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Wall-E
Directed by: Andrew Stanton Starring: Ben Burtt (voice) Genre: Animated Run Time: 98 min. Release Date: June 2008 On The Web: Official Site Teaser: Movie Trailer Reviewed by Byron Merritt |
It is my understanding that director Andrew Stanton (along with screenwriter Pete Docter) had a couple of ideas that came to fruition prior to WALL-E. Things you may have heard of like, oh, FINDING NEMO and A BUG’S LIFE. Wall-E was the final "idea" in the animation pipeline for Disney/Pixar and it is obvious to me why this was so after watching it. Let me explain... Let’s start with the aforementioned Finding Nemo. Here was a story that was 95% focused on the main characters: fish and those around the fish (crabs, seagulls, pelicans, etc.). The dentist — a human — was a side-story; a vehicle for the plot, sure, but he wasn’t what the film was about. The audience became enamored with Marlin (Nemo’s father) and his adventures to find and save his son. Again, a great character scheme that got the audience attached to the title character and his father (and we can’t forget Dori, the forgetful sidekick). Moving ahead several years we get to Wall-E, a story that isn’t so well-formulated as far as characters go but has a decent message at its core: the survival of our planet. If the story had stuck to Wall-E’s adventures and his need to connect with someone (anyone!), the story would’ve turned out just fine. True, the decent message may have gotten lost but film makers need audiences to feel empathetic toward the characters, and that’s where Wall-E short circuits. The humans don’t come into play until 20-plus minutes into this 98-minute feature and then we’re completely given over to them and lose sight of Wall-E altogether ...for a while. This extreme detachment from the title character made the film feel more like two separate ones than a consistent whole. There are, however, some profoundly funny moments ...and some just plain profound things, too. Fred Willard (DATE MOVIE) is the first human we see (but only through billboard displays) as the loathsome Shelby Forthright, CEO of the BnL corporation. His last name is a cautionary note to not trust someone just because of their name. John Ratzenberger (RATATOUILLE) is John, an Earthly human in an un-Earthly ship where his every whim is cared for by automatons, turning him and his spaceshipmates into worthless sloths (another cautionary note to not let computers or technology run rampant over us). The spaceship’s computer voice is probably one of the funniest of note, because it’s narrated by Sigourney Weaver (THE ICE STORM). Anyone who’s seen the ALIEN series and GALAXY QUEST knows how Sigourney’s previous characters feel about computers. Better known for his sound work in the more recent INDIANA JONES 4 flick, Ben Burtt lends his electrified voice as the main character, Wall-E. Although not much speaking takes place from Wall-E’s standpoint, he does have some human moments of loneliness and tenderness (once another mechanical being arrives). EVE, Wall-E’s love interest, is also electrifyingly voiced by voice actress Elissa Knight (she was Tia in the other Pixar hit, CARS). Her arrival on Earth heralds new hope for Wall-E that his life of loneliness might come to an end. Despite all its character and whiplash faults, Wall-E is a movie of environmental importance. It shows us what we as humans might do to the only planet we can call home, and what might happen if we allow ourselves to go too far in damaging her. That, at the very least, makes this a watchable film.
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Image from Wall-E
DVD cost: $22.86 Purchase: Tower.com Film Review Stew Favorite? No. Stew Poo-Poo? No. Newsworthy: Within the first 5 minutes there is monologue via the holographic billboards, and within 20 minutes Eve and Wall-E have dialogue. There is no "Human" dialogue until about 40 minutes into the movie. Movie Quote: "Computer, define sea."
Other Actors/Actresses from Wall-E
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Images from Wall-E
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