Wall*E (spoilers)

[Darth Geek]

I just got back from seeing Wall*E.

Overall I felt it was good. The best part was the first third, before they left Earth. After that it became less interesting. Once in the ship Axiom, the human aspect of whether to return to Earth seemed ridiculous, considering that we just spent the first third of the movie on Earth and know it as a vast wasteland. Sure it can sustain life now, but it is going to be a long time before enough vegetation can feed humans. Not to mention the fact that the garbage they left the Earth for in the first place is still there. All Wall*E and his fellows did was compact it and stack it. No wonder Fred Willard says that the cleanup project failed. It did.

What did work, though was Wall*E himself and EVE. The acting on the part of the animation is amazing. Having them be effectively silent characters was a daring and admirable choice that speaks most to Andrew Stanton's respect for his fellow animators, and it pays off in spades. Even when the human plot unfolds, they continue to be the only characters we care about.

The human characters are essentially irrelevant, with significant exception of the Captain of the Axiom, who is an interesting character and undergoes some fun character arc throughout the last third of the movie. His story, and that of the other people, is hampered by the knowledge that Earth is still a trash heap, as mention already.

The inclusion of several malfunctioning robots feels like typical movie "filler" that (with the exception of Cars) we have come to expect better from Pixar. These things are even less two dimensional than the typical teen in a slasher flick.

Ultimately, though, the good far outweighs the bad.

Special note should be given to the short Presto, shown before the film. This was a brilliant throwback to classic Looney Tunes, pure slapstick goodness. An excellent intro, as the first part of Wall*E felt very old movie, silent era Chaplinesque.

What did the rest of you think?

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

I thought it was heaven....best thing I've seen in I don't know how long.

(admittedly I've always been a sucker for films with robots)

Even the short cartoon before it - "Presto" - was brilliant!

[Fortis]

I thought it was heaven....best thing I've seen in I don't know how long.

(admittedly I've always been a sucker for films with robots)

Even the short cartoon before it - "Presto" - was brilliant!

I'm with you...I can see why you thought those were problems Darth Geek, but I loved absolutely every moment in that movie. I haven't seen a movie this good since...well again, I'm with you PSCD, I don't remember the last time I've seen a movie this good.

I think "Presto" itself was worth the price of admission, it was that good.

[Asbestos Bill]

I thought it was heaven....best thing I've seen in I don't know how long.

(admittedly I've always been a sucker for films with robots)

Even the short cartoon before it - "Presto" - was brilliant!

I'm with you...I can see why you thought those were problems Darth Geek, but I loved absolutely every moment in that movie. I haven't seen a movie this good since...well again, I'm with you PSCD, I don't remember the last time I've seen a movie this good.

I think "Presto" itself was worth the price of admission, it was that good.

Ditto.

[ChrisHanel]

Yeah, gotta agree about Presto. It earned my biggest laugh of the night.

Wall-E is my favorite Pixar film as of right now, though I'm afraid some of that is the new car shine still left on it after seeing it so recently. If someone put a gun to my head, i'd rank the top 3 - Wall-E, Incredibles, and Nemo: The top three will remain those three, though the order could change.

Darth Geek, I think where I disagree with you about the humans coming back and the state that the planet is that the fact that it can sustains life means that there is hope for the future -- and any amount of hope is a something worth fighting for.

10/10, 5 stars, TOP NOTCH SELLER WOULD BY FROM AGAIN A++++++++++++++++

[Fortis]

I'm with you on that Chris...I know that in a few months I will probably be able to pick out my favorite pixar movies again, but as of right now, Wall*E is a favorite.

Still, the Incredibles and Nemo are so good as well. And I love Ratatouille, and Cars, and a Bugs Life, oh and the Toy Story movies are incredible along with Monsters Inc...

Dang...maybe all of them will just be tied for 1st and 2nd place.

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

And this begs the question...

How is it that Pixar can find all of these great stories and great scripts...put out good movies time and again....but no one else.

They're all doing remakes, crap and the occasional good movie that they try to turn into crap/sometimes they fail (MST3K: The Movie)....

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

I absolutely loved this movie, it was so cute, and it carried a message better than the Happening did


His Eyes

They
Are
So
Mother
Dune-ing
Cute




LOOK AT HIS EYES DAMMIT

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

Were is that pic from?

I'm looking for a good version of Wall-E to add to my robot collection..

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

Encyclopedia Dramatica

http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/WALL-E

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

Encyclopedia Dramatica

http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/WALL-E

WTF???

I'll keep looking.

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

yeah, that's probably a good idea

[Fortis]

And this begs the question...

How is it that Pixar can find all of these great stories and great scripts...put out good movies time and again....but no one else.

They're all doing remakes, crap and the occasional good movie that they try to turn into crap/sometimes they fail (MST3K: The Movie)....

I've been wondering the same thing myself. I've watched a few extras on some of the pixar movie dvds, and let me tell you, they are all wackos there. All their animators, writers, directors, everybody is completely bonkers. I wonder if that has anything to do with it.

But I did hear about a bunch of the Pixar directors got together for a lunch before Toy Story came out, and they drew a bunch of pictures on napkins. And those pictures, evolved into the movies we have now. They had a pictures of characters from Toy Story, Bugs Life, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo and Wall*E. That is pretty incredible that a bunch of drawings on napkins have evolved into the genius that we see on screen every Pixar movie.

[doggans]

In my completely non-expert non-informed opinion, I think a lot of Pixar's success was allowed (not caused) by them being at the right place at the right time. Because Toy Story was so monumentally successful, Disney has allowed them to continue what they do with minimal interference. Now, I think a lot of Toy Story's financial success came from the (for lack of a better word) gimmick of being the first fully computer animated feature film. People saw the movie for the gimmick, and then realized that it was actually a legitimately good movie.

I don't think Pixar's the only production company that cares about telling good stories with compelling and strong characters; I just think many of the others have to cave in to the demographics and the people with the money. (And they don't have access to Disney's marketing omnipresence.) Because Pixar started out with such a successful film in every sense of the word, the people with the money thankfully realized that Lasseter, Stanton, and the rest know what they're doing.

At least, that's the way it seems to me.

[Fortis]

That sounds right to me...its sad that the truly creative people either have to be in the right place at the right time...or bow to the studios.