Post by BIGFANBOY on Jun 27, 2008 8:46:17 GMT -5
WALL-E
Review by Gary Dean Murray
Pixar Animation Studio is not only the savior of Disney, but also the savior of animation. If you look at the product before and after Pixar began making movies it is easy to see how the landscape has been changed forever. In fact Pixar has never made a film that wasn’t a blockbuster and that wasn’t an artistic achievement, standing on the shoulders of its predecessor. The newest film at the top of the heap is WALL-E easily the best picture of the year so far. And the most amazing thing about it is that it is almost a silent film.
The story stars with a little exposition. The people of Earth have trashed the planet so badly that they leave in order to have the Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class (WALL-E) robots clean up the mess. It is estimated to take five years so the humans take off in the spaceship Axiom owned by the Big and Large Company, BNL for short. Seven hundred years later, there in only one robot on the job, our hero WALL-E. He’s a cross between the robot from Short Circuit and Silent Running with a bit of a trash compactor thrown in. His job to compact the trash, which he builds, brick by brick, into structures that resemble skyscrapers. But his is a lonely life, with only a cockroach for company, a cockroach that dines on Twinkies still viable after centuries.
But WALL-E does keep different aspects of human culture that he finds interesting, things like Rubik’s cubs and lighters. Basically, in this case it is the concept of one man’s trash in another man’s treasure. Or in this case it is one robot’s treasure. WALL-E also has an old VCR tape of Hello Dolly, which he performs along with. His lonely existence changes when a drone ship enters the atmosphere. Inside contains a sleek robot EVE. This little firecracker is a ‘shoot-first-and-ask-questions-never’ kind of a bot who is on a singular mission. She will stop at nothing to complete her mission. Well, WALL-E is totally mesmerized by her and tries to impress her with his stash and his film. But EVE finds what she is looking for, which causes her to go into a deep freeze mode. WALL-E then becomes her protector, both from the natural and man-made elements. This little robot finds that he cannot be without her. Well, the drone ship has been signaled by EVE’s discovery and comes back to take her home. WALL-E hitches a ride along on the outside of the craft. This leads to the spaceship Axiom and the humans that have been waiting for the sign to return.
That is when the movie changes into a much faster paced, more action oriented film where WALL-E is doing everything he can to reawake his beloved while forces on the ship have to deal with EVE’s discovery. Along the way we get to meet a cast of crazed malfunctioning robots. It all leads to an environment message, along with a dig about our sedimentary ways. There are so many great things about this movie. First, the animation is past flawless. Even the sad dirty planet has a weird mystic beauty. Sandstorms rage in perfect form, as if they were ballarinas in the sky. WALL-E and EVE are creatures with few actual movements but convey all the emotions of real characters. It is astounding what Pixar can do with suggestions in digital eyes.
Andrew Stanton is the Academy Award-winning writer-director of Finding Nemo which is a perfect picture in its own right. But here he has even topped himself. He’s given us a character with the wit of Harold Lloyd and the pathos of Charlie Chaplin. Though Ben Burtt gives WALL-E his beeps and whistles, Andrew Stanton gives him his life. To call this an amazing performance is do WALL-E an injustice. It is just that good. WALL-E has it all--humor and heart, action and adventure. It's a film for everyone who loves a good story or who is fond of great animation. It is also the big must-see movie of 2008 and therefore shouldn’t be missed.
And get there early. The opening cartoon "Presto" is a brilliant piece of animation that feels like the best of a Loony Tune, with a hungry bunny and a very uncaring Magician. One of the best short cartoons Pixar has ever made, gut busting funny.
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