New Review! WALL-E (dir. Andrew Stanton, 2008)

Arden ♥s this movie!!

Couple things...

1) This movie was automatically getting a heart from the opening moment. The first music cue is not only a song plucked from the dress up trunks and obsessive movie musical viewings of my childhood but a perfectly mischievous wink of a start to a fantastically compelling and beautifully crafted film.

2) The Pixar gurus have got a lock on storytelling in mainstream American film. Really the only people writing relatively airtight narratives. Honestly. Some plot points might be weak. Some stakes may not be as high as they could be. But Lord. Way to hit the mark every time without repeating yourselves, guys. Badass and bravo. The animation isn't the only thing that isn't two-dimensional. Never relying too heavily on set pieces as obstacles, Pixar heroes are instantly sympathetic with just enough character defects to risk undermining their own journey. There may even be moments of internal conflicts for villains! Every story has a relatable or primal thrust. Act breaks are clean and swift. Resolutions are satisfying and never TOO predictable. And even if they are, the writers give you enough suspense in the last third to distract you from your own cynicism.

Even Brad Bird's cerebral struggles of talent vs. mediocrity (The Incredibles or Ratatouille) can land as pleasantly as Andrew Stanton's pathological abandonment scenarios (Toy Story, Finding Nemo) and reality's ongoing war against imagination (Monsters Inc., Toy Story again).

3) I heard Andrew Stanton and Ben Burtt speak about WALL-E at last year's Comic Con. If you don't know who Ben Burtt is... *sigh*

a) You're not someone I'm going to marry
b) He was the Character Voice Designer and Sound Designer for WALL-E.
c) He was the Sound Designer for Star Wars. He created the voices and sounds for the aliens, droids, and the lightsaber. Maybe you didn't get that. THE LIGHTSABER!!! I have always attributed the success of Star Wars to the fact that its a film you can watch with your eyes closed. That's because of John Williams and this fucking guy, Ben Burtt.

So, Comic Con. I'm there. Living the nerd dream. It's probably what heaven looks like if I ever make it there. Unfortunately I got DENIED ENTRANCE to the MST3K panel (I was 2 minutes late) so I wander to this big arena to see Edward Norton yawning through the presentation on The Hulk. The rest of those Hulk peeps are sitting at a panel table looking bored out of there minds. Quick trailer-ish thing. They're out. Then Andrew Stanton comes on. WITH INDEX CARDS. STANDING. He starts talking about WALL-E. How he and the Pixar gurus came up with the idea. How they dreamed of working with Ben Burtt. How proud and in love they are with a concept and character they all collaboratively came up with. Burtt comes out. Geek hysteria. Powerpoint presentation.

The way they spoke about this robot hero and his journey. The passion. The love. The care. That were being poured into the film. It seriously brought tears to my eyes. I know you think I'm dead inside but I was so touched by their presentation. They believed in it so much. It was indeed their brain-child that they felt privileged to introduce to the world. I can't really think of time in my life where I have felt so in the presence of true TRUE artists. Artists that had found mainstream success. Maybe being in an elevator with Tarantino. But he seemed kind of stressed that day.

Anyway... the actual movie. It's great. I don't know. Go see it. Is it perfect? Probably not. Is there no dialogue for the first 40 or so minutes? You betcha and it's awesome. Is it technically fucking gorgeous? YES. Are there some wonderful Star Wars and 2001 references? Totally. Are they distracting or spun because of a lack of ingenuity? Not at all. Are the post-apocalyptic sight/sound gags hysterical? Absolutely. Did I cry? Definitely got misty at the break into Act 2. Does it have a message? A little too much so but I love them so I'm okay with it. Are the humans stupid? Yeah! I want to be a robot!

Bottom Line: Guys... I think it's a better E.T.!

P.S.  The Hulk presentation actually came before Iron Man.  Prince Caspian was before Wall-E but... it's a better story the way I just told it.  Believe me!  You don't want to hear about Caspian not worth it.