I would challenge you to find anyone who describes themselves as a fan of movies who doesn’t look forward to every Pixar release. While they are certainly not the only powerhouse digital animation studio in Hollywood, they are the only one who consistently produces films with a level of artistic quality that rises above that of your average children’s entertainment. Whether by intention or accident they’ve discovered the perfect balance of all-ages entertainment, digital art, and message without subjecting the viewer to awkward moments of supposed moral clarity. My biggest complaint of American animation studios is that they are so consumed with fitting some kind of moral message into every production that it consumes the creative process until it spewed back at you the viewer in an assaulting fashion with no tact or thoughtful delivery. Pixar has always and continues to produce films that incorporate said mandatory message by keeping it subtle and giving the benefit of the doubt to the viewer to catch it. In general, this is sorely missed in America nowadays – but I’m drifting off-topic.
In many artists’ lives and bodies of works a “breakthrough” work occurs that cements that focuses the art world’s attention on their talent. I truly believe that WALL-E is Pixar’s breakthrough work. It’s not that their previous films were poor. In fact every Pixar release has been a raging success. It’s just that by comparison every other Pixar film was the work of a studio with a unique view of the mainstream. WALL-E is the work of a studio with an epiphany of where the world of digital animation can go. As most movie-goers know Pixar always inserts a cute short film (the medium they first gained attention from) before each movie. They are always fun and a perfect compliment to the film. But the short that preceded WALL-E was not just another one of these. It was brilliant. The entire theater was in hysterics. Most “comedy” films cannot even generate the kind of humor and entertainment that Pixar latest short did. If you thought every Pixar short was sort of the same – this one is not.
I know I said that I’d be keeping my movie reviews short but WALL-E was just that good. The film itself is mostly silent – yes silent. Do you know how rare that is in our 60-second, ADD, ultra connected society to find entertainment in silence? The film just oozes futuristic vistas, digital soundscapes, and robotic personalities to the point that words could only ruin it. Eventually humans are brought into the mix, but they are merely there in a supporting role – and the experience is better for it.
I know a lot of people have sworn off the experience of going to the local theater due to the fact that they seem to overrun by pre-pubescent teens who can’t shut off their mouths or cellphones for 10 seconds. Trust me, you want to see WALL-E in the theater while it’s out. Pixar always has upped the digital ante with each subsequent release and to be honest it was their last film, Ratatouille, that I noticed something different happening with their animation techniques. I now see that Ratatouille was the dry run of the animation that has reached a true art form in WALL-E. The image quality, level of detail, and camera work (yes, there is camera work in Pixar animations) is beyond compare of any current animation studio. In the years ahead I expect that WALL-E to be one of the most evaluated and discussed animated films of all time.
For all the reasons above, it is entirely possible that WALL-E might acutally be one of Pixar’s least commercially successful films. And you now what, I’m OK with that. Kids will surely enjoy it, but they’re not going to loop it endlessly en masse like say Finding Nemo or Monsters Inc. In fact, after reflecting on WALL-E I think it may have more to offer to adults than kids. My wife and I are 27 and I can garauntee you that we picked up on more humor than any of the younder kids in the theater did. WALL-E also marks the first time in as long as I can remember that both my wife and I have walked out of the theater, looked at one another, and said “We have to see that again!”.
(5 stars of 5)
See it in the theater!
But it on DVD!