Wall-E

[tealin]

Because I work for the company that's releasing it, and because it's animation, I get to see Wall-E twice for free! The first time was Wednesday night, when they showed it at the studio for animation employees and their families; the second is a Prince Caspian-like booking of an entire Burbank cinema on Saturday to show the rest of the company and their guests. This gives me the chance to do a two-pronged review, encapsulating my first impressions and what I take away from the movie the second time. I don't know if that is terribly interesting to anyone but me, but you're free to skip it if you wish. I shall endeavour to avoid spoilers whenever possible, but I can't vouch for the comments.

First Impressions:

Overall very sweet but in a good way. The plot is, naturally, very well-constructed; setups pay off, character drives a good deal of the story but not so much that it's bogged down in navel-gazing ... there's only so much psychology to explore in a robot, I suppose. Plenty of in-jokes as well, but luckily the folks at Pixar know where to draw the line (or render it, haha) between amusing and distracting. The only things that bothered me, really, were little (but sometimes crucial) logic gaps. I could list them but they're practically all spoilers, including the ending, though the more I think about the ending I come to a conclusion that it's not so much a logic gap as Saying Something Larger. When most of the world has seen this movie, maybe I'll write it up behind a cut or something. Anyway, I've forgotten most of them so I guess they weren't that important. In the meantime, come to your own conclusions. Speaking of which, the whole environmental aspect was, I thought, fairly well-handled. Obviously the illustration of the degree to which humanity has fouled the earth speaks louder than words, but there isn't as much banging the audience on the head and saying 'You! Idiots! Stop! Wasting!' as I was expecting, or as preliminary press had made it sound. And that's certainly not the only message of the movie. They're not quite spelled out in large double-spaced capital letters, but whichever moral people find (there are several to choose from) is probably one the Pixarians put there on purpose.

Animators get a big kudos for injecting so much personality into what ought to be lifeless automata, but still making them look like robots. The sound was fantastic as well (seeing it in a theatre with a subwoofer adds a lot), very creative, and did a good job of telling the story during those long parts without dialogue. When I saw 30 minutes of it a few months ago, the incessant little robot noises got really tiresome by the end, but either the new score helped (I think it's different from what I'd heard) or they took out half of them because it wasn't as bad as I remember. More than anything, though, I really appreciate the work of the designers. Somehow this movie, more than any other, made me realize everything you see is designed. I don't know how they do what they did but they're brilliant. Not just in the shapes and, well, character design, but how things work ... they all work! It was all very well thought-out. My inner OCD technician was most pleased. And it looked cool. I'm not much of one for future techno slick and sleek design, but even so I was impressed. Well done.

A few years ago (I think it was when Moulin Rouge came out) I remember people talking about how some movies missed out on being rewarded for creativity and there should be, in addition to 'Best Original Song' and 'Best Original Score,' a 'Best Use of Existing Music' Oscar. If such a thing had come into existence, I think Wall-E would have it pegged. The score is very good - Thomas Newman was the ideal pick; I can't imagine anyone else - but that Hello, Dolly! music is just perfect. I hazard that it's even more effective in Wall-E than in its original context.

As for it being 'the best Pixar movie ever' and all that other stuff that was said on Ain't-It-Cool, well ... I guess it's a matter of taste. I'm sure Cars was the best Pixar movie ever to someone. As for me, neither robots nor love stories are really my thing, so while I declare it was good I don't know if I'm ready to say it was the best. It's beyond a doubt the most mature. I mean really mature, not sex-and-violence juvenile-adult rated-M-for-'mature.' Refreshing, indeed. I hope it gets rewarded for that.

Also, 'Presto' was GREAT. I don't know what new technique they were experimenting with in that one (aside from possibly the best rigs ever for all I know) but it was ... just ... great.


And, as of Saturday:

Second impressions are ... astonishingly ... exactly the same as the first. With the possible exception of my fridge problem maybe not being such a problem after all (though I maintain that first impressions are important). Various topics have arisen in conversation that have changed some opinions on aspects of the movie but they're all spoilers, more or less, so I don't think I'll bother writing them up. Yup. Not worth clicking that second link, eh?


Before I forget: stay for the credits. The art department really shows off, and even when they step off the stage it's entertaining for a while. If you can keep still for a little longer, there is a very short and wry little ding at the very very end.

So, what did you think? What was your audience like? Having seen it twice with grown-up movie people I have no idea how it's being received at large; even the ones with children have taught them to be respectful and quiet in the theatre.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I knew we should have stayed all the way through the credits! I liked it a lot. My friend and I loved how expressive Wally was and all his little quirks. We also liked the Captain, John, and lady's name. The rest of the audience seemed to as well. There were several times when everyone laughed out loud and a couple little kids seemed to almost be in tears towards the end. We actually had pretty good kids in the audience, no screaming or loud crying.

[kairii1989.livejournal.com]

that was me. I forgot to log in.

[aspectabund.livejournal.com]

I saw it at 3:40 yesterday with a friend (a Friday), the fool I was. At least half of the audience consisted of small children, but I was pleased to see lots of older people who did not appear to be chaperones. There was a particular small boy I would like to kill, who would keep explaning loudly to the world at large what just happened. A memorable part was "good thing Wall-E's in there!" when the plant was dropped down the chute. Curse that child.

Anyway, the hard-to-believe things for me were 1) the absolutely terrible time that plant had, especially with no sunlight/water inside of EVE. My friend decided that EVE might come with something that keeps the plant healthy, and I accepted that idea. 2) The fact that the humans could walk after sitting in chairs for their entire lifespans. Our pudgy legs would have given out.

Critiquing aside, I loved it! I was stunned by all the detail in the rotting Earth, and all the techno-stuff in the spaceships. The audience seemed to be responding well to it also, and I remember that everyone laughed a LOT when the cleaner robot was first introduced. There was always a good amount of adult laughing mixed in with the kids', although I remember that my friend and I were one of the few laughing at the part where the defective robot kicks security robot butt.

Presto was awesome! Favorite part was him getting electrocuted, but I agree with my friend when he said that he didn't much care for the rabbit's design.

SPOILERS!

[(Anonymous)]

Presto was easily the best Pixar short I've seen. I liked Wall-E, but, like Cars, not enough to want to buy it. There were some story things that bothered me. 1) How does a plant grow in a fridge? 2) How does a plant survive being exposed in space? There were a couple others to, but I'd have to remember tem. The first act was easily the best.

[ubiquitouspitt.livejournal.com]

Clearly, I have to see it.

Brilliant movie, good audience

[sullivander.livejournal.com]

Saw it on a Tuesday evening with my wife and friends — audience was mostly adult, although the kids there were well-behaved. As for the movie.... For me it's down to this or The Incredibles as my favorite Pixar movie. While a lot of the reviews I've read compare the silence to the old Charlie Chaplin films (understandably), I think 2001 is almost a better comparison, just for the ability to evoke an immersive sense of awe and belief. Wall-E himself (itself?) was probably the most empathetic character I've seen in a movie (let alone CG one) in a long time. Thoroughly enjoyed it — can't imagine what it must have been like to see it with a crowd of professionals!

— Andrew

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Re: crowd of professionals --

Very quiet and, while appreciative, extremely critical.


Having recently become a fan of silent film, I can thoroughly understand the comparisons, not just in communication via pantomime but also the general flavour of the sentiment. I haven't seen 2001, though, so I can't comment on comparisons there...

[karalora.livejournal.com]

Aha! I was right about Thomas Newman being the score composer! I forgot to look for him during the credits, but I remember thinking, "this music reminds me of Finding Nemo."

I guess I'm just brilliant that way. ;P

Finally!

[(Anonymous)]

Well, I finally saw it today, and wanted to come back to your post and read your thoughts. I agree, and thought it was amazing. It was a Sunday matinee, so sadly, there were a handful of preschool types who were actually affected by the ominous tones of the first 20 minutes or so. For the slightly older of that crowd (about 5-9 year-olds), I'm sure they got the message.
I think the score was... gah, how to put it,... completely *attached* to the story. In my mind there'd be no way to tear it off and watch Wall*E with the same emotional response. Because of that, I was really pleased.
I was also really REALLY amazed with how well they were able to endear very robotic characters to us, the audience. These are creations with artificially, human-influenced thought, still second in command to their programming, and yet there were at least three times I teared up with 'awwww!'
I really really got a kick out of the multiple take-away messages, but I was also glad that they weren't black and white. Like the robot-originated conflict didn't presume that all robots are bad. (I hope that's not a spoiler, I don't really see it as one.) And the same with the humans. There were some very telling and very very strong messages that everyone EVER should heed, and for that I think there should be a public service announcement broadcast on national television to go see Wall*E.

Sorry for the long post,
Molly

[fani.livejournal.com]

OMG END CREDITS. HOMMAGE TO FREDERIC BACK THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES. MY HEART SWELLS WITH JOY. STFU PPL WHO THINKS PIXAR CAN'T DO 2D.

OMG THE SHIP'S A.I SYSTEM. FLASHBACKS OF MY FIANCE'S BROTHER PLAYING PORTAL MARRIED WITH 2001: A SPACE ODDYSEY, IN A GOOD WAY. GLADOS/HAL TRIBUTE FTW. (Tealin, if you have any spare time, get someone or even better, TRY to play the first hour of Portal. IT EES GOOD)

LOL LOL LOL MACINTALK XD AND WALL E'S STARTUP WITH THE MAC STARTUP SOUND (my fiance and me are soewhat of a Mac nerd)

THE COCKROACH :D

Overall the movie made me want to hug everyone. I think it's a more upbeat, positive approach of 2001. Stanley Kubrick should be crying in his grave now. I watched it as a date night and what a perfect movie or a date night it was.