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What it's about:
Wall-E is a lonely, little, waste disposal robot, abandoned on a grim future Earth overwhelmed by garbage. His fellow robots have all broken down long ago, so Wall-E spends his days making garbage skyscrapers and collecting interesting pieces of junk, with a plucky little cockroach as his only companion. Then a spaceship arrives bearing a sleek and beautiful stranger named EVE, and Wall-E is smitten. She is on a secret mission – searching for something vital – but all Wall-E cares about is staying by the side of his new friend. When she has to leave, Wall-E follows, not realising he will alter the fate of the planet.
What we thought of it:
Any great film does three things – it makes you feel, it makes you think and, above all, it holds you spellbound. But while animated films have long been delightful, they rarely touch on greatness. Not so with Wall-E – a razor sharp satire wrapped in a sweet little love story and animated with consummate genius. It is arguably Pixar's finest film to date, and it changes the game, once again.
Its brilliance doesn't come from the flawless animation or the quirky humour – charming as they both are – it comes from the subject matter. Pixar have always put storytelling first and now, for the first time, they are daring to tell a story of global significance. There's no missing the message in Wall-E: we are destroying our planet and we don't even care.
And yet, despite the weight of its message, Wall-E is rarely predictable and never tiresome. Carried on the shoulders of a compulsively loveable robot, the film whizzes by in a good-humoured blur. Wall-E is hardly the most original of heroes – his looks were clearly stolen from Short Circuit's (1986) Johnny Five – but he is an irresistible little fellow, full of all the emotions and urges we humans prize so highly.
Wall-E also manages something not seen in animation since the glory days of Snow White. It is truly beautiful. Thanks to modern technology and large budgets most animated films are attractive, but none have ever come close to the scene in Wall-E where two robots twirl in unison through space to the strains of "La Vie en Rose".
With all this beauty and meaning, Wall-E hardly sounds like a kids' movie, but they will gobble it up, just as they did Pixar's other classic, Finding Nemo (2003). The fact that their parents will enjoy it on a far deeper level is a testament to Pixar's mastery of their art. Perhaps the greatest compliment you can pay the film is that you stop seeing the animation and only see the story. That, director Andrew Stanton has always maintained, is the whole point.
- Alistair Fairweather
Get published on Channel24! Send us your movie, music and live gig reviews and columns and get published on Channel24. Send your articles to PublishMe@sa.24.com.
Wall-E is a lonely, little, waste disposal robot, abandoned on a grim future Earth overwhelmed by garbage. His fellow robots have all broken down long ago, so Wall-E spends his days making garbage skyscrapers and collecting interesting pieces of junk, with a plucky little cockroach as his only companion. Then a spaceship arrives bearing a sleek and beautiful stranger named EVE, and Wall-E is smitten. She is on a secret mission – searching for something vital – but all Wall-E cares about is staying by the side of his new friend. When she has to leave, Wall-E follows, not realising he will alter the fate of the planet.
What we thought of it:
Any great film does three things – it makes you feel, it makes you think and, above all, it holds you spellbound. But while animated films have long been delightful, they rarely touch on greatness. Not so with Wall-E – a razor sharp satire wrapped in a sweet little love story and animated with consummate genius. It is arguably Pixar's finest film to date, and it changes the game, once again.
Its brilliance doesn't come from the flawless animation or the quirky humour – charming as they both are – it comes from the subject matter. Pixar have always put storytelling first and now, for the first time, they are daring to tell a story of global significance. There's no missing the message in Wall-E: we are destroying our planet and we don't even care.
And yet, despite the weight of its message, Wall-E is rarely predictable and never tiresome. Carried on the shoulders of a compulsively loveable robot, the film whizzes by in a good-humoured blur. Wall-E is hardly the most original of heroes – his looks were clearly stolen from Short Circuit's (1986) Johnny Five – but he is an irresistible little fellow, full of all the emotions and urges we humans prize so highly.
Wall-E also manages something not seen in animation since the glory days of Snow White. It is truly beautiful. Thanks to modern technology and large budgets most animated films are attractive, but none have ever come close to the scene in Wall-E where two robots twirl in unison through space to the strains of "La Vie en Rose".
With all this beauty and meaning, Wall-E hardly sounds like a kids' movie, but they will gobble it up, just as they did Pixar's other classic, Finding Nemo (2003). The fact that their parents will enjoy it on a far deeper level is a testament to Pixar's mastery of their art. Perhaps the greatest compliment you can pay the film is that you stop seeing the animation and only see the story. That, director Andrew Stanton has always maintained, is the whole point.
- Alistair Fairweather
Get published on Channel24! Send us your movie, music and live gig reviews and columns and get published on Channel24. Send your articles to PublishMe@sa.24.com.
