Wall*E (spoilers)

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

a flawless film to be sure, but i think genndy tartofsky (sic) nailed the no talking animated art peice a while ago. 

[dignan]

Loved, loved, loved, loved, loved it.  I'd go see it again in a heartbeat.

And, I'm sure Tex Avery would be looking down upon Presto and smiling.

[YoohooRiffer]

Like everyone else here, I loved WALL*E.  It was beautifully done and I was particularly moved by WALL*E and EVE's "love" story.  Definitely my favorite Pixar film.

[Tyrant]

 I don't tend to like CGI movies usually, but when I give them chances, they're usually Pixar films because they put actual content and effort into their projects. This movie was no exception. Not sure I'd put it up there with The Incredibles, but it definitely comes in at second best Pixar movie ever in my book. I'm impressed how much story dialogue there was with no actual dialogue to go with it. It takes masterful storytelling to make that happen and I was deeply impressed. I also liked how non-preachy the movie was in terms of the planet being all garbaged up, yet delivered an environmental message loud and clear. The love story was also touching and had a very old school feel to it (perhaps because of the old love songs they used).

I can truthfully say I liked this movie, and it's no small thing to admit it since I think CGI movies are overdone. If I had my way, ONLY Pixar would have the right to use it, since they seem to be the only ones who know what they're doing and do it right.

[Junkyard]

Just saw the movie.
First:
AAWWWWWW!!!!
The robots are all SO CUTE!

Second:
Why is this film awesome? Because the heroes are a box, an egg, and a morbidly obese man who at the start of the film had never learned to walk.
Also because the villains are a road flare and a steering wheel.
You just can't assemble a better cast.

And compared to the rest of the stuff out there, this film is actually a pretty subtle condemnation of pollution and rampant consumerism.



... and seriously, that is just the cutest darned romance ever!
"Wa-lee?"
"Eee-va?"
"Wa-leee!"
"Eee-vaaa!"

[kodiakthejuggler]

... and seriously, that is just the cutest darned romance ever!
"Wa-lee?"
"Eee-va?"
"Wa-leee!"
"Eee-vaaa!"

I agree. WALL-E's voice is just so damn cute! Ben Burtt is a God.

[Junkyard]

Having milled it over at work, I now see we have
a solid storyline,
interesting, 3 dimensional characters,
subtle, vibrant imagery,
an effective script,
a beautiful, convincing romance,
exciting fights,
subtle homages to Asimov, Clarke, and other Sci-Fi writers and filmakers,
science that goes a little soft at points, but only in the places that enhance the story,
and good jokes that work on multiple levels.


... and at the moment all I can think is how much I'd like to beat up George Lucas.

...huh.

Also:

AAAWWWWW!!!

[Junkyard]

I couldn't just say it was a good film and be done with it. Watch as I do what I do best: read too much into things:

Warning: Spoilers.

[Tripe]

Great job! 

[Junkyard]

Thanks!

[Tripe]

You're Welcome!!

[trobotcrow]

First -- let me start off by saying that a bad Pixar film is better than most good films from other studios...

But I have to agree with the assessment that started this thread -- the first third was brilliant, and the rest didn't really work.

Junkyard's evaluation is completely accurate, but it seems like Pixar was being too ambitious to carry out all of these themes and story arcs successfully. And some of it seemed clumsy, even -- like pointing out themselves that the people couldn't walk because of 700 years in space and inactivity, and then having the captain walk.

I love robots [obviously], and was expecting this to be the greatest Pixar film. Maybe I expected too much. But the part of the story that they created most successfully was the hardest part -- making us care about Wall-E, a non-speaking robot by himself exploring Earth. That section had the most gravitas, and was most poignant. It showed how the things we care most about in this consumer culture is not only unimportant, but will ultimately destroy us if we let it.

Then, a bunch of crazy robots we don't get to know or care about run around for a while on a ship doing stuff. And it seems like the end is an obligatory 'happy ending" with not only the return to the wasteland of Earth, but a society willing to change 700+ years of history in a day.

I was forced to remember the mid-season ending of Battlestar Galactica and think that Ron Moore et al were far more daring.

[Junkyard]

Then, a bunch of crazy robots we don't get to know or care about run around for a while on a ship doing stuff. And it seems like the end is an obligatory 'happy ending" with not only the return to the wasteland of Earth, but a society willing to change 700+ years of history in a day.

See, I saw that smooth transition from adult babies to adult adults, and I thought it was ridiculously quick, considering what I know about human nature, but then I realized- This isn't supposed to be scientific reality. The whole thing wasn't really about pollution, and it wasn't completely about consumerism. It was about how people can lose their way, and then FIND THEIR WAY BACK. Midway through the movie, when the Captain realizes that the green promise of Happy Earth was in fact more the Brownish Earth of Toil and Danger, he gets over his dissapointment and decides it would be better to work and live than to survive pampered. No one would have looked at "Brown Earth" from the comfort of his chair and decided that, but for the movie's message of hope, he did.

And yeah, the science goes soft at a lot of key points, but generally only in places where it makes what's going on more "magical."

[trobotcrow]

I looked at it being rushed not because it was a children's film, but because they were trying to accomplish too many stories.

If the point of the movie really was about the humans learning to take responsibility for what they've done and change, then why have Wall-E at all? If that is the true story, then the movie should have begun on the Axiom, and the Captain would have been the real hero.

Wall-E was an accidental catalyst for that to happen. Therefore, the thematic element has to be attributed to the robot left behind. His story has to be the important one -- one of appreciating the things and people [or robots] around you. The other themes just end up confusing the main one.

[kodiakthejuggler]

I looked at it being rushed not because it was a children's film, but because they were trying to accomplish too many stories.

If the point of the movie really was about the humans learning to take responsibility for what they've done and change, then why have Wall-E at all? If that is the true story, then the movie should have begun on the Axiom, and the Captain would have been the real hero.

Wall-E was an accidental catalyst for that to happen. Therefore, the thematic element has to be attributed to the robot left behind. His story has to be the important one -- one of appreciating the things and people [or robots] around you. The other themes just end up confusing the main one.

I didn't find that at all. I though all the story elements complimented eachother and didn't get too convoluted...