*** Official WALL-E Discussion Thread - Page 5

Re: *** Official WALL-E Discussion Thread

Saw it earlier today with Hellboy II. I'd say it's a strong movie. Engaging and good entertainment, but it didn't really have as much of an impact with me that some of the other Pixar movies have had.

The main thrust of the film is a love story backed up by an good message. I left the movie feeling it was cute and maybe I even came close to shedding a tear for the love story.

The message was strong, but wasn't well handled in the movie. It seemed quite caricatured. The humans' change of heart wasn't very understandable. The captain more or less tells everyone that they're going back to Earth, they seem perplexed, but then the next thing you know, they all want to go to Earth, which has been proven to be essentially a barren wasteland where they won't get any of the commercial pleasures they've built their way of life around? It just doesn't ring true to me.

And one thing that I couldn't help but question was why was everyone so caught up in the plight of Wall-E? Did I miss something? At one point Wall-E and Eve are being chased by all the robots, but then suddenly half the robots just start aiding Wall-E. And the humans? Two or three people meet Wall-E for about half a moment, but then they're all cheering him on? Why?

Overall, it's a cute movie with a good message, but it didn't feel very well rounded or thought out.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Discussion Thread

this is what astonished me most about the movie: how the pixar crew were able to fill two only generally humanoid robots who could barely speak, with such luminous humanity...

as you say, i cared more deeply for wall*e and eve than i can remember caring about two movie characters in a looooonnng time; eve's scream of anguish when wall*e is crushed in the holograpic detector almost broke my heart (i'm choking up right now, just remembering it).

and the scene of eve and wall*e dancing around the exterior of the ship was just magical - took my breath away.

one of the best love stories ever.

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not sure if anyone responded to this already...

it's not that he can't read the cover: he simply doesn't recognize the word "manual", presumably because words for things like books (with pages and ink) dropped out of the vernacular when the books and manuals did.

the plan wasn't to return to earth to repopulate the planet: the plan was for the ships to take people off-planet until the cleanup of all the garbage could be completed - they were initially scheduled to be gone for only 5 years.

they were told not to return when the waste-problem got so bad that the atmosphere became toxic to organic life.

the plan wasn't cancelled for no good reason: they were told not to return because they would have DIED if they returned.

and the plan was only cancelled behind the scenes: everyone else on the ship thought the plan was still in place. the idea, presumably, was to upset the social environment as little as possible, and that environment was based on the idea of eventual return to earth; the fact that, 700 years later, there was no real sense of expectancy is unsurprising, especially given the way in which the shipboard culture had evolved into a sort of a grouped individual isolationism.

because the captain ordered him to, and responding to orders from the captain was part of the autopilot's programming.

because all of the robots on the ship are capable of only doing their one job, and there are no "plant-destroying" robots onboard. so the only way to ensure that no one sees the plant is to make sure finding it is impossible, and that involves getting it off the ship.

...it's hard to know how to respond to this...yes, it IS that big. really.

A) because they'll eventually run out of gas;

B) remote communication between the axiom and the probes was impossible (given the distance between them).

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I'll buy into some of your explanations, Jon.

But, I won't buy into two:

It's the autopilot's programming to take orders from the captain...except where this override is concerned. You may be ok with how it's covered (not covered), but I see it as a serious flaw.

And, I also don't buy your explanation/description on the operation. If we buy your explanation it does not mesh with probes looking for signs of life coming back on earth. That is ALL Eve is looking for. It is her prime directive. Find life, return the proof, so that the Axiom can return and cultivate the life and repopulate the planet. THAT operation is diametrically opposite of the President's override (stay away!). It is also a clearly more complex plan than the original 5 year plan...which actually shows me the plot hole is worse than I originally thought...

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i took AUTO's concession to the captain to be a sign of the same kind of inchoate personality as manifested in EVE and MOP (when MOP leaves the guide-light to pursue the contaminant) - AUTO had programming, but the confluence of circumstances caused him to do something unexpected, because why not? the captain's knowledge of the over-ride wouldn't affect the outcome...

basically, it's the result of AUTO dealing with something for which he probably wasn't originally and explicitly programmed, per my below, and which made him have to adapt.

of course the presidential override is diamterically opposed to the plan - that's what makes it an override in the first place.

look, the presidential over-ride is NOT a feature of "the plan", but just a simple, standard executive safeguard function put into most computerized networks: an admin backdoor, so to speak, set up basically to take orders directly from the president, whatever those orders happened to be, in case anything goes wrong with the system; in this case, the president gave an unconventional order that AUTO had to deal with as best as he could.

your problem only arises if never coming back was always a part of the plan; but that would make no sense. so why burden the writers with the inconsistency?

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You're misunderstanding me...

Look, here is what you (and, possibly the film) suggests:

Humans left earth on the Axiom so that robots could clean up the trash. They would return to earth in 5 years when (hopefully) the trash was gone and resume life on earth.

BUT, things got worse and the President (hey, why wasn't he on the Axiom?) sent an override to the robots (not the humans??) to stay away. Earth had become a toxic nightmare that would not support life.

Ok...fine. Where do the EVE probes fit in? Not in the original plan!

The only reason to HAVE an EVE probe going to earth to search for renewed life is that life was GONE in the first place. Which means that the EVE probes would have to be POST the President's warning/override. I.E., they are part of a NEW plan.

But, that's not what is in the movie. The movie suggests the original plan and the override...and, that's it. But, it simply does not make sense. It is counter-intuitive to what EVE does.

Got it now? :-)

Re: *** Official WALL-E Discussion Thread

All I get from your interpretation of the plot is a headache This is an example of each viewer bringing his/her own sensibilities to the viewing experience. I think you're spending too much time trying to count the number of angels that could dance on a pinhead.

I just saw the movie for a second time and enjoyed it more than the first time. I've seen it mentioned that the pizza delivery truck from Toy Story can be seen somewhere in the junk, but didn't catch it again. Early in the movie when we see Wall-E's collection of stuff for the fist time, I thought I caught a glimpse of the t-rex from Toy Story. Anyone else catch that?

Everytime I think about the cockroach and the twinkie, I can't stop smiling. Do you think there will be an action figure for him?

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Saw this yesterday with my 4.5 year old and thought it was great. Not "the best movie of the decade" as the review in the Calgary Herald called it, but I really enjoyed the story, the visuals, the sound, and the characters. Pixar did an amazing job putting so much personality into a trash compacting robot without giving it the ability to talk.

My son did not enjoy it nearly as much as other Pixar movies though, and seemed bored at several points in the movie, which I've never seen happen with an animated movie. The family next to me actually left the movie halfway through because their son was not interested anymore and was getting restless. I would guess that the boy was about 3 years old. I think this movie is more suited for kids older than 5, as my coworker's 4.5 year old son was also bored by the movie, but another coworker's 7 year old son loved it. The lack of dialogue is the problem for young kids, I think, because it requires more attention from the viewer to pick up on everything than young kids typically have. What's interesting is that I thought my son would do fine with this because he loves reading books and watching dvds like Peter Rabbit that don't have a lot of action.

Anybody else have similar experiences with their young kids not being able to enjoy the movie?

Johnny, I was wondering if there would be Pixar merchandise in Wall-E's junk so I was watching for them but did not see anything. Maybe it was really subtle - there was a lot of junk on a really big screen so it could be there somewhere.

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Wow. I didn't like this movie very much.

"Wall-E!"
"Eva!"
"Wall-E!"
"Mutiny!"
"Wall-E!"
"Eva!"
"Mutiny! Mutiny!"
"Wall-E!"

That seemed to be the whole movie...

Seriously now, this was a mess.

After a promising and breathtaking first half hour or so, the movie took a turn for the worse aboard the spaceship. It just dragged and dragged and dragged, and for the first time in years, I was bored during a movie I saw in the summer. A lot of things that happened aboard the ship relating to events or characters lacked any motivation. The tone kept shifting all over. The direction of the scenes was very uninspired.

I thought the ecological and consumerism themes were heavy handed in a bad "Crash" manner. The things I appreciate about Pixar's past movies is how they are able to subtly convey things.

~T

Re: *** Official WALL-E Discussion Thread

Apologies if this has been mentioned before, but has anyone else noted the striking resemblances between Wall-E and Short Circuit?

As for the 'message' of the movie, it carries the same message as many of the other Pixar movies - be aware of your place in the order of things, or you'll undergo a trial of fire - in the case of the hero, this will lead to an epiphany and in the case of the bad guy, destruction.

But yes, in this case some of the plot was hurried. And what about that warning that the bones of the humans would be incapable of coping with Earth gravity? When they embarked on Earth, they should all have collapsed like a jelly in the sun.

The thing I felt sorriest about was that in 700 years, the only piece of musical theatre Wall-E had seen was Hello, Dolly. Still, for EVE's sake, I'm glad it wasn't Sweeney Todd.

And yet one more thing - did anyone else hate the short cartoon at the start? I've liked a lot of the Pixar shorts, but thought this was the pits. Perhaps it's because I took an instant dislike to the rabbit.

Re: *** Official WALL-E Discussion Thread

The opening 5-minute short (with the magician and rabbit) was the best part of the Wall-E viewing experience for me.

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Wall-E and Johnny 5 are very similar, but I don't remember Short Circuit well enough to notice similarities between the two movies.

Like Patrick, I also thought the short was the best part of the experience.

~T

Re: *** Official WALL-E Discussion Thread

BTW, for fans of the "Presto" short, it is available from iTunes for $2. Quality is decent - better than SD satellite, but not as good as SD DVD. It will tide me over until an HD alternative arrives in stores.

Regards,

Re: *** Official WALL-E Discussion Thread

When I first saw an image of Wall-E, I instantly thought of Short Circuit. After Cars, which I didn't care for, I thought here's another mechanical based movie, and wasn't expecting much. There is a similarity to Number 5 (I think that was his name). However, I really don't care, because Pixar has created such a wonderful film.

I thought Presto was marvelous. It reminded me of the days when Warner Brothers was trying to figure out how many ways they could torture Wile Coyote, or Daffy Duck.

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Many people have. I only see it in the head, especially the "eyes," and the treads instead of legs or wheels. Wall-E is shaped very differently than Number 5. That was my first thought too, that it felt more like a Warner Bros. cartoon than a Disney cartoon.

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Presto is actually the first Pixar short that I really like. The Pixar shorts are good, but I find most of them to be a little boring. I did like Bounding though.

Presto is the best Pixar short to date. It is the closest they have come yet to recreating the look and feel of a traditional cel animated Warner Bros. cartoon.

I've always felt that Pixar's intent was to recreate the look and feel of cel animation but with textures that can only be created with the use of computers. To me, they have come very close in the form of Presto.

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One of the best love story ever put on film.

I'm ready to nominate this for Best Picture of the year

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Not quite.

The EVE probes were part of the original plan in order to notify the Axiom when it was safe to return. Only the humans were told it would be a 5 year voyage, but most likely the actual plan was to stay in space until an EVE returned with plant life.

When the CEO sent the override and let the AUTO take control of things, nothing else changed. The probes were still being sent regularly because that's what robots do. It actually turned into the same dilemma that occured in 2001 with Hal.... a conflict of orders.

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People left because Earth was _headed_ in the direction of no longer supporting life. The Axiom sent probes to determine if Earth was capable of supporting life after 5 years. Where's the confusion?

Let's say that you live in NYC and it is determined that rising seas will flood the city within 5 years. Do you wait until you are underwater to move? No, you get the heck out of there and periodically check back to see if the water has receded (scientists say X years so you start checking back at that time). This is exactly what the Axiom is doing with the Eve probes. Obviously they did not start sending probes 30 seconds after leaving Earth... they waited until a prescribed time after their departure (5 years). However, prior to that 5 year window being completed the president sent the override order. Now the captain is expecting to send out probes (the 1st captain of the Axiom). AUTO knows that there is no life on Earth (because the president said so in the form of the override command). Therefore there is zero risk to send out probes & it is done to make the captain happy.

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WALL-E becomes the first animated film to ever win the LA Critics award for "Best Picture"

L.A. critics wired for 'Wall-E' - Entertainment News, Award Central News, Media - Variety

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Time Magazine piles on, naming Wall-E best film of the year

1. WALL-E - The Top 10 Everything of 2008 - TIME