lives have become so sedentary that they take all their meals in cups and don't know how to walk.  There is an evil corporation that encourages nothing but buying and consuming (Disney, anyone?), overproduction of waste and pollution (Disney, anyone?), and an unhealthy brand alliance to the huge corporation (ahem).  

So, Disney-Pixar has released a film that is decidedly pro-environment, anti-corporation, and anti-consumption.  I'm assuming Wall-E dolls have already gone on sale.  Wall-E's love interest, Eve, would make a pretty cute clock radio.  And that wonder of a man, Steve Jobs, somehow got an ipod product placement, as well as the Apple start-up chime worked into the movie, which was otherwise--to my knowledge--devoid of any product placement.  Perhaps I am being a bit cynical here, but I can't help but think that Disney is doing nothing but capitalizing on the recent green movement (kind of like Wal-Mart's "see how green we are?" commercial that encourages consumers to buy Brita pitchers instead of water bottles).  

I loved the movie, but can't help but feel, well, a little suckered.  I wonder if my thinking "Great!  Disney finally released a socially-conscious movie" is exactly what they want me to think.  They have lured me in once again.  I'm just their puppet.  Like Pinocchio.  Ha.  Jiminy Cricket. I love that movie.  Wait, what was I talking about? I'll take that clock radio now.