We live in a consumerist era. As any visit to a metropolitan area will prove, there is the unfaltering marriage of burgeoning commerce to a burgeoning population. Retail giants now provide services that would take more than a handful of independent stores to supply and this umbrella is continually widening. But how far can this consumerism go before it consumes us? This is where Wall-E begins, setting up the most scathing, yet perhaps most accurate futurist take on consumerism's affect on society in any animated film I've seen to date. In fact, I can't recall any film in the last several years that has taken this approach so seriously. Andrew Stanton once again throws us straight into a darkly themed film, but once again there are serious points to be had. At the outset of the film, we are introduced to a world where the skyscrapers that once housed the internal workings of business are dwarfed and surrounded by skyscrapers built of that very business' refuse. WALL-E spends his days continuously collecting and compacting the mountains of garbage that fill the streets of the city and adding it the trash skyscrapers, piece by piece. We learn very early on that this is the last functional bot of its kind, and perhaps, the only living machine on the planet. But there is something special about this surviving Wall-E; this robot performs its programmed tasks, but it has also become a curious being, collecting and organizing interesting items seen day by day. Wall-E is, essentially, the last bit of humanity left on Earth, since every other human being is either dead or living aboard the space cruise liner, the Axiom.
But things change once EVE arrives on Earth. In true fashion with his curious nature, the sight of EVE is enthralling to Wall-E. Here is something new from humanity, not just the garbage and trinkets left behind for Wall-E to sift through and compact. What begins here is the most innocent yet basic of love stories I have seen or read in many years. There is a purity to Wall-E's almost hypnotic and naive interest in EVE. I don't mean this in any religious terms, but rather in the vein that neither robot has prior knowledge of love or adoration, apart from Wall-E's surviving betamax tape of Hello Dolly! as his primary source of inspiration. Everything else is rooted in simple curiosity, but it is amazing how far just that can develop one's character.
Wall-E interacts with everything he finds in a very primal manner (the source of that curiosity), slowly learning about the things he finds by essentially playing with them until something happens. EVE is the dedicated but markedly emotional counterpart to Wall-E's primal self. She performs her tasks at the expense of taking notice of Wall-E. By the time she finally catches on to Wall-E's affection, the programmed side of herself sets off their exciting journey into space.
Once things set into full-swing, this film does not let go of you. EVE and Wall-E are quite a dynamic duo, although not the romantic pair envisioned in Wall-E's mind for most of the film. I won't go into any further analysis here, lest I spoil the fun for anyone wishing to go see it. But I must say that the fact that we see two robots, two human creations, act as the primary humanizing force is entirely effective and what makes me love this film so much. The overall message of the film emerges from the dark outset and even darker conclusion... The ending credits are a must-view for anyone who sees the film. There is a very emotional sequence of progressions that twice put me to tears for its poignancy and in light of the beginning of the film. The way this movie ends is the same way it begins: at the core it's all about WALL-E and the things we recognize in him as inherently human: his funny personality, his compulsion toward the good, his child-like curiosity and naivety, his sense of loneliness that he tries (and fails) at anesthetizing with psychological comforts and companion place-holders.
On other notes, the soundtrack is Newman's definitive work in cinema. I didn't think I would say this anytime post Finding Nemo, but it really is true. EVERY bit of music supports the film's imagery and tone while also helping shape it note by note. There is not a wasted note in this film.
Also, the visual imagery is utterly beautiful and affecting. Skyscrapers of compacted garbage, the collections in Wall-E's trailer, the outer heavens, the POV's of EVE and Wall-E... All are fantastic. The cinematography is also top-notch. They might have used the back to foreground focus a bit much, but just the fact that they had Roger Deakins consult on their almost perfected simulation cinematography as well as Stanton's directorial 'mindprint' of the film speaks volumes for the studio. It is all found and spoken for in the final print.
The thing about this movie is that is able to speak so much without much dialogue. Stanton has obviously learned a great deal in how to use the visual image as powerfully as possible.
Verdict: Pixar gets another 10/10. They make films that speak to me in ways no other animation studio ever pulls off. The message may always be positive, but that doesn't mean the trials of Pixar characters are ever just plain and simple affairs. Stanton produced something very very special and endearing here. While the paint may be of a love story and two curious robots, he has captured nothing short of the core of our positive human nature in two inanimate objects. This is a meaningful and important film. How far can we let our lives be simplified before our own creations become more human than ourselves?
But things change once EVE arrives on Earth. In true fashion with his curious nature, the sight of EVE is enthralling to Wall-E. Here is something new from humanity, not just the garbage and trinkets left behind for Wall-E to sift through and compact. What begins here is the most innocent yet basic of love stories I have seen or read in many years. There is a purity to Wall-E's almost hypnotic and naive interest in EVE. I don't mean this in any religious terms, but rather in the vein that neither robot has prior knowledge of love or adoration, apart from Wall-E's surviving betamax tape of Hello Dolly! as his primary source of inspiration. Everything else is rooted in simple curiosity, but it is amazing how far just that can develop one's character.
Wall-E interacts with everything he finds in a very primal manner (the source of that curiosity), slowly learning about the things he finds by essentially playing with them until something happens. EVE is the dedicated but markedly emotional counterpart to Wall-E's primal self. She performs her tasks at the expense of taking notice of Wall-E. By the time she finally catches on to Wall-E's affection, the programmed side of herself sets off their exciting journey into space.
Once things set into full-swing, this film does not let go of you. EVE and Wall-E are quite a dynamic duo, although not the romantic pair envisioned in Wall-E's mind for most of the film. I won't go into any further analysis here, lest I spoil the fun for anyone wishing to go see it. But I must say that the fact that we see two robots, two human creations, act as the primary humanizing force is entirely effective and what makes me love this film so much. The overall message of the film emerges from the dark outset and even darker conclusion... The ending credits are a must-view for anyone who sees the film. There is a very emotional sequence of progressions that twice put me to tears for its poignancy and in light of the beginning of the film. The way this movie ends is the same way it begins: at the core it's all about WALL-E and the things we recognize in him as inherently human: his funny personality, his compulsion toward the good, his child-like curiosity and naivety, his sense of loneliness that he tries (and fails) at anesthetizing with psychological comforts and companion place-holders.
On other notes, the soundtrack is Newman's definitive work in cinema. I didn't think I would say this anytime post Finding Nemo, but it really is true. EVERY bit of music supports the film's imagery and tone while also helping shape it note by note. There is not a wasted note in this film.
Also, the visual imagery is utterly beautiful and affecting. Skyscrapers of compacted garbage, the collections in Wall-E's trailer, the outer heavens, the POV's of EVE and Wall-E... All are fantastic. The cinematography is also top-notch. They might have used the back to foreground focus a bit much, but just the fact that they had Roger Deakins consult on their almost perfected simulation cinematography as well as Stanton's directorial 'mindprint' of the film speaks volumes for the studio. It is all found and spoken for in the final print.
The thing about this movie is that is able to speak so much without much dialogue. Stanton has obviously learned a great deal in how to use the visual image as powerfully as possible.
Verdict: Pixar gets another 10/10. They make films that speak to me in ways no other animation studio ever pulls off. The message may always be positive, but that doesn't mean the trials of Pixar characters are ever just plain and simple affairs. Stanton produced something very very special and endearing here. While the paint may be of a love story and two curious robots, he has captured nothing short of the core of our positive human nature in two inanimate objects. This is a meaningful and important film. How far can we let our lives be simplified before our own creations become more human than ourselves?
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