WALL·E (2008)
Directed by Andrew Stanton
After hundreds of years doing what he was built for, WALL•E— a robot designed to clean up the earth—discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL•E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report to the humans. Meanwhile, WALL•E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most imaginative adventures ever brought to the big screen.
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Stanton draws parallels to Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" that start off subtle and resonant but grow so blunt that at one point Stanton blasts the "2001" theme.
It is not a coincidence 2001: A Space Odyssey is paid considerable homage.
And the script and animation are sharp and witty, dotted with references to genre classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey, plus playful gags about technology and corporate culture (the monolithic company here is called Buy-N-Large).
Taking visual cues from some of the most memorable science fiction films of our time (2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Silent Running, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence and Star Wars, to name a few), WALL*E is without question a visual feast worthy of awards and accolades.
The filmmakers overtly acknowledge the influence of 2001: A Space Odyssey (one robot in the film is specifically designed to resemble HAL 9000's evil eye—cue the "Blue Danube Waltz"), and internet wags have commented on Wall•E's resemblance to Number 5 from Short Circuit , but the most interesting resemblance is to the "B" Ark plot thread from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.
It gives nothing away to say that they are circling the globe inside a gigantic spaceship called Axiom, which looks like something out of 1960s or 1970 sci-fi – no accident there, since Blade Runner , Alien, Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey are major influences on this film.
During the intervening centuries between humanity's departure, WALL•E develops a personality and spends his days discovering small treasures among the trash, including a well-worn copy of Hello, Dolly!
Over the course of a few days and star-gazing nights, watching clips from the 1969 Hollywood musical, Hello, Dolly!, WALLE and EVE beep and squeak at one another, loll around, communicating as best they can.
It opens with shots of the stars, the solar system, and eventually the Earth that glide across the screen to the lilt of "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" from Hello, Dolly!
For a bot, the little guy has a lot of personality: He scavenges knickknacks like a flea-market addict, and constant viewings of an old videotape of Hello, Dolly! help him get through the day.
I've described perhaps the first third of the film, and up to this point there is no dialogue; merely chirps, whizzes and beeps that will have you cooing nostalgically with thoughts of R2-D2, with the robot's inviting visual appearance recalling Johnny 5 from guilty '80s pleasure "Short Circuit."
Despite public outcry, WALL-E is nothing like the robot Number 5 from 1986’s “Short Circuit”.
I have to admit, though, that the initial trailers completely turned me off because the film looked painfully cute and the robot brought back bad memories of Short Circuit.
The filmmakers overtly acknowledge the influence of 2001: A Space Odyssey (one robot in the film is specifically designed to resemble HAL 9000's evil eye—cue the "Blue Danube Waltz"), and internet wags have commented on Wall•E's resemblance to Number 5 from Short Circuit , but the most interesting resemblance is to the "B" Ark plot thread from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.
He looks like an outtake from Short Circuit; you can only figure out what he's trying to say about half the time (though context helps) and he's rather single-minded of purpose.
Looking like a cross between R2-D2 and Johnny-5 from "Short Circuit", WALLâ?¢E most importantly has a lot of personality, which makes this "Hello Dolly!"-loving buzzing trashcan an instantly adorable creation.
As such, "WALLâ?¢E" recalls the physical humor and poetry of silent comedies, specifically those of Charlie Chaplin -- "City Lights" for the romance, "Modern Times" for the satire, maybe?
Director-screenwriter Andrew Stanton and his Pixar legions have referenced such films as "City Lights" and "Modern Times" and "The Navigator," not simply as a film school exercise but to increase the sentimental resonance of the story and situate it among the classics.
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As such, "WALLâ?¢E" recalls the physical humor and poetry of silent comedies, specifically those of Charlie Chaplin -- "City Lights" for the romance, "Modern Times" for the satire, maybe?
Director-screenwriter Andrew Stanton and his Pixar legions have referenced such films as "City Lights" and "Modern Times" and "The Navigator," not simply as a film school exercise but to increase the sentimental resonance of the story and situate it among the classics.
As such, "WALLâ?¢E" recalls the physical humor and poetry of silent comedies, specifically those of Charlie Chaplin -- "City Lights" for the romance, "Modern Times" for the satire, maybe?
Director-screenwriter Andrew Stanton and his Pixar legions have referenced such films as "City Lights" and "Modern Times" and "The Navigator," not simply as a film school exercise but to increase the sentimental resonance of the story and situate it among the classics.
And an adventure film, a quest flick, a cautionary tale (showing the perils of waste, a reliance on automation, and a sedentary lifestyle) and more than a bit of homage to its sci-fi predecessors (most notably "2001" but also "Silent Running," etc.), old Hollywood musicals (of all things, "Hello, Dolly!), and comedic lead characters from the era of silent films.
This is not Pixar’s version of Robots, or a cutesy combination of silent comedy and Silent Running.
Taking visual cues from some of the most memorable science fiction films of our time (2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Silent Running, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence and Star Wars, to name a few), WALL*E is without question a visual feast worthy of awards and accolades.
Director-screenwriter Andrew Stanton and his Pixar legions have referenced such films as "City Lights" and "Modern Times" and "The Navigator," not simply as a film school exercise but to increase the sentimental resonance of the story and situate it among the classics.
The mechanical janitor's melancholy pantomime has been not undeservingly compared to the great silent comics, and the film's first movement reminded me of the sublime "Valse Triste" segment from the Italian animated smorgasbord Allegro Non Troppo .
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Director Andrew Stanton ("Finding Nemo") and the Pixar team have created a world so packed with witty visual detail—and filled with movie references that range from "2001" to "Blade Runner" to "Manhattan"—that young kids may have a hard time keeping up with the plot.
Taking visual cues from some of the most memorable science fiction films of our time (2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Silent Running, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence and Star Wars, to name a few), WALL*E is without question a visual feast worthy of awards and accolades.
Robots have been routinely humanized in sci-fi movies: in "Blade Runner," "A.I." and "Metropolis," for example.
A few clever riffs on earlier sci-fi classics pop up -- Blade Runner, Brazil, 2001, and Sigourney Weaver as the voice of the spaceship's computer -- though Stanton is smart enough to keep them understated rather than overt.
It gives nothing away to say that they are circling the globe inside a gigantic spaceship called Axiom, which looks like something out of 1960s or 1970 sci-fi – no accident there, since Blade Runner , Alien, Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey are major influences on this film.
The movie has a strong simplicity that rivals, and sometimes equals, Steven Spielberg�s E.T. It�s E.T. for the iPod generation.
Star Wars, E.T., and Raiders of the Lost Ark (not to mention voices for E.T. and Chewbacca) automatically endears him to science fiction fans worldwide.
"WALL·E" is the most preachy of all the Pixar offerings, though if a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, 97 minutes of an endearing robotic "E.T." will certainly put you in a forgiving, even receptive, mood.