WALL•E (2008)
Grade:A
With every film that Pixar releases, it’s becoming increasingly clear that not only will they very rarely stumble, but they will most likely top their best efforts with every subsequent release. Last year’s Ratatouille remains the only A-worthy film I saw last year, and it came damn close to besting what I think is Pixar’s finest effort: Finding Nemo.
With WALL•E, Nemo director Andrew Stanton is back, and he’s created a film that bests even Nemo in terms of quality. WALL•E is simply stunning, both visually and emotionally, and to top all of that off, it’s timely and even an important film to arrive when it has. The film has a clear message about environmental issues, but is never preachy. Ultimately, the film is easily digestible in the midst of the serious issues it addresses.
Much hoopla has been made about the first 45 minutes and the fact that it is virtually dialogue free, but you can barely notice. The opening of the film takes place some 700-800 years in the future as WALL•E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth-Class) scurries around a desolate and trash-riddled shell of what used to be Earth. His sole purpose: to gather and compact trash into neat cubes that he then stacks as high as the crumbling skyscrapers around the city.
WALL•E has developed a personality, though, and as he sifts through the trash, he collects anything worth collecting, carting it back every night to his makeshift home where he watches a battered VHS of Hello, Dolly! and dreams of holding hands like the humans in the tape.
When a sleek spaceship arrives, along with a gleaming white robot named EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) who zips around effortlessly examining the surface of the planet for any sign of life, WALL•E finds the hand-holding partner he’s been looking for. As their romance blossoms, WALL•E shows EVE the small green plant he discovered earlier, prompting EVE to go into hibernation and call the mother ship back to pick her up.
It’s here that the film goes into allegory mode when WALL•E hitches a ride to the Axiom spaceship, home to the human race as they wait for Earth to become habitable once more. The film turns a bit predictable as WALL•E goes on an adventure with other misfit robots to find EVE and save the human race from itself. Still, though, it’s a brisk ride through the space station as WALL•E hunts for EVE.
The film is an utter triumph of production design, from the desolate Earth of the first half to the spaceship of the second half of the film. As WALL•E takes his first tour of the ship, the visuals are breathtaking, showing vast expanses of humans who have grown so pampered by technology that they spend their time growing fat, drinking meals from disposable cups and floating around on large lounge chairs instead of walking. The cautionary tale aspects of the film kick into high gear in this first tour of the ship, and the message is loud and clear: get off your ass, take a walk, and maybe plant a tree or something.
But the message is never blatant and it’s always worked into the story seamlessly. Also worked in are some delightfully realized malfunctioning robots, as well as some brilliant ones that function just perfectly (the makeover robot, in particular, is a hilarious one that pops up from time to time).
At its core, though, WALL•E is a love story between two robots. Pixar is probably the only studio that could pull this off successfully, and of course they do here. Through subtle motions of WALL•E’s binocularesque eyes, EVE’s smooth movements of her head and makeshift arms and computer eyes, as well as the wonderful sound work done to simulate their “voices,” the animators have crafted a touching love story to serve as the centerpiece of the film.
As science fiction, the film is successful, too. The best science fiction takes a futuristic world and uses it as a way to educate and make its audience realize something about modern day. It is perhaps on this front that WALL•E serves the most purpose. For a G-rated family film, it packs a hefty ideological punch with its view of a future population so tied to their technology and pleasure-seeking that people neglect to talk to one another face to face anymore because they can do it through a video monitor perpetually perched in front of them.
WALL•E is an important film not just for the beautifully-realized animation and art direction – honestly, it’s become rote to mention that about a Pixar film – no, it’s important for how seriously it treats its audience. During the previews, I was subjected to the trailer for Beverly Hills Chihuahua, an example of a children’s film that dumbs itself down because it can. Pixar has always refused to go that route, and the fact that a film like WALL•E can be made and will most likely be financially successful is a testament to the fact that audiences can and will pick quality fare over trash like Beverly Hills Chihuahua where the central conceit is that dogs can sing and dance (OMG!).
As it stands, WALL•E is achingly bittersweet, finding an emotional core that should come as no surprise from the studio and director who brought us Finding Nemo. For most of the film I felt like I was on the verge of tears, because the film’s view of the future is so spot-on and so meticulously realized that it hits almost too close to home. That’s ultimately what works so wonderfully about WALL•E: though its protagonist is a robot and the film is set hundreds of years in the future, its themes and messages resonate in a way that caught me off guard. While kids might not get all of the complexities at work in WALL•E, they’ll certainly be entertained and can watch it years down the road and understand why their parents were so moved when they saw the film in theaters. WALL•E will likely remain the best film of the summer season and, who knows, perhaps the best film of the year when 2008 comes to a close.
Bottom Line:
Eventually Pixar is going to have to make a complete flop, but they certainly haven’t with WALL•E, a film that’s not only adorable and lovely on its surface but that is also a strong cautionary tale about consumerism and the environment. It’s a masterful film that only Pixar could be expected to top next time around.
© 2004-2009 Ben Waldorf. Posted June 27, 2008. IMDB
“This color suits you… you look wonderful… men…”
Hehe.
Wonderful review! And written less than 2 hours after viewing? Impressive!
— Stephanie Jun 27, 08:39 AM #Oh my, I saw the time stamp on Facebook. ONE hour?? Idunno how you do that. I’m not a fan of writing.
Btw, I think Beverly Hills Chihuahua looks amazing! !
— Stephanie Jun 27, 08:47 AM #Excellent review. I’ll be sure to check it out.
Interesting fact: Ben Burtt, who designed the voice of Wall-E, also designed the voice of R2-D2.
~ Adhish
— Adhish Jun 27, 12:13 PM #