*** Official WALL-E Review Thread

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

Well I saw it with the family this morning at 9:10am and I am not quite sure what to think. It is good but it has almost no funny moments. The movie is pretty serious from the word go. Not scary serious but just normal drama. All those clips where it looks like WallE is doing some funny stuff isn't very funny in the context of the movie, especially with the music being much more serious and rarely light-hearted. I am curious what other people will think about it since it seems to be not light-hearted enough for a fun kid's movie with a message (like Cars, KungFu Panda or Over the Hedge) but not serious enough for a high quality science fiction story with a message.

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

I agree Chuck, while I really enjoyed the movie I was surprised at the lack of comedy in it for being a Pixar movie. It had a few funny moments but, the short before the movie had more laughs then all of Wall-E.

I'm also upset that I read the last few comments on this page and some of the very glowing reviews on aintitcool.com because I think it set my expectations too high (they didn't really spoil anything though). Don't get me wrong, I loved it and it is a great movie but, I don't think it is the "greatest thing Disney has put there name on" as some have said. Wall-E is a great film but I would still rank Toy Story 2 as my favorite Pixar movie with this one coming in 2nd for now. It's just that all the "best picture," "best Disney movie ever," "best thing since Pulp Fiction" type comments really had me expecting something a whole lot more. This movie has nothing on LOTR, IMO, which came after Pulp Fiction. I will definitely be picking it up on Blu-Ray and will love watching it many times but, best Disney movie ever I don't agree with. I also agree that this Pixar movie maybe a too serious for young kids (or maybe not, they may just love watching cute little Wall-E to even notice the serious story).


Following is a question about the movie so I'll put it in spolier tags for those who haven't seen it yet:
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

I just got back from seeing it and absolutely loved it. I think it's up there as one of my favorite Pixar movies. Like Chuck said, it is definitely adult oriented and it is a drama. I don't know how the kids that were at the theater followed all of it.

I'll put this part in spoilers since we don't have an official discussion thread up yet:
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

Also, I was able to see it in digital and the presentation was spectacular.

I would give this 10/10

Re: WALL-E (Pixar 2008)

Wall E is easily the best movie that I've seen this summer. It's a got a message that everyone can agree with and it doesn't preach (as some have worried), it's got funny and sweet characters and the animation is just amazing.

Since it's not the usual animated junk (it's not rapidly edited or full of action and there's no catch phrase spouting characters), some young kids may not be that interested but I think it would be more appealing to children than Ratatouille was. And that's not a knock against Ratatouille, I just think that that's a movie that was more aimed at school age kids and adults.

Bottom line: It's another Pixar homerun.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

Not a ton of time for a long-winded review (for a welcome change to HTF, I am certain). I loved it, but it didn't change my life That's how high my anticipation was, and it came close enough. Very sweet, extraordinarily well-directed. I did laugh more at Presto (brilliant), but when WALL*E made me laugh, it really made me laugh.

Still batting a 1.000, even when the metric is great movies. I'll get another view before we do the dreaded "rank the Pixar films" again

An exceptional film from an exceptional studio.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

"Presto" the animated short before "Wall-E" was a much more entertaining piece of entertainment than the main attraction, unfortunately.

It's weird to be out of sorts with the positive critical response to Wall-E. I enjoyed the look of the film, the CGI was breathtaking throughout the film (Hell, Roger Deakin was brought in for lighting and cinematography input), but, and it's a big BUT, I just didn't get invested in any of the characters to give a damn about the remaining 2/3 of the film after Wall-E and Eve's introductions.

I think I just couldn't handle all the cute gags and bits designed to induce laughter and "aww..." in youngsters, it just got a little too much for me. The film itself just couldn't quite sustain my interest as it turned into more of a homage of 2001 in the latter part of the film, even if it kept trying to dance around its environmental/consumerism message by pouring on all the cute sight gags and tugging at heartstrings every 30 seconds.

I may try to see it once more, to see if it plays better on a second viewing, but I suspect that's being very optimistic.

I give it 2.75 stars or a grade of B- (mainly for the visuals, as the story and characters just didn't quite do it for me).

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

Hmm, I thought it was great, good message story, had humor, and the social commentary about today's society was spot on. Plus the chases and other bits that I won't reveal were very sweet and funny. I loved the 2001 reference, totally apt.

The animation and visuals, material rendering of the robots, especially Eve were excellent.

There were little kids in the audience that were crying at first, but the full house very quickly got into the film and it was dead silent at the ending segments. So I think it worked!

I thought the Sigourney Weaver voice over for the computer was a direct riff on Alien. And that was cool.

I'm sentimental, so I give it a solid A+.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

I liked it more than my wife did, who felt it was a good kids movie, but the eco-green overtones and direct Bush-bash by Fred Willard was little heavy handed.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

I'm with Patrick. I had so been looking forward to this but it just didn't engage me. I actually felt a bit bored through much of it. I'll give it a C+.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

Right now, I would have to say that this is my favorite movie of the year so far. So beautiful to look at, and I thought the love story was perfectly conveyed. I can't wait to see it again.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

Visually this film was out of sight, at least on external shots. The internals on the ship weren't quite as impressive, but Pixar does advance the bar on computer animation once again. From a visual standpoint, I'd give this film an A+.

The story is something else. This one started out strong. It really felt different than anything that Pixar has attempted, but by the end it fell into predictability and suffered from an age old animation cliche. In the first half of the film I really had a strong feeling that Pixar had succeeded in making an actual SF animated film, however, the last half ended up being a succession of sight gags, topped off by an ending that I feel is just too rote and improbable. Storywise, I think I would give this one a 'B'.

A lot of people think CARS is one of Pixar's weakest films, but I would put CARS before WALL-E in terms of engaging characters and story. I might go and see WALL-E again, and a second viewing might cause me to change my mind; however, right now, for me, WALL-E ranks only slightly above BUG'S LIFE in terms of story. And for me, BUG'S LIFE was the weakest film from PIXAR so far.

From a purely visual standpoint, WALL-E comes in a solid first.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

I thought it was outstanding - a real home run for Pixar. Very involving, great visuals and great characters made from rusty metal and iPod-like plastic. I have to disagree with the negative reviews in this thread; this is one of Pixar's best.

What's wrong with a movie having a message? That's just saying the filmmakers have a point of view, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. Some of the best movies in history have had points of view and it's worked to great effect (Planet of the Apes, anyone?). And as far as messages go, this was a good one to have.

The audience I saw it with was full of adults and children, and everyone was quiet throughout. That's saying something, especially these days when every audience seems distracted by cell phones, text messagers, etc.

One of the best films of the year.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

I don't understand why so many critics are calling this Pixar's masterpiece -- it isn't. It's very good and sits comfortably within Pixar's canon of films -- but they've done an equally number of better and worse films than this. There are huge chunks of this thing that just don't work. There are some immensely pleasurable things in the movie, especially for a devout Chaplin fan like myself, but like a lot of Chaplin it's a bit disjointed.

To me, Chaplin worked best in shorts, and when his films were basically a string of shorts strung together with a thin thread keeping some sort of narrative momentum. Whenever he tried to be too grandly serious, in say "The Great Dictator" it's when his faults as a large canvas storyteller started to show. "The Kid," "City Lights" and "The Circus" are where Chaplin is at his most charming, devising comedy bits that can be pulled right out of the film and be hysterical with no context of the greater work.

That's exactly how "Wall-E" works. It's best when the little guy is exploring bits of his world, and eventually universe, and experiencing wonderment -- these parts of the film just exude charm.

However, it's when the film introduces humans that the film loses its humanity. I think that's the point, but it becomes so focused on the plot that it also loses sight of the humanity in the robots -- and that's where it fail. It's second half is just not as good. Sure, there are some fun bits with Wall-E maneuvering through space using a fire extinguisher, but overall it just loses itself.

It's worth seeing, but I think it's better to have expectations in check.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

I enjoyed WALL-E, but my wife didn't. I found it a relaxing, almost contemplative story with cute moments throughout. She was annoyed by the jarring fusion of two very different stories, the preachiness, and the plot's logical flaws.

So I give it a modest recommendation.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

This is my review, courtesy of my blog on MySpace. Apologies if there are some spoilers:

Wall-E - ***1/2
Directed by Andrew Stanton

Pixar Animation Studios has brought us movies that rival those that were made during the golden age of Disney Animated Classics. And Wall-E continues that tradition by making a computer animated film with sophistication and style. It's a terrific acheivement, especially considering that many of their past films have been either just as good or better.

In the film, we are taken 700 years into the future, where a robot named Wall-E is cleanign up the trash that has been left by humans. All humans from the Planet Earth now live in the galaxy onboard the Axium, a ship that gives them new life. On Earth, only Wall-E remains. He is alone and he feels it. In fact, the only time he absolutely feels happy is when he comes home and plays around with some of the things he has found, like a Rubik cube or even watching a movie like the 1969 classic Hello Dolly. Then one day, his lonliness is threatened by a sweet robot named EVE, who is sent to find any signs of plant life on the planet. By finding any, it tells the humans in space that they can return to Earth. For Wall-E however, it is love at first sight. When she is given by him a piece of grass, her objective is finished and she must return by ship to the Axium. Wall-E has also hitched a ride with the ship and when he arrives, he discovers that the humans have become overweight and dumbed down as a result of mass commercialism.

The characters of Wall-E and EVE have a innocent charm that crosses over to a part of all of us. They feel like fully-realized characters. Even though they never say much, they always feel like they have a real personality that makes us feel what they feel. They in many ways are fish out of water type characters, but their actions and doings never feel out-of character or overblown. They are both created brilliantly. The same can also be said for the humans, especially the captain of the Axium (voiced by Jeff Garlin) who never fails to steal a moment that he is in. And of course what would a Pixar film be without the voice talent of John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin from TV's Cheers), here voicing one of the other humans that Wall-E comes into contact with.

But what makes Wall-E as terrific as it is are its moments, many of which are beautiful and well thought out. The best one for me comes in the first half of the film, where we see the various attempts Wall-E tries to capture EVE's heart. Beautifully set to Louis Armstrong's classic version of the standard "La Vie en Rose", this sequence is so well played that it was this moment that absolutely sold me on the high quality of this movie. Credit must be given to director Andrew Stanton for pulling it off, and not just on this moment, but on quite a few others as well, including its excellent finale.

I must also credit Stanton for making the most ballsy discission in Pixar's history: He makes the first 40 minutes or so almost dialogue-free, and manages to keep the film involving and entertaining. The real reason this succeeds is not only its sophisticated approach to this section, but also because of the characters themselves. We love both Wall-E and EVE, and that makes the movie all the better for it.

Granted, once we leave Earth and arrive on the Axium, it is possible that here is where the fortunes will turn for many moviegoers. For this one however, I was involved all the way through both sections of the film. I actually found many of the scenes that took place here quite interesting. The appraoch to this section is interesting alone, but whether or not it works will have to be something that you'll have to judge for yourself.

Is Wall-E the best film in the Pixar library? No, there have been better films, but the audacity of this one alone makes it a must-see motion picture for all ages. It is possible you won't be as impressed with this film as I was, but I dare you to at least not to try it. If nothing else, it should be an interesting experiment for anyone who watches it.

NOTE: I must also give mention to the short film that precedes the feature presentation: Presto. A very funny five-minute cartoon that is very funny and absolutely worth your time. Even if you hate Wall-E (which I doubt will happen), I have no doubt that you will love this.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

Nicholas:

Thanks for the great review. It closely mirrored the viewing experience that I had with the movie.

Viewing the movie as an adult who also *loves* science fiction, I was pretty much "blown away" by the entire film. I've seen many movies try to convey a story similar in concept to what was shown here. The sad fact is that most stumbled badly with the execution. The execution of this story was flawless. In some parts of the movie it could even be described as brilliant. There is no doubt, though, that this is more of a drama than a "kid's movie".

I was fortunate enough to have a couple of 11 year olds in tow for my first viewing of the movie and monitored their reaction whenever I could. These kids are typical of today's youth in that they can become very bored very quickly. From what I could tell they were both riveted throughout the movie. Afterwards they both told me that they *loved* it. They had never seen "2001: A Space Odyssey" or even "The Black Hole" (It was pretty obvious that the captain's robot was modeled after a combination of H.A.L. and Maximilian) so even the concepts borrowed from other movies seemed fresh to them. It goes without saying that the sophisticated parts of the romance also went over their heads. But the bottom line is that they both felt as though they had seen a great movie.

All I can say is, Pixar has done it again!

Here are my ratings:
As a Science Fiction Movie: A+
As a Romance Movie: A
As a Drama : B+
As a "Kid's Movie": B

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

I thought it was good, but not great (3 stars).

Comparing it to Cars seems about right; except where Cars had a week first half and redeemed itself in the second half, WALL-E goes the other way - a very engauging first half loses its focus for the second half.

My major complaint is the lack of a strong antagonist.

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

I don't know, I was just expecting more there. If they fleshed out the antagonist, or made more of a statement with the environmental message, I'd have accpeted this as more of sci-fi movie. But in the end it was predominantly a love story, which is fine, but I was hoping for both.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

I enjoyed this film immensely and so did my 8 year old son.

Believe the hype. Go see it -- digitally if you can.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

WALL-E - 9.5/10

Wall-E is stunning. The beginning of the film set on Earth with just Wall-E and then Eve is the best Pixar has ever done. I had watched the trailers enough times that I was really worried about this opening section. I guess I was thinking probably some of the best stuff was in the trailers that I had watched many more times than I should and how are they going to make this interesting for 30-40 mins. No fears. This thing just goes and goes, much like Wall-E, purpose-drvien, explaining Wall-E without words, using the tiniest details in the most masterful way imaginable. Andrew Stanton, take a bow.

After Wall-E hitches a ride to the Axiom in pursuit of Eve it is quite a change, both visually and in tone. It takes a while to re-adjust. At this point the film more closely resembles what we have come to expect from animation, cgi animation, & film in general. I'll just say that there is a lot of chasing going on in pursuit of the goal of getting back home. The film recovers nicely for a strong ending.

Some might have iissues with the messages or the execution. I think that part is handled quite well. The over-riding message I got from the film is that humanity is capable true greatness. We might lose our way some times, but hope is never lost.

The primary story here is a love story between robots and it is surprisingly real and touching.

(copy/paste from another forum)

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

The opening 30 minutes of “WALL-E” reminded me a lot about another science-fiction film set in a dystopian future: “I Am Legend.” In both movies the protagonists essentially wander the streets of a desolate city alone, doing what they can to stay alive while throwing all their energy toward the accomplishment of a Sisyphusian task (one compacts and organizes the world’s garbage, one searches for the cure to a lethal virus that has eliminated 99 percent of the population). Both movies feature male characters whose lives are irrevocably changed by the entrance of a female into their world, an interesting variation on the Adam and Eve story. But whereas “I Am Legend” was nearly undone by its third act, “WALL-E” uses it to soar to a grand finish, in large part due to the momentum generated by those astounding first minutes.

“WALL-E” is not just a cautionary tale about global consumerism run amok (though it is that), or a movie about a cute little robot who looks like either a distant cousin of R2-D2 from “Star Wars” or the younger brother of Johnny Five from “Short Circuit” (though I can see the resemblance). It’s also one of the most genuine love stories I’ve ever seen, one of the few that nails it perfectly from a storytelling perspective. You may be amazed to discover just how much empathy you end up feeling for these metallic objects as they roll, whirl, fly, and dance across the screen. I know that I was often moved tremendously by what I saw on display here.

I want to avoid saying too much in order to preserve the film’s surprises. I do note that there are several thematic undercurrents at work in this film. One of the most powerful of these is that of overcoming one’s programming to achieve a greater good, whether it be in the form of hard-wired instructions on a circuit board or of habits that have gone unchecked and unchallenged for centuries. Somewhat related to this theme is one of awaking from a deep sleep and realizing that what was constantly before one’s face was obscuring one’s view of a much grander reality. By the end of the film, those characters who have overcome their programming—awakened from the malaise of mere existence—are the ones who triumph.

I found it interesting that there’s a fair amount of live-action footage embedded within the film. I was reminded of the little notice at the end of “Ratatouille” in which the filmmakers confidently proclaimed that none of what we had seen was generated by motion capture or any other performance or animation shortcuts. Yet here we are a year later with a new Pixar film containing several minutes of flesh-and-blood actors performing their scenes. So what gives? In thinking about this, I’ve concluded that this was a storytelling decision, not a gimmick. The animators rendered much of WALL-E’s world with breathtaking realism, surpassing anything we’ve ever seen from the studio before. But that realism breaks down when we enter another “world” in the film’s second act, and the difference between the real-life actors in the archival footage and the characters we see in the present-day timeline of the film is meant to illustrate just how dramatically they have de-evolved, almost to a protoplasmic state. (The level of detail in these characters is not even quite up to the level of “The Incredibles” from four years ago; again, I believe this was a conscious storytelling decision, not an indicator that the animators spent so much time giving WALL-E’s world a photorealistic look they couldn’t bring the rest of the movie up to a similar polish.)

To the film’s everlasting credit, it features very little intelligible dialogue outside of WALL-E’s realm. The story is so compelling it really doesn’t need much talk at all – another nod to “2001.” In fact, when the dialogue does start flying in fast and furious in the film’s second half, it’s almost tedious to listen to. As an audience, we long to return to the robots and their quaint clankety-clank sounds. I believe that this too is by design. The robots become more human than their overseers. It does make one reconsider just who the real “winners” are by film’s end. In whose place would you rather be? I’ll take the antiquated waste collector’s.

I could go on further (and probably should in order to justify my final score), but I’ll let this rest for now. The year’s not quite half over, but once again Pixar has released the movie to beat for best film of the year.

10/10

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

I saw it ... and I have to be honest ... I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.

I really enjoyed Ratatouille and to my surprise even Cars. On paper if you put three Pixar concepts down for me, Wall-E would be the one I would have chosen as the one to see, but somehow in execution it didn't quite hit a home run for me.

The film felt disjointed to me, a lot like Steven Spielberg's A.I. of a few years ago. While the beginning was pretty bold, it also runs pretty long, and the whole situation with the 2nd half of the movie ... I felt like the human characters weren't really developed very well. And the protagonist were really kinda shoe-horned into the plot.

Also Wall-E's romance sometimes was touching, but other times honestly felt a bit creepy to me (not unlike the character of David in A.I.).

It's worth seeing though. Some great vistas of a deserted planet Earth, probably some of the best CGI Pixar has done. I prefer Ratatouille and Cars overall as films though.

I give this 3/5.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

I was disappointed. i thought I'd like it a lot more.

When it was over and I was thinking back on the story, I thought "this would have made a "great" Pixar short film. The lead animation on the Wall*E character was just incredible. He was quite charismatic and watching him closely was a LOT of fun!

The beauty was in the visuals and the creativity surrounding the relationship between Wall*E and Eve. High marks for those. But, it's all about the story. And, it seemed as if the rest of the story development was rather forced--from the major "messages" about the environment and personal inactivity to the battle with the autopilot. Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show) Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

There was a lot to like here. A lot. But the story, to me, seemed lacking.

The audience of which we were part reacted enthusiastically to Presto but rather tepidly to Wall*E. That made it seem to me that the animators really knew what they wanted to accomplish in Presto but were meandering through the second half of Wall*E.

My personal favorite part of the film was the use of Hello Dolly--especially the Put on Your Sunday Clothes references. Put on Your Sunday Clothes is one of the songs that Disney uses as part of it's musical landscape on Main Street, USA at its themeparks. Walt's personal charge for Main Street was to create the atmosphere of idealized America at the turn of the 20th Century. I'd like to think the choice of that particular piece of music was a little tip of the hat to Walt by the Pixar team...as well as to provide a stark comparison between "the good 'ol days" and Wall*E's world.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

9.5/10

Brilliant execution (as usual), fantastic visuals, and just a whole lot of creativity on the screen.

But, neither my kids nor my wife liked it that much, and I think that was due to the fact that Wall-E was really trying to straddle the line between a very fun "kids movie" about 2 robots falling in love, and a very serious eco-warning movie about the importance of "loving the earth." Now, I think the film managed to straddle that line quite well, better than most films in fact, but the line was still very much there, and it makes the film somewhat inaccessible to family audiences.

And that is what makes me somewhat concerned, because I (selfishly of course) want Pixar to put out films that are accessible to all members of my family (like pretty much every film they've ever done except The Incredibles). So, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Pixar releasing a film like this, and I will enjoy it for years I am sure, but I hope they don't get away from the family films (by my count, three of their last four films have been their most "inaccessible" to kids: The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and Wall-E).

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

Magnificent. Pixar hits another out of the ballpark and Andrew Stanton and crew deserve a Best Picture nod. The film is just mesmorizing and you can't wait to see what adventure WallE stumbles onto next. While much has been made of the eco-future/consumerism subtext and such I just found it part of progressing the story and didn't get hung up on it. Yes there are a few messages to be found about humanity's consumerism and the social disconnects of our current/future world but the main driver is the love story. And boy it is heartfelt and tugs at the soul. They say you can't put love into words...but with an amazing story, a few beeps and some incredible animations Pixar succeeded mightily well without them.

btw my kids all liked it but this film is more adult oriented vs Monsters/Nemo/Incredibles. I don't see it quite as marketable or memorable to the happy meal age group but glad Pixar stuck to their creative guns and it deserves all the accolades it gets. '2001' quesioned our origins/future. 'Blade Runner' asked us if androids dream. And now 'Wall-E' postulates the question of love. I have no problem seeing those scifi classics side-by-side.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

Just a couple quick comments (it's been so long since I've posted in the movies section...):

I loved this movie. It looked and sounded perfect, was entertaining, and certainly told a good story. I didn't take the social commentary very seriously (I mean, come on. It's made by DISNEY, one of the largest corporations on the planet, responsible for countless books, DVDs, etc. so how seriously can you take just about any social commentary in one of their movies?) and I feel like the love story was handled perfectly.

A couple people mentioned that there wasn't enough comedy, but I thought the comedy was simply appropriate where it was appropriate and only where it was needed. It wasn't as fun as some of their other movies, but I would say it was actually better this way. Maybe it's going to take a company with the background, skill, and expertise like Pixar to move mainstream animated films in a more mature and serious direction. Not everything that's drawn by hand or in a computer needs to be aimed at children.

Also, the ending credits sequence is probably the most inspired way to end a movie I've ever seen.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

I loved this movie. To me, it's this movie and not "Enchanted" that re-affirms the magic of Disney movies. It's a wonderful mixture of comedy and drama, much like the Disney classics, and it does so without turning a jaded eye towards the past or having Disney veterans play ball-busting cynics (both of which can be found in "Enchanted"). I would gladly see it again.

Sincerely,

John Kilduff...

And the Peter Gabriel song was good, too.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

(moving to discussion thread)

Re: *** Official WALL-E Review Thread

I did not see it but one of my 10 year old boys reviewed it as "Two hours of pure glory."