2008
Directed by Andrew Stanton
I actually saw this film at a drive-in, which is always a fun experience (you can maximize your snackage without fear of judgement). I didn't find this quite as heart-warming as the rest of the population, but it was undeniably adorable.
In the year 2805, WALL-E (or Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth Class) is the last remaining robot on Earth, programmed to clean up Earth so that humanity can one day return. As is, people have evacuated the planet and live in an automated spaceship, where they spend their time being fat and gross. One day, WALL-E discovers a healthy seedling (life...uh...finds a way). Later on, an automated spaceship deploys EVE, a probe, to scan the planet. There, she meets WALL-E.
Finally, a pro-environmentalism movie that does not include racism! This is particularly relevant in my country now. Ahem.
Anyway, did I enjoy the film? Honestly, I think it would have made a great animated short. After about an hour, I was ready to call it quits, particularly since it has such a predictable story line. Still, I know many people will find this touching and uplifting; it's not the filmmakers' fault that my heart is so shriveled and cold.
RATING: ***--
Interesting Facts:
Inspired by Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin films.
EVE's longest sentence is three words, while WALL-E's is two.
I thought this showed incredible confidence in what they were making that the film, especially a children's animated film, could go twenty minutes until the first piece of dialogue. Favourite Pixar movie is a question of taste, but this more than any other sums up why they're operating on a different plane to Dreamworks etc.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds fun and now I want to watch it! Fun review, as always. 😊
ReplyDeleteThanks Diana! Yeah Dessie, I know it was big in the deaf community. Is this your favorite Pixar?
ReplyDeleteNo, I think I prefer Up and Inside Out. And good, old Toy Story (1 & 3, not 2). But this kind of symbolised best how different they are in following their vision rather than Dreamworks commissioning a film set in the ice age because white backgrounds are cheaper to animate.
ReplyDeleteWith Madagascar in particular, you can just see the marketing meetings as everyone reports back from their various focus groups.
- "Chad, you've been doing some work on penguins?"
- "Thanks, Chad, that's right! Penguins are proving particularly popular in the 5-11 age group in white collar families. We see real potential here to drive 20% growth in merchandising revenue in a 12 month period after cinema release. Coyotes delivered strong results also, but only amongst blue-collar families in the central states and have less brand recognition to the international market."
- But, Chad, wouldn't it inhibit the integrity of the film if we did something so obviously crass as to lever Antarctic animals into an African jungle setting?"
*EVERYONE LAUGHS*
- "Only kidding, Chad! Add the penguins. Make it a whole troop of them so we can expand the merchandise possibilities. Now, Chad, we were concerned at the last meeting that a meat-eating lion wouldn't market well in New York or Portland. I know you've been looking at some potential story lines around a vegetarian lion. How's that going?"
All the while a junior scriptwriter in the corner writes all this down and promises to follow it faithfully and add some jokes.
Nice one Dessie, sums up my idea as to how these things go and why I find it hard to go for all these big studio things.
ReplyDeleteAdmit it. Up made you cry.
ReplyDeleteAlmost.
ReplyDeleteOn the edge, the ragged edge.