In Theaters. Rated G. Written and Directed by Andrew Stanton. With Fred Willard and the voices of Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy & Sigourney Weaver.
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At this point, I would go to see any movie Pixar makes without any idea of what it’s about (and judging by the fact that all their movies have made boatloads of money, I’m far from the only one). They’ve raised the stakes with the last two, as movies about a rat chef or a robot living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland don’t seem particularly commercial. And though Wall-E isn’t quite as good as Ratatouille, it’s another strong showing in the impressive Pixar portfolio.
Wall-E is a story about the last working robot on Earth hundreds of years after humans have abandoned it, going about his work compacting the trash we’ve left behind. However, Wall-E has taken it upon himself to collect artifacts he’s interested in, and along with his cockroach buddy, has managed to make a nice living space. He is particularly taken with a tape of Hello, Dolly! (which I had to look up, I did not recognize it at all) and the idea of finding someone to hold hands with. Hey, it’s a kid’s movie, what do you want?
His world all changes when a spaceship lands, dropping off another robot, Eve, whose directive is “classified.” Wall-E follows her around trying to ingratiate himself, and when she goes back home, he follows on a quest that takes him to a spaceship where humans are now living.
As you might be able to tell, it’s definitely much more of a kids’ movie (despite the sort of adult theme of a barren Earth) than Brad Bird’s two entries, The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Stanton is responsible for Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. and this fits in the same type of mold, though with a romantic theme. As a result, though I really liked it and enjoyed watching it, it doesn’t carry the same resonance as Bird’s.
What does make Wall-Edifferent from any of the other Pixar films is the opening sequence, which is almost entirely visual, and that the two main characters have barely any dialogue. Up until the final act, there’s very little dialogue overall (hence the lack of a quote above the picture), and there aren’t many action sequences. Despite this I was never bored and I felt like the movie breezed by.
Wall-E is such a great main character and it’s amazing how they can make a rusty box robot into a lovable cute character. It just proves that it’s all in the eyes — and Wall-E has wonderfully expressive eyes. Eve looks kind of like an egg-shaped IPod or something else slick Apple would make but Stanton eventually gives her enough of a personality that you root for Wall-E to end up with her.
I wasn’t a huge fan of using live-action in the movie (all in video form) — I thought it was a little out of place. Also, the secondary conflict which drove the plot and created the antagonists wasn’t too interesting and took away from the Wall-E/Eve storyline which was far superior. Not to mention, the scenes with all the fat people were not particularly appealing.
Wall-E is a very cute movie and up to the usual Pixar production standards. It’s a great family or date movie, but I certainly wouldn’t go see it with my guy friends. It’s just not that type of movie at all, which I guess I could say for all the non-Brad Bird Pixar films. Just for the hell of it, here’s a off-the-cuff ranking of all the Pixar movies…the #1 is well above the rest and the bottom 2 are a level below the middle 6, though I like all of them.
1. The Incredibles
2. Ratatouille
3. Toy Story
4. Monsters, Inc.
5. Wall-E
6. Finding Nemo
7. Toy Story 2
8. Cars
9. A Bug’s Life
Grade: B+
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Wall-E totally looks like the robot from “Short Circuit”… minus the cheesy 80’s style of course
I haven’t seen the film yet, but I did read a review discusing the movie’s not-so-subtle suggestion that lazy fat people will be the cause of Earth’s demise. I’m curious to hear your thoughts about that theme.
Also, you used the word “cute” twice in your review. I’m impressed.
My 3 year old neice had to be physically removed from this movie because she was very bored.
I have not seen it. I avoid seeing “kid” movies in the theater because of the aforementioned kids. After a boy threw up near us in “Monster’s Inc” I pledged to stop attending kid films.
I will watch this one on DVD, mainly because of all the hype.
I too have heard several reviewers mention how this movie is anti-corporate in a very obvious, in-your-face way. Did you notice any of that? I think it’s sort of funny because I’m sure Walmart will get the rights to sell the DVD…
~Heidi
http://www.HeidiTown.com
1) Patrick – I never saw “Short Circuit” so I have no idea.
2) Funk – It’s not really that lazy fat people caused the Earth’s demise, it’s more that a corporation and the laziness of all humanity did, and that laziness eventually caused everyone to get fat.
3) Heidi – It is anti-corporate, but not so much that it is a focus of the movie. Also, if you want to see Pixar movies in theaters, I recommend going to later night showings — no kids generally in those. I saw Wall-E during the day and there weren’t any problems, but for the last few pixar movies I can remember seeing in the theaters (Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, Finding Nemo) I saw it at night with a adult crowd.
what, no mention of the oscar talk?
Great review!
I like your Pixar list–isn’t it amazing how they always put out good films? The one film that everyone loved that I just could not get into was Ratatouille. It was weird for me because I like Patton Oswald, I like cooking and I understand why the movie is so good, but I could not help but be bored out of my mind. I can’t explain it.
I just listened to a Terry Gross interview with Andrew Stanton on a Fresh Air podcast. Very interesting to hear the directors rationale behind the film. Although I’ve not seen Wall-E yet, I too may wait for the DVD, post hype and hopefully an HD version. IMHO-the only way to truly enjoy animation of this type.
Adam, I would only switch your first two picks from the perspective of art direction. The attention to detail in Ratatouille is even better than Incredibles but I’m an artist so I geek out on that stuff.
Cheers.
Having just seen this film, I would have to dispute your Pixar rankings. I would have to do this anyway because it is in my nature but I would have to argue that this is a far finer film that Ratatouille. Although hugely enjoyable and moving, Ratatouille lacks any of the visual flair shown here and is stuck down by a dull central human character in Linguini. Despite being unable to form full sentences, Wall-E is more compelling throughout his film. And the cinematography they use here and the sheer imagination on show elevate this well above Monsters Inc, Rataouille and maybe even The Incredibles for me (the last one is a very close call though). Great review though.
Cheers
Wasn’t the iPod looking robot’s name “Eve-a” or just “Eva”?
Vivian — the girl robot was named Eve (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator). Wall-E only pronounced it as eve-a.
Lazy fat people, corporations, the third of all advertising spending directed at children that goes to advertising carbonated beverages (SF Chronicle, yesterday); this is a chicken-or-egg debate that, despite its circularity, certainly illuminates a clear conclusion: this vicious cycle will ruin the earth if anything can. Thanks, Wall-E. Oh yeah, and I (and my 8-year-old) enjoyed this movie immensely.
Could see the embedded emotions even in robots .
A perfect film commenting about the future !
Wall e…
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