Wall-E

Wall-E is a smart little robot. Somehow, he evolved beyond his basic programming and developed a personality. He keeps a pet cockroach, which is pretty funny. Cockroaches are known to be survivors and this little pet cockroach was the last being alive on Earth (at least in the US). No matter how many times it gets run over, it pops right back up. Wall-E is also quite a pack-rat. Somehow, he figured out what is useful to keep, what isn't. It was funny to see him toss a big diamond ring but kept the ring box. From videos of Dolly, Wall-E developed an understanding of love and longs for it. It was love at first sight with Eve, and he dedicated his life to her and her causes from the point they met, even to the point of getting crushed, almost destroyed by the vegetation verification machine on Axiom. He traveled across the universe just to follow her and save her.

Warnings from the movie -

• Take responsibility of Earth or we won't be able to live here much longer. In the future portrayed by the movie, Earth's atmosphere is littered with satellites, and Earth itself is filled with tall buildings of compacted trash. The sun rarely shines through the atmosphere, making the planet uninhabitable.
• Use your limbs and exercise or we'll all become so obese that we won't be able to walk any longer. In the future portrayed by the movie, humans traverse in hover chairs. As a result, EVERYONE looks like they weigh at least 300 lbs. There was a funny prediction from the past in the movie that indicate bone lost due to this hover chair lifestyle. What's not so funny is that obesity is a very real concern today. According to various sources, between 25-30% of the US population is obese, and the number has been climbing for the last 20+ years. According to Obesity in America, "obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S."
• Don't follow orders blindly. Aboard the Axiom space cruise, Wall-E's influence touched M-O and Eve and changed their programming. He taught them to not just follow order blindly. When robots are released form their storage area, lines were lit for them to follow; they must travel along the lit lines. M-O literally followed Wall-E footsteps and stepped out of the lit lines in order to fulfill his purposes of keeping the ship clean. Eve was dedicated to her "Directive" of searching out vegetation on Earth. To save Wall-E, she was willing to toss out her directive. On the other hand, Auto, the auto pilot computer on Axiom, was still following out-dated orders form 700 years ago; it almost succeeded in stopping humans from returning to Earth and continuing on their self-destruct path of obesity.

Overall, it's a funny, touching, and inspiring movie. With personalities radiating from the different robots, it feels like we're watching people, not robots. Highly recommended!

P.S. Wall-E's body shape reminds me a little of ET. What do you think?

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