Wall-e’s brightest moments are uncomplicated bits played as classic Hollywood shtick. The first thirty minutes of the film contain no dialogue and a sparse soundtrack. The humor spills from a small robot that is left to clean up humanities mess. He happily goes about his job sifting through waste and collecting small items of interest: A lighter, a spork, a velvet ring box (Wall-e tosses the useless diamond inside the box away). This could have been the entire film. I would have watched it.
Eve, a newer slicker robot, comes to earth in search of plant life. She rudely rebuffs Wall-e’s curiosity and goes about her work. Slowly the two build a relationship and Wall-e is smitten. He shows her the fascinating things he has found while working and they marvel at these things together. This could have been the entire film. I would have watched it.
But, Eve then finds Wall-e has stashed a plant. Eve gets picked up by the ship that brought her to earth and as Wall-e attempts to rescue her he is taken to a spaceship floating in a far off nebula. This ship is an ark, so to speak, for humanity, and this is when the film stumbles.
Humans have become fat lazy slobs who haven’t walked in generations. Computers tell them where to go, what to eat, and when to sleep. Eve had been sent to earth to check if it was safe to come back. This raises questions, but I will hold off for a second. She delivers the plant, eventually, and the humans return to earth.
There were several problems I had with this film that stem from science. The first would be if humans had been inactive for generations it would be improbable that they would be able to use there bodies in any capacity, let alone walk off a space ship. Also, trash wouldn’t simply destroy all of life on a planet, and if it did, the damage would be irrevocable. And, I’m o.k. with pretending robots have emotions. It allows you to enjoy the film, but I find it very difficult to have a computer’s motherboard replaced, as Wall-e does at the end of the film, and have that robot retain its “memories”. Bah! Scrimshaw!
Additionally I hated that Pixar had Fred Willard live and in person in the film. Hated it! Pixar is animation. Period. Having a live actor in a Pixar film would be like if in Iron Man (2008) Pepper Potts was played by an animated character.
Despite these flaws I loved this film. I thought the humor in the film was simple and clean. The characters were as well rounded as two robots could be. And the first hour of the film was flawless.
7 out of 10 – Despite some tragic flaws Wall-e shines as a nod to classic comedy.
6 comments:
i defy you to come up with a better movie you've seen all year! Trifling over Fred Willard and the logistics of Robots....PFFT! YOU LIKE THE HAPPENING! Where's your suspension of disbelief there, buddy!
10/10!!!
Your Fred Willard/Pepper Potts analogy is the most earnest thing I've read in weeks. No judgments, just an observation.
Matt, I just found your Narrow Stairs post which I missed initially. Seems like you dislike it more than anyone I've talked to, which is cool. It's kind of a lukewarm album, so I like to hear any strong opinions about it. I can't bring myself to trash it, but I also can't really bring myself to listen to it. (Also, how does one go about reading your blog?)
Two things.
Trav, I posted a link to Matt's blog it should be on the side bar on my front page.
Matt, 10/10! Sweet Merciful Crap! The muddy environmental message took it down two pegs for me. and technically there are only two films I've seen that I liked better this year, Rocket Science and Iron Man
Rocket Sciene was released last year, homey.
Trav,
As far as "Narrow Stairs" is concerned, I guess I just had higher expectations this time around. I figured "Plans" would be a mulligan, even though I find that album to be pleasant enough. To me, this seemed like a time to make a grand statement and perhaps because of this, they decided to make the blandest record of their career. What strikes me the most I guess is how DC4C has seemed to morphed into what its critics had accused them of all along, making bland music for white suburban tastes. And while I can't speak to the socio-cultural dynamics of the first two records, those albums were far "slower" than "Narrow Stairs" but still manage to convey a sense of liviliness that this album seems to go out of its way to avoid. But like I said, "Bixby Cannon Bridge" might be one of my favorite new school Death Cab songs. Sure it plays off a tired "noise" dynamic but at least the band stretches itself out a bit. The second half of that album dissapears into thin air!
I agree with most of what you said Matt, especially concerning the blandness and the "grand statement." One of the things I appreciate most about the album is that it sounds totally different from any of their other stuff. I just wish it was better. I felt like Plans was a B/C grade version of themselves, despite a couple of great songs, and if they continued in the same vein, they would sound even more played out than they were already starting to. My biggest issue with Narrow Stairs is that Gibbard actually sounds like a professional rock singer, as opposed to sounding tired and sad (and human!), and it's something I don't feel I can relate to any longer.
That being said, I like "Cath" a lot, "Grapevine Fires" is kinda sexy, and I don't mind/prefer the last third of the album. It's the middle (minus "Cath") that melts my brain from boredom.
saw Wall-e. Loved it - even the preachy message. It was that good eventually triumphs over evil. I always love that ending! so simple - so basic - so true! Besides, what would be the point of watching a robot pick up trash and compact it for 2 hours? No plot there.
RNE
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