Directed by: Andrew Stanton Starring: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy, Sigourney Weaver
Running Time: 1h 43min
Pixar has become synonymous with excellence, so one comes to expect nothing less when it comes to their first foray into space, with the futuristic tale of WALL-E. Rather different in tone than typical Pixar fare, WALL-E starts out almost in a silent film style, with the small titular robot cleaning up an uninhabited Earth. Sight gags pepper the start while we are fed a brief explanation for what has happened to our planet, and the human race. These are quickly done through old video footage and contain some clever and funny comments about our society, as all good science fiction pieces do.
What amazes me the most about Pixar's films is how they realistically and stunningly recreate new worlds with each successive film. The animation is incredible, in the way that Finding Nemo captured the colours of the ocean, and A Bug's Life looked as lush as the green scenery it was set in. Pixar's animators have made a spectacular depiction of outer space, while remaining true to realistic properties of robotic development as we know it today. They sure do dream at Pixar, but they are always conscious of realism and context.
WALL-E is a prototypical Disney lead. Cute, fumbling, and prone to mischief, the tiny robot spends his days on Earth alone, save for a cockroach companion, and has gathered an extensive collection of oddities from his garbage collecting/sorting. His robot functions allow for only so much original behaviour, and once he meets the sleek, Mac inspired sex tech of a robot, EVE, he is in love at first byte (sorry, couldn't resist). This unlikely relationship drives WALL-E to new heights, and the film begins to whiz along at an incredible rate, packing in a lot of robot mishaps and shenanigans that are classic comedy routines, lovingly played out in a new forum.
Tonally, the movie is a little darker than you'd expect, but the slapstick and childlike behaviour of WALL-E nicely keeps the film on target for the younger audience. A little bit Johnny 5, and a little bit the lovestruck Buster Keaton, WALL-E is set in the future but feels like a film from the past. Building on themes and scenes we've seen before, the animation takes us places we haven't been, and crafts a tale of caution, romance, friendship and fun. Though not as entertaining or enjoyable as recent fare like Kung Fu Panda, or previous Pixar achievements like Ratatouille or Monsters, Inc., WALL-E can proudly sit upon the same shelf of high standards that Pixar continues to aspire to.
Grade: A-
Pixar has become synonymous with excellence, so one comes to expect nothing less when it comes to their first foray into space, with the futuristic tale of WALL-E. Rather different in tone than typical Pixar fare, WALL-E starts out almost in a silent film style, with the small titular robot cleaning up an uninhabited Earth. Sight gags pepper the start while we are fed a brief explanation for what has happened to our planet, and the human race. These are quickly done through old video footage and contain some clever and funny comments about our society, as all good science fiction pieces do.
What amazes me the most about Pixar's films is how they realistically and stunningly recreate new worlds with each successive film. The animation is incredible, in the way that Finding Nemo captured the colours of the ocean, and A Bug's Life looked as lush as the green scenery it was set in. Pixar's animators have made a spectacular depiction of outer space, while remaining true to realistic properties of robotic development as we know it today. They sure do dream at Pixar, but they are always conscious of realism and context.
WALL-E is a prototypical Disney lead. Cute, fumbling, and prone to mischief, the tiny robot spends his days on Earth alone, save for a cockroach companion, and has gathered an extensive collection of oddities from his garbage collecting/sorting. His robot functions allow for only so much original behaviour, and once he meets the sleek, Mac inspired sex tech of a robot, EVE, he is in love at first byte (sorry, couldn't resist). This unlikely relationship drives WALL-E to new heights, and the film begins to whiz along at an incredible rate, packing in a lot of robot mishaps and shenanigans that are classic comedy routines, lovingly played out in a new forum.
Tonally, the movie is a little darker than you'd expect, but the slapstick and childlike behaviour of WALL-E nicely keeps the film on target for the younger audience. A little bit Johnny 5, and a little bit the lovestruck Buster Keaton, WALL-E is set in the future but feels like a film from the past. Building on themes and scenes we've seen before, the animation takes us places we haven't been, and crafts a tale of caution, romance, friendship and fun. Though not as entertaining or enjoyable as recent fare like Kung Fu Panda, or previous Pixar achievements like Ratatouille or Monsters, Inc., WALL-E can proudly sit upon the same shelf of high standards that Pixar continues to aspire to.
Grade: A-
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