Written by: Kevin Berge
How can you not be enamored by that cuteness? (Image courtesy of: movies.disney.com)
Quick Take: Wall-E is one of if not Pixar's greatest triumph, an endearing quiet tale of a robot finding his place in the world. Using Pixar's experimentation with a lack of dialogue to the fullest, the film manages to be a tale of two halves: a sweet love story told almost entirely through music and animation and an action story of Wall-E saving humanity which is a bit more standard than the first half but still extremely well done.
***From here on, I will be speaking about Wall-E with the expectation that the reader has seen the film. That means spoilers are to be expected. If you haven't seen it, you're missing out, so you should get on that already! Then come back to read the review.***
Okay, I'm aware that Wall-E is a fairly recent animated film; it's only 7 years old now. However, I felt it was essential that I first talk about my favorite animated film before talking about the older classics. That should give you a good sense of how I will be talking about Wall-E. This is one of my top five films of all time.
The reason I love the movie so much is most directly linked the first act of the film. Even from the opening shot, there is an almost artistic quality to how well constructed the movie is. The opening shot (a shot that is paralleled in the ending which is a trope I'm a sucker for) flies across the garbage dump Earth has become as Put On Your Sunday Clothes from the musical Hello, Dolly! plays in the background.
The music fades to a whisper as one speck of life can be found in this sea of desolation, a single robot, who in just one close-up frame is shown to be both endearingly inquisitive and compassionate with life as he takes a little bug with him on his trip home to his storage truck where he keeps his favorite human knickknacks.
If you pay attention in the opening, you are also told everything you need to know about what has happened. Nothing is truly made a mystery to the keen eye. Countless Buy n Large logos are shown before Wall-E drives right over a (BnL owned) newspaper that explains that the world became unlivable due to the overload of mass consumerism and poor garbage disposal systems.
We are shown that Wall-E is one of many disposal robots (Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth Class) left on the planet to help manage the waste before seeing the graveyard of out of commission robots, making it clear Wall-E is one of if not the only life left on Earth (besides his roach friend).
Once all that's established, then we are privy to more intimate character details about our protagonist. That opening song is actually from an old VHS of Hello, Dolly! the pride of Wall-E's collection and his only avenue to understanding human culture from which he ultimately learns to dance and gains his distinctive personality. He sleeps alone in his little truck on the same shelves as his many collected trinkets.
That is all just in the first ten minutes. The only dialogue is basically just filler noise, advertisements and music. The landscapes are so beautifully animated as is the scope with which they place Wall-E. Everything is so cleverly worked out to say the most in the least time, and it does so without having to actually say anything.
Okay, I'm aware that Wall-E is a fairly recent animated film; it's only 7 years old now. However, I felt it was essential that I first talk about my favorite animated film before talking about the older classics. That should give you a good sense of how I will be talking about Wall-E. This is one of my top five films of all time.
The reason I love the movie so much is most directly linked the first act of the film. Even from the opening shot, there is an almost artistic quality to how well constructed the movie is. The opening shot (a shot that is paralleled in the ending which is a trope I'm a sucker for) flies across the garbage dump Earth has become as Put On Your Sunday Clothes from the musical Hello, Dolly! plays in the background.
The music fades to a whisper as one speck of life can be found in this sea of desolation, a single robot, who in just one close-up frame is shown to be both endearingly inquisitive and compassionate with life as he takes a little bug with him on his trip home to his storage truck where he keeps his favorite human knickknacks.
If you pay attention in the opening, you are also told everything you need to know about what has happened. Nothing is truly made a mystery to the keen eye. Countless Buy n Large logos are shown before Wall-E drives right over a (BnL owned) newspaper that explains that the world became unlivable due to the overload of mass consumerism and poor garbage disposal systems.
We are shown that Wall-E is one of many disposal robots (Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth Class) left on the planet to help manage the waste before seeing the graveyard of out of commission robots, making it clear Wall-E is one of if not the only life left on Earth (besides his roach friend).
Once all that's established, then we are privy to more intimate character details about our protagonist. That opening song is actually from an old VHS of Hello, Dolly! the pride of Wall-E's collection and his only avenue to understanding human culture from which he ultimately learns to dance and gains his distinctive personality. He sleeps alone in his little truck on the same shelves as his many collected trinkets.
That is all just in the first ten minutes. The only dialogue is basically just filler noise, advertisements and music. The landscapes are so beautifully animated as is the scope with which they place Wall-E. Everything is so cleverly worked out to say the most in the least time, and it does so without having to actually say anything.
I'm not much up on the meme meta of 2016. Is 'still a better love story than Twilight' still a thing? (Image courtesy of: newmediarockstars.com)
The film has two plots: the restoration of Earth, begun by Wall-E finding the first new growing seed in centuries, and the romance between Wall-E and a probe droid named EVE. While the first plot is the essential frame of the story, it is actually the second plot that is the film's beating heart and what makes it so great.
If you were to bullet point this film's story, it might sounds rather dull. The Earth has been abandoned by human beings until life can grow again on the planet, and a probe is sent down in the year 2815 AD that finally finds that proof of life again(in the 700th year of an originally planned 5 year venture). The probe goes back to its destination, and the humans return to Earth to start all over.
Wall-E not only isn't essential to that plot. He is almost counterproductive. He's just an inquisitive droid whose life is changed when he meets a probe who he falls in love with. When the human beings try to take her back so she can do her job, he follows and looks to get EVE back by invading the BnE flagship, the Axiom.
Whether he's a nuisance to the central plot or not, it doesn't matter because it's impossible not to root for the little robot especially given how invested the film makes the viewer in the love story of Wall-E and EVE.
EVE meets Wall-E for the first time after trying to kill him at least four times with a giant laser, and he's instantly head over heels. He forgoes his job of 700 years as he watches her and tries to speak to her to little avail. They finally speak when EVE stops searching for a minute out of frustration that causes her to destroy multiple old cargo ships in a fit of brilliant fiery destruction.
Wall-E's endearing attempts to speak amuse EVE, and his collection dazzles her. You can tell right off the bat that Wall-E's inquisitiveness is rubbing off on EVE and slowly tempering her unintentionally destructive instincts. That is until Wall-E shows her his potted plant which EVE scoops up and stores, completing her mission and shutting her down.
From here, Wall-E begins his unconventional save-the-princess story, trying his best to awaken her without success. When her ship comes to scoop her up and take her back to the Axiom, Wall-E tags along to save her from her captors, ultimately rounding up a group of robots to help him in his task.
While the love story begins largely one sided, EVE slowly but surely falls for Wall-E, watching him try his best to play the hero even though he is woefully unprepared for the task and almost causes more trouble for her than helps her get her job done. At the end, the humans may all succeed in getting back to Earth, but what matters is that Wall-E and EVE find each other again.
If you were to bullet point this film's story, it might sounds rather dull. The Earth has been abandoned by human beings until life can grow again on the planet, and a probe is sent down in the year 2815 AD that finally finds that proof of life again(in the 700th year of an originally planned 5 year venture). The probe goes back to its destination, and the humans return to Earth to start all over.
Wall-E not only isn't essential to that plot. He is almost counterproductive. He's just an inquisitive droid whose life is changed when he meets a probe who he falls in love with. When the human beings try to take her back so she can do her job, he follows and looks to get EVE back by invading the BnE flagship, the Axiom.
Whether he's a nuisance to the central plot or not, it doesn't matter because it's impossible not to root for the little robot especially given how invested the film makes the viewer in the love story of Wall-E and EVE.
EVE meets Wall-E for the first time after trying to kill him at least four times with a giant laser, and he's instantly head over heels. He forgoes his job of 700 years as he watches her and tries to speak to her to little avail. They finally speak when EVE stops searching for a minute out of frustration that causes her to destroy multiple old cargo ships in a fit of brilliant fiery destruction.
Wall-E's endearing attempts to speak amuse EVE, and his collection dazzles her. You can tell right off the bat that Wall-E's inquisitiveness is rubbing off on EVE and slowly tempering her unintentionally destructive instincts. That is until Wall-E shows her his potted plant which EVE scoops up and stores, completing her mission and shutting her down.
From here, Wall-E begins his unconventional save-the-princess story, trying his best to awaken her without success. When her ship comes to scoop her up and take her back to the Axiom, Wall-E tags along to save her from her captors, ultimately rounding up a group of robots to help him in his task.
While the love story begins largely one sided, EVE slowly but surely falls for Wall-E, watching him try his best to play the hero even though he is woefully unprepared for the task and almost causes more trouble for her than helps her get her job done. At the end, the humans may all succeed in getting back to Earth, but what matters is that Wall-E and EVE find each other again.
Don't worry, guys, it's just an animated film, definitely not a heavy criticism of American culture. (Image courtesy of: screenmusings.org)
If there is one gripe I have with this film, it is that the first act even half is so incredibly well done that the second half pales in comparison. The action scenes and flurry of other woeful human characters are very well done, but they lack the lasting spark of the time with just Wall-E and EVE on Earth.
This is however not a major issue as the second half could still stand up on its own against Pixar's other films as being a great adventure. Its well placed criticisms of the consumer culture and the potential direction we are headed with technology that replaces real world experience are universally timely.
While the characters that talk never match the robots that largely don't, they still are entertaining cogs in a well told story. It's just a shame that the film couldn't go all the way with telling a story so sparse on dialogue, mainly trusting the animations (which is continually gorgeous work), music, and sound to tell the story.
This film has a ton of easygoing humor particularly through Wall-E's interactions with anything as he makes decisions based on an extremely limited pool of knowledge. Whether its ironic situations or just the sound of Wall-E's reactions to surprises, there's never a moment where it's hard to smile.
Voice acting is usually a key factor in animated films, but the main character's lack of speech makes it less essential. It's actually hard to say how much voice acting vs. pure voice editing went into the film. Still, Ben Burtt and Elissa Knight do a great job as Wall-E and EVE with what they have, selling a variety of emotions with only a few different sounds and words.
I would also be remiss if I didn't discuss the music score in this film. In a film like this, the music is a key element to not only setting the tone but largely guiding the action. Thomas Newman's score is as essential to the film as a script would be for most films, and it works beautifully to capture the necessary tone shifts throughout.
Clocking in at just over 90 minutes, this movie is densely packed yet flies by quickly like most of Pixar's library. It is almost disappointing to see the movie end so soon because every second Wall-E is on screen is a joy.
Wall-E tells stories within stories and barely explains a thing yet never gets confusing. The main characters are delightful, very near the best Pixar's ever made, and it's so easy to root for them that it's hard to let them go when the films over.
Wall-E is everything I love about animated films. It's easy going, fast moving, and intelligently constructed, making it a film for all ages without pandering to a younger crowd. I still get a goofy smile on my face every time I watch this film, and I don't lose it until after the credits (which are also beautifully animated in a different style) stop rolling.
Final verdict:
Three Defining Success
This is however not a major issue as the second half could still stand up on its own against Pixar's other films as being a great adventure. Its well placed criticisms of the consumer culture and the potential direction we are headed with technology that replaces real world experience are universally timely.
While the characters that talk never match the robots that largely don't, they still are entertaining cogs in a well told story. It's just a shame that the film couldn't go all the way with telling a story so sparse on dialogue, mainly trusting the animations (which is continually gorgeous work), music, and sound to tell the story.
This film has a ton of easygoing humor particularly through Wall-E's interactions with anything as he makes decisions based on an extremely limited pool of knowledge. Whether its ironic situations or just the sound of Wall-E's reactions to surprises, there's never a moment where it's hard to smile.
Voice acting is usually a key factor in animated films, but the main character's lack of speech makes it less essential. It's actually hard to say how much voice acting vs. pure voice editing went into the film. Still, Ben Burtt and Elissa Knight do a great job as Wall-E and EVE with what they have, selling a variety of emotions with only a few different sounds and words.
I would also be remiss if I didn't discuss the music score in this film. In a film like this, the music is a key element to not only setting the tone but largely guiding the action. Thomas Newman's score is as essential to the film as a script would be for most films, and it works beautifully to capture the necessary tone shifts throughout.
Clocking in at just over 90 minutes, this movie is densely packed yet flies by quickly like most of Pixar's library. It is almost disappointing to see the movie end so soon because every second Wall-E is on screen is a joy.
Wall-E tells stories within stories and barely explains a thing yet never gets confusing. The main characters are delightful, very near the best Pixar's ever made, and it's so easy to root for them that it's hard to let them go when the films over.
Wall-E is everything I love about animated films. It's easy going, fast moving, and intelligently constructed, making it a film for all ages without pandering to a younger crowd. I still get a goofy smile on my face every time I watch this film, and I don't lose it until after the credits (which are also beautifully animated in a different style) stop rolling.
Final verdict:
Three Defining Success
- An opening half that is beautiful and touching with very few words said.
- Thomas Newman's score which mixes adventure and whimsy with a consistent sci-fi tinge that keeps the story flowing.
- Pixar's animation which is as always stunning particularly in rendering a futuristic yet garbage covered Earth and constantly slipping in subtle visual clues to the driving story.
- The film's third act feels rather ordinary contrasting the extraordinarily original first act.
- Luckily, Pixar hasn't considered making a Wall-E 2 yet, but this was somewhat of a creative high for the company who went into a decline after this film (though Up and Toy Story 3 both followed and were great). This film hinted at a creative renaissance for Pixar who instead turned to sequels for ideas going forward.
***Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the review and perhaps found a fresh perspective on the film, breaking down all the pieces that make it great. If you feel so inclined, I'd love to have your comment down below to hear your thoughts on Wall-E as well as what your favorite animated film of all time is.***
