Doctor Ess Reviews Wall-e

More than any other Pixar film, WALL-E has the ability to manipulate your emotions and cause you to examine the story and themes in a depth, I’ve never experienced during a CG animated film. About 3 minutes into the running time, you will forget you are watching CG. About 10 minutes in, you will care more about this little robot as a character than you cared for any other character this entire summer movie season. And that, inspite of the fact that WALL-E is just a robot! Actually, a computer rendered concept of a robot as a matter of fact.

WALL-E is now my second favorite Pixar film behind THE INCREDIBLES. Andrew Stanton has really out-done himself this time. He’s elevated this genre from a place that only Pixar could go to something that is more in the line of “high art” than family film. That being said, there is more than enough to like here for the general summer movie-going audience.

You want a recommendation? How about this? There is literally no dialog for the first 45 minutes of the film (actually very little dialog in the entire film). Yet my kids and I were entranced. There is a lot of time in between each scene to allow the film to “breath” and give the audience a chance to use their minds. We were never bored. Not even close. Go to a summer movie that causes you to “think?” Is it possible? Yes, WALL-E proves it can be done. I so hope that this film makes a great box office return.

When you see films like this, I always cringe for the guys at DreamWorks and other CG second class citizens. The guys that work on these films must slouch in their chairs as they watch Pixar destroy them creatively. Think about the innate worthlessness of something like SHREK THE THIRD. How it contributes nothing (not even entertainment value) to the general movie going public. It only asks for their money and returns them with 2 hours of “dead time” when they “turn off their brains”. But they aren’t even entertained. I HATED that film and so did my kids. They were SO bored.

Then you see something like WALL-E and you say to yourself “where are more directors like this?” Why is it that Pixar seems to be one of only a few creative teams who kills themselves to deliver that highest quality each time out? It can’t be about the almighty dollar also because Pixar’s films continually beat previous records without sacrificing quality.

What worked:

The script works on almost every level. Any problems it may have are completely cancelled out by the fact that it took a robot and made me care about it. Made it real. The film has a similar feel to what Speilberg did in E.T. when you started caring about the puppet as a real person. It takes this concept to another level. I mean, when was the last time, you cared at all about a CG character in a supposed “children’s film?”

Ben Burt is amazing. Not only was he the sound man behind STAR WARS and many other famous films, but he came out of retirement to do all the bleeps and blurbs and sounds that WALL-E and all the other robots make. He’s the voice of R2-D2. His sound work is a big reason this film works so well.

Notice the sounds in space. It reminds me of the dull background noises in 2001 A SPACE ODDESSY. Remember how Kubrick would have the low level bass noise droning as a single person walked down a corridor? Remember the dull background noises in ALIEN? WALL-E’s space scenes remind us of the best of the sci-fi genres of the past.

What didn’t work:

The backstory that implies some kind of environmental disaster isn’t terrible. It isn’t preachy like THE ABYSS (which actually ruined that film and word is that AVATAR has a similar LAME background story). It is more of a cautionary tale that doesn’t really tell us what happened but we imply it is from massive consumerism, waste, and laziness. It’s not terrible but it was one thing that somewhat distracted me. Maybe I am just ultra sensitive to anyone preaching environmentalism on any level.

The fact that I saw the trailers, gave away TOO MUCH if you can believe it. The less you know about WALL-E the better. Some of the greatest moments in the film, I already knew about and so they lessened the overall impact. WALL-E is a film that should be experienced.

There is a strange cameo performance by Fred Willard (BEST IN SHOW) that really makes no sense to me in the context of the film. Why he was not a CG character, is beyond me. He’s great as usual but it seems like a strange choice for Pixar. Then again, it really makes no difference to the overall film so it is a small issue.

If there is one problem with the script, it is the use of too many human characters at the end. The story leaves WALL-E just a bit too much to build up the “saving of humanity” plotline. That being said, it is still better executed than any other CG film this year so it is a small issue.

This film is for fans of traditonal, thought-provoking science fiction. It elevates the genre. It may not create smarter people after leaving the theatre, but it certainly made them use their brains for 2 hours and that is more than I can say for almost any other flick this summer.