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Wall-E Saves the Box Office
Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 12:34 pm by Jami
This morning as I woke up, I seriously considered calling in sick to see Wall-E every single day of the week. Unfortunately, I came to my sense. But I seriously love this movie that much. I fully expect to see this multiple times in the theater to obsess over every little detail. Pixar has seriously taken movie making to a new high.
Characters
Wall-E is so freaking adorable. He’s such a hopeless romantic. He looks at everything with new eyes. Even the most mundane object that we might toss away is a new found treasure to Wall-E. On an Earth that is now covered completely with garbage, every day becomes an adventure in discovery. You can’t help but smile at such innocent wonder. And it makes Wall-E instantly lovable.
Eve is the uptown girl who doesn’t recognize the wonder that surrounds her. She’s not really aloof or snobby, just too busy to notice the little things that Wall-E sees. When he finally manages to get her attention, she begins to open her eyes to the world around her. Her laugh just lights up the screen.
The first half of the film is almost a silent movie, but you don’t really need dialog because the interactions between Wall-E and Eve are so real. The eyes of both characters are just so expressive and communicate so effectively. Getting a rusted box and a futuristic iPod to emote is no simple task, yet Pixar manages to make it look so natural and sincere. You’ll forget that they’re computer generated images and grow to love them as characters. Absolutely amazing.
Plot
Wall-E is a romantic comedy and accidental hero’s journey all in one. It’s true, you pretty much know how the romantic aspect will turn out from the previews. But Wall-E’s hero journey may surprise you. I love how everyone he interacts with begins to challenge their own perceptions of their surroundings. And it’s all deliciously by accident. Wall-E stays true to his character throughout. In a lot of similar films, some kind of deus ex machina comes in at the last second to imbue the hero with power overwhelming to defeat the enemy and save the day. Not here. Wall-E remains Wall-E til the end.
There’s also a fairly heavy environmental message that underlies the whole piece. Fortunately, Pixar doesn’t bash you in the head repeatedly to get the point across. Instead, they’re content to let the story, Wall-E and Eve to take center stage. But the message is clear. Take care of the Earth because it’s the only one we got. Kids will absolutely love the characters while us old folk can appreciate that added depth.
Visuals
This movie is absolutely gorgeous, certainly the best visuals Pixar has created to date. The environments are so immersive and photorealistic and the camera work has such a natural feel that you forget you’re watching something 100% computer generated. There are some live-action human sequences added in here and there. This is the first time that Pixar has used that technique, but it somehow works and didn’t jump me out of the film. Disbelief suspended completely.
The animation is brilliant. The robots have such personality all communicated through their movements. You can tell exactly what their thinking and feeling. You’ve never seen such emotion from bits of metal.
Sound
The soundtrack is so touching and at times very poignant. I teared up at a number of scenes where the pathos was expertly punctuated with the soundtrack. The soundscape of the world is just as powerful. Every little background sound, the whirls, the dings, the little rumblings, everything is so perfectly crafted to just suck you in. I found myself listening to the film as intently as I was watching.
Waaaal-EE
With Wall-E, Pixar demonstrates a mastery of film making that few real life studios have achieved. And though I fully expect Dark Knight and Hell Boy 2 to absolutely obliterate the summer box office, Wall-E will stay with and inspire me far after this summer movie season concludes. I will so cherish it for years to come. You must, must, MUST see it in theaters as soon as possible.
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