I had heard about this film since quite a long time. My first thought was that could an "Animation" film supposedly created for kids work as a science-fiction movie for me ? After realizing the positive reception that this film had garnered, I decided to watch this. It would be a first for me in the sense that this was the first animated feature film that I would be viewing. And now, after having done that, I'm glad that I stepped into the territory of animation. WALL·E is not just a fun-filled animation movie meant for kids. It is at par with any feature film featuring big stars, sets and budgets ever made and is much better than most of them.
The story is mainly told through visuals (although quite a bit of dialog creeps in during the last hour) and is best deciphered by the viewers themselves instead of being explained in such a review. It's set about 700-800 years into the future when Earth is in a mess, mankind has settled into space and the only moving thing left on Earth is a robot named WALL·E - this should more than suffice. Although there are no dialogs for a major portion of the film, it is much simpler to understand yet gets more complex as you start analyzing it in detail. This kind of treatment comes across as far more effective (at least for me) than say the one in 2001: A Space Odyssey which relies heavily on visuals leaving almost all of the deciphering to the viewer. As such, WALL·E is as simple or complex as you perceive it to be (although for the most part, it is the former).
Despite having a short running time, the film packs in much more than many 2+ hour extravaganzas and credit for this must go to the writing, direction and editing - all absolutely first rate. The screenplay is packed in with twists and turns that rarely do we come across moments where nothing happens on screen. Some people have criticized as the opening minutes of the film boring - WALL·E apparently simply goes about doing his stuff. But according to me, those sequences do exactly what they're meant to do - they not only provide us with a glimpse of the everyday life of WALL·E (which is boring and mundane) but also gives an insight into WALL·E's loneliness as also the fact that he longs for companionship. The editing is flawless and one scene just flows into the next (many scenes spring up a surprise or two as well).
Technically the film looks polished and the first twenty minutes will leave you wondering whether you're indeed watching an animation film or a shot live-action one. It's only when the humans enter the picture that you realize that its animation. The lighting in the future earth sequences is so live-action Esq, it makes those sequences all the more appealing. Just looking at the principal characters, you can see that it has taken a lot of effort.
The main reason that the film works (for me at least) on such a huge level is (besides the story and treatment) is the main character WALL·E. He is simply put the perfect representation of an endearing, hard-working, polite yet cute robot representing humility and empathy. And his eyes are probably his best feature - they are so expressive that WALL·E doesn't need the mouth, shoulders, or even words to communicate or express the emotions that he goes through - the eyes say it all. In short he is the star of the film.
WALL·E works on any and every level you want it to. What then is disappointing about this film ? Not much except that I was really looking forward to the music in the trailers being a part of the film and was heartbroken to find out that it wasn't. Also, the future humans could have been a bit better - they look far too cartoonish especially when compared to the film's look in the earth sequences. I guess I've become used to complaining which is what makes me feel as if something's missing from a movie. On the positive side, I believe this prevents me from rating a movie 10/10 at the drop of a hat. Nevertheless, these complaints do not take away from the fact that WALL·E is, in almost all aspects, a superior film and should not just be dismissed as an animation film meant for kids - it has a good message hidden inside it. And yes, this film has allowed me to open the doors of my mind to a new genre of movies - animated films. For me, Toy Story's next.
Score: 8.7/10 (Rounded off to 9/10)
The story is mainly told through visuals (although quite a bit of dialog creeps in during the last hour) and is best deciphered by the viewers themselves instead of being explained in such a review. It's set about 700-800 years into the future when Earth is in a mess, mankind has settled into space and the only moving thing left on Earth is a robot named WALL·E - this should more than suffice. Although there are no dialogs for a major portion of the film, it is much simpler to understand yet gets more complex as you start analyzing it in detail. This kind of treatment comes across as far more effective (at least for me) than say the one in 2001: A Space Odyssey which relies heavily on visuals leaving almost all of the deciphering to the viewer. As such, WALL·E is as simple or complex as you perceive it to be (although for the most part, it is the former).
Despite having a short running time, the film packs in much more than many 2+ hour extravaganzas and credit for this must go to the writing, direction and editing - all absolutely first rate. The screenplay is packed in with twists and turns that rarely do we come across moments where nothing happens on screen. Some people have criticized as the opening minutes of the film boring - WALL·E apparently simply goes about doing his stuff. But according to me, those sequences do exactly what they're meant to do - they not only provide us with a glimpse of the everyday life of WALL·E (which is boring and mundane) but also gives an insight into WALL·E's loneliness as also the fact that he longs for companionship. The editing is flawless and one scene just flows into the next (many scenes spring up a surprise or two as well).
Technically the film looks polished and the first twenty minutes will leave you wondering whether you're indeed watching an animation film or a shot live-action one. It's only when the humans enter the picture that you realize that its animation. The lighting in the future earth sequences is so live-action Esq, it makes those sequences all the more appealing. Just looking at the principal characters, you can see that it has taken a lot of effort.
The main reason that the film works (for me at least) on such a huge level is (besides the story and treatment) is the main character WALL·E. He is simply put the perfect representation of an endearing, hard-working, polite yet cute robot representing humility and empathy. And his eyes are probably his best feature - they are so expressive that WALL·E doesn't need the mouth, shoulders, or even words to communicate or express the emotions that he goes through - the eyes say it all. In short he is the star of the film.
WALL·E works on any and every level you want it to. What then is disappointing about this film ? Not much except that I was really looking forward to the music in the trailers being a part of the film and was heartbroken to find out that it wasn't. Also, the future humans could have been a bit better - they look far too cartoonish especially when compared to the film's look in the earth sequences. I guess I've become used to complaining which is what makes me feel as if something's missing from a movie. On the positive side, I believe this prevents me from rating a movie 10/10 at the drop of a hat. Nevertheless, these complaints do not take away from the fact that WALL·E is, in almost all aspects, a superior film and should not just be dismissed as an animation film meant for kids - it has a good message hidden inside it. And yes, this film has allowed me to open the doors of my mind to a new genre of movies - animated films. For me, Toy Story's next.
Score: 8.7/10 (Rounded off to 9/10)