Last night, things finally aligned to get me to the theater to see WALL-E -- a friend who hadn't seen it yet was available, and enough time had passed since the opening to expect the rude audience factor to have disappeared. I find myself agreeing largely with Shocho's review of it, which in a nutshell is that I thought it was pretty great, but as time passes and I think more about it, my opinion has diminished a bit.There's certainly a lot to praise here. The risk of doing a major motion picture built around two characters who basically don't talk is pretty huge. They aren't human either, so they can't emote in the traditional ways. And yet both these barriers are utterly crushed with some truly brilliant animation.
The story is very much character driven, and very effective on an emotional level. The old cliché, "you'll laugh, you'll cry," is apt here, because the film does evoke feelings of joy and sadness.
With a little distance from it, though, I must confess I felt that a few of those moments felt overly manufactured. The character of WALL-E doesn't really drive the narrative much; he's along for the ride. The real characters with a mission are Eve and the Axiom Captain, the latter of which isn't even introduced until halfway through the movie. Because the title character is such a "tumbleweed" in his own story, he's just pushed into whatever situation results in a good "set piece" for the movie.
Now don't get me wrong, each of those pieces is really great. Even the ones that ring false. For example (but trying to be circumspect here for those trying not to be spoiled), there's a manufactured moment sad beat at the end that sent me screaming for the logic police... and yet I have to admit I was still moved by it emotionally even as my intellectual side is going, "wait a minute" and well aware I'm being manipulated.
All told, my reservations about the film don't amount to much, and I'd still rate WALL-E an A-. It's definitely worth seeing. A must-see if you like Fred Willard. Even if for some reason you don't like it, I think you'll love the short preceeding it, Presto. It's hilarious, and a bit of a throwback to the classic Looney Tunes style of zany gags at a frenetic pace.
6 comments:
just like with the monsters in Monsters, Inc. Pixar has a magic insight into exactly what I think "cool" robots should look like. I thought the artistic design of the movie was the best part.
is it ironic that the drama at the end seemed manufactured, mechanical, or a bit um... robotic? but it's Pixar. Disney Pixar. I DARE you not to cry! Dare I say! you know that's what you bought a ticket to see. and Pixar always delivers the punches at the end.
I was a bit depressed by humanity's future of hover-chair-shake-nirvana. I have to imagine a cult of exercise fanatics somewhere on the Axiom...
the mole
oh, and tell Shocho that there are "tons" of Wall-E figures at Toys R Us.
Toys R Us? I thought they were extinct!
I didn't cry because like Artoo and Threepio, Wall-E is just a toaster.
Even with some of its moments ringing a bit off, it's still up as one of the best movies that has been released in the year thus far. I think that it's a great science fiction story that happens to be a kids movie.
And Presto? Lord, after seeing so many trailers and shorts for work...I usually abandon ship after the first 2 screenings. But I caught myself watching Presto at every auditorium I had to visit on opening weekend. I love that little rabbit.
That would be 22 of them for those interested. :P
Yeah, I know I have issues.
I partially agree with Roland. This is a true science fiction story (somewhere in the short story to novella range), but I don't see it as a kids' movie, any more than the original The Day The Earth Stood Still was presented in a way even children can appreciate.
If I gave two sh*ts about the Oscars, I would demand this be nominated for Best Picture. The Animated category is a complete cop-out as it is, and WALL-E is the most ambitious FILM I have seen a while, let alone the most ambitious computer-generated film.
Pixar mimicked real cameras with their limitations when designing and rendering the films. While this level of photographic realism is most obvious during the Earth scenes, I felt as though I was watching a plain film throughout, even if the future humans were a tad cartoonish in appearance.
While I agree that the near-tragedy at the end was manufactured, the part that bothered me was the trash coming out of the Axiom. Clearly, the audience is supposed to be shocked -- SHOCKED -- that Humanity is still dumping their garbage even after trashing the Earth and living on a ship for 700 years. I question how the Axiom could be producing that much garbage after 700 years. A friend opined that they might have been plundering asteroids for raw materials. I wonder if the Axiom was actually designed as a generation ship, since it appears the original 5-year directive was canceled at the last minute.
I realize this is picking at nits, but I think it really speaks to the internal logic of the film.
Also, I was getting a Soylent Green vibe from whatever everyone was eating after 700 years in space. Artificial flavors and textures are an easy thing to deal with compared to raw food materials.
Roland -- You're right, one of the best despite the "off" moments. In fact, THE best. Since I've reviewed and rated every new movie I've seen this year, I can compare easily. I've given nothing else this year any better than a B+, officially making WALL-E the best movie of the year so far in my mind.
Presto 22 times, eh? I'd say you're weird, but it IS that good.
Wall-E totally looks like the robot from "Short Circuit"... minus the cheesy 80's style of course
Post a Comment