WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

Touche'. You have a good point.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

But remember, this isn't going to be like Steven Hawking -- why would it be? Has Ben Burtt ever done anything like that?

R2-D2's "voice" is Ben Burtt giving a vocal performance for tone and inflection and then distorting it. I don't know why he (or Pixar) would turn stupid and forget that this is why R2-D2 inspires so much sympathy despite speaking only in beeps and boops. He can beep angrily, and in a depressed manner, and excitedly and happily and sadly, and you can tell exactly how he feels because Ben Burtt turned in a fantastic performance.

Why will Wall-E be different?

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

Incredibles might be my favorite Pixar film, it was tight, beautifully animated, a technical marvel as well and had amazingly well-scripted sequences. Cars was a bit more bland to me and was their least impressive effort, I prefer Bug's Life by a fair margin. Cars was also the least imaginitive I thought, the car-ification of the world was neat but more predictible than their other efforts.

Ratatouille was just shy of matching The Incredibles and Iron Giant. I loved Nemo and Monsters as well, so I just don't see much of anything resembling them phoning it in. I mean my Cars comments mean it was 8 of 10 for me instead of a 9 or 10, not exactly a disaster.


As for the Wall*E remake of City Lights (why didn't they just say that as you point out), it's no different than them doing Seven Samurai for Bug's Life. I think it could be a very interesting attempt and if it captures the spirit of CL it will be very heartfelt as well.

The trailer looked technically outstanding. Of course Ratatouille was the most technically beautiful 3D film yet, and on par with the visual art of the best Walt work I thought (that establishing shot of Paris).

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

City Lights is the inspiration for the story?

I'm not ashamed to admit WALL-E is my most anticipated film for 2008 right now.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

If there's anything I've learned about Pixar, it's not to trust their trailers. I don't know whether it's the fact that they can't cut trailers or whether they intentionally downplay their trailers, but it seems like Pixar's films are always so much better than their trailers would indicate.

Thus, I don't put any stock in any correlation between the Wall-E trailer (which was just okay on its own terms) and my enjoyment of the actual Wall-E film next summer. I expect it to be amazing just like all of Pixar's films.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

My theory on this is that Pixars characters are usually new creations, things we just haven't seen before. Its like seeing an actor you've never seen in other films, but even worse - its a rat, a fish, a monster, a bug, etc...

Part of Pixars magic is that they build a story to make you believe, over time, that these are loveable characters that you invest emotion in. But its done slowly over the course of the film. Pixars movies are very much tales of characters, the plot is almost secondary.

Compare this to big budget hollywood films which are mostly about the plot, the story, and not so much the characters. If the story is about a character its usually a big name playing it, or an iconic character, so we already have familiarity.

So when they show little bits and bites which may be funny or otherwise noteworthy in a Pixar film they are little scenes with characters we don't know (or even like?) just yet. Seeing the movie fixes that.

Just my theory.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

I thought it was kind of neat that The Hidden Cafe from the intro has a quick cameo in Monsters Inc.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

Apparently this showed up on the Ratatouille video game...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CEIBZ2DAg4

I guess this will be the OS...

http://www.buynlarge.com/

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

That was pretty cool, Brett. Thanks.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

The Wall-E poster is available. And it really is astonishing.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

Awesome poster . . . still looks like a little mini Johnny-5 to me though, hehe.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

Short French teaser here:

http://www.allocine.fr/video/player_...=18752463.html

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

Thanks for that French trailer. The burnt out bulb bit is nice.

When I orig. posted that buynlarge link a few posts up there was almost nothing there. There's quite a bit of stuff there now.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809902253/video/4321697/

And the English HD versions here

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

Very impressive. Can't wait.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

Very nice, looks great. The detail is unbelievable.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

I love the new longer teaser. Even from that I can tell that Wall-E is an endearing character and will be captivating to watch on-screen. I read that most of the first half of the film will have no dialogue, so it's really going to be unique.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

There's now an extended version of the trailer on Apple's website.

HD Link

The more I see the more excited I get. The animation looks absolutely stunning and Wall-E himself is looking to be incredibly expressive even without a voice. I really cant' wait to see this movie.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

I love all of the Pixar films; some more then others, sure, but the thing I love about them most is that they have a relatively simple, but very heartfelt type message to them that manages to ring "true". We took our boys to go see a lot of animated films over the last few years, and in some (I'm thinking like "Shrek") there are always moments geared to get a different kind of a laugh that have my wife & I squirm a little, the message isn't as straightforward (and even when it is it hits you over the head like an anvil)...

Yesterday, we took the kids to the grandparents for Christmas, and there on the set was "Cars". All of the kids, 4 years old to 14 years old gathered around and were sucked in; while "Cars" isn't my favorite, the end message of the movie was both clear and yet fun that I never once had misgivings about what was on the screen.. and the end, which was a pretty good metaphor for friendship, sportsmanship, and responsibility is something even a five year old could latch onto.

That's the thing Pixar does better then anyone else. Outside of the fact that the animation is stunning (and Wall*E looks that way) it's as though they've realized: you don't need to make a story convoluted or muddy.. it can be the same basic points people have made for years.. but if you do it better then they did, in a way people want to watch, then people will absolutely buy in.

That's why it worked; it's why Incredibles as a "family who comes together" story works. I really enjoyed Ratatouille as an "Overcome your adversities" type story.

I love the new trailer; it's an absolute proof-of-concept for what can happen with animation (the spray from the fire extinguisher is incredible!), but with Pixar, while the animation has been better then anyone else, it's that the story is something I'd sit down with my kids with at any time with no reservations.

Other animated flicks should try and figure that out. Come up with something that can draw a tear from the parents at the end.. not because we're worried about what's in it, but because the message says what we want to say, and you've got a winner

Edit: And I will say now, as time has past, "Toy Story 2" has slowly risen up my list of "Greatest Movies of All Time" for it's ability to capture so many both adult and children's emotions so effectively; complex issues like losing love; growing up; remorse; regret; the desire to feel important; there are very, very few movies I've ever seen that manage to nail the human experience even half as effectively. This is the only film I've ever seen in my life that not only made me cry, but I absolutely thought that I was going to need to leave the theater to compose myself after "When She Loved Me" happened; what kid can't relate to a toy they loved & outgrew; and what adult hasn't been through a relationship that, even after it was gone, missed that connection..

As long as Pixar keeps that kind of focus on the storytelling, then they always have my money at the gate.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

Yea I've admired Pixar for quite a long time, and I think WALL-E will be another great to add to their list. They've made so many advances in animation as well as their method of storytelling, and I will really see any movie they put out. WALL-E especially - with the story about humans having to leave the earth because they've polluted it too much to live here any more - is an especially good topic to touch on now.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

The thing that impresses me about WALL-E, the character, (and granted I sort of feel the same way about Johnny 5 from the short circuit movies, though it's not nearly as expressive as what I'm seeing from WALL-E so far), is that he's designed in such a way that they don't need to "cartoonify" his structure to make him expressive. Judging by the trailer part of thim that should be rigid will always be rigid and it's designed in such a way so that they can express the emotion they need through the rigid structures. So, for instance, his "eyebrows" won't suddenly be bendable to show a facial expression, they'll remain that rigid piece of metal and have the range of movement to express what's necessary.

They didn't even go the easier route and make things like that multi-jointed so that they could be more pliable, alot of him is just a rigid piece of metal. It should be interesting to see whether he lives by the rules of his own design throughout the entirety of the movie.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

Yea, I'd say chalk that up to the genius animators at Pixar. I personally, just from seeing those first few teasers, already feel some sort of emotional attachment to little Wall-E. That's a great credit to the quality of their animation.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

When I saw Ratatouille a few weeks ago at the local second run theater, they showed the trailer for this and I swear everyone in the audience went "Awww" when Wall-E started making his expressions.

Pixar hasn't misfired yet and I don't think that happen here.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

I know, isn't he the cutest? More than that, I think the plot sounds really intriguing as well...it's actually a love story, which I didn't expect at first but now I'm very excited to see how they handle that.

And also I loved Ratatouille!

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

You've got it right. Too many movies today just care about the special effects and forget to tell a story the audience can care about. Watch any of the special features on Pixar films and you'll understand how much they care about the story.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

That's so true, and you know this especially about Wall*E, as it's been in development since the summer of 1994 when the creators had their famous lunch. That's according to the first teaser. For reference: YouTube - WALL•E Teaser

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

Here's the WALL-E superbowl ad that ran: YouTube - WALL•E Superbowl Spot (in theaters June 27, 2008)

What do you think? I like it!

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

It is good. I like his recurring concern in these trailers for the welfare of the cockroaches, and it was just a nice silly fun piece. You don't learn much about the film in the Superbowl ad (other than that he saves the world and goes to infinity and beyond). The good thing about the ad is that, while the trailers principally establish the character and heart of the film, the Superbowl ad demonstrates that there will probably be a strong comedy element. And that is good, to know that there will be that balance.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

Anyone see the trailer that Empire put up (and quickly had to take down) yesterday? There's a ton of cool new stuff to see in it.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

It's up on youtube: YouTube - Tráiler Extendido Wall-E