Reviewed by Stuart O'Connor
Stars the voices of Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin,
Fred Willard, MacInTalk, John Ratzenberger,
Kathy Najimy, Sigourney Weaver
Written by Andrew Stanton
Certification UK U | US G | Australia G
Runtime 97 minutes
Directed by Andrew Stanton
Those nasty Pixar people have really done it this time. Why do they hate film critics so much? I am so narked that if I ever get to meet Andrew Stanton, John Lasseter or Brad Bird, I’m going punch each of them square on the nose. And Stanton’s also getting one in the gut, just for good measure*.
What has got me so riled? Well, once you see WALL•E, you’ll understand, because those smarty-pants at Pixar have produced a movie that’s so delightful, so full of joy and wonder, and so nigh-on perfect that they’ve made the job even tougher for us poor, beleaguered film critics. Because it’s so much easier to write really nasty things about crap films (see Norbit, Meet the Spartans or The Hottie & The Nottie) than it is to keep coming up with fresh superlatives each year as Pixar rolls out yet another cinematic masterpiece. So just this once we’ve done a Spinal Tap and cranked our rating up to a 6 out of 5 – that’ll learn ’em, the swines.
So. On to WALL•E itself. Which, as you may have guessed by now, we consider to be the finest thing to ever come out of the Pixar studios. Yes, it’s better than the Toy Stories, Monsters, Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and even Ratatouille. It's one of the most genuinely romantic, warm-hearted and downright human films we've ever had the fortune to see. And it's a film about robots. Stanton has said that WALL•E began life as a very simple idea: what if everyone was forced to abandon the Earth, and they forgot to turn off the last robot? WALL•E (which stands for Waste Allocation Load Lifter — Earth class) is basically a trash compactor on treads, and looks a little like a metal version of E.T. He's been alone on Earth now for hundreds of years, with just a cockroach for company. WALL•E fills his days going about what he was programmed to do — cleaning up the planet. And doing something else that he wasn't programmed to do — developing a personality. Which really comes to the fore when EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) — all white and sleek and shiny, like a futuristic iPod — arrives on Earth to see if life has returned to the planet yet. WALL•E falls head over heels for the lovely but oblivious, all-business EVE and hitches a ride on her rocketship as she leaves. ANd that's where WALL•E's adventure really begins.
There is so much to like, and even love, in this movie, and almost nothing to dislike. Some have criticised it for its lack of dialogue, but you don't need words when the visuals are this sharp, this clever and this heartfelt. For me, one of the finest moments in the whole movie is when we see WALL•E going past a series of holographic billboards, which proceed to fill us in on the entire backstory — just what happened to the Earth, and why humanity had to leave, and where they went. And entire scene of exposition, done in a neat little 30-second tracking shot. That, for me, sums up the genius of Pixar. Other filmmakers need to see this and take note, to learn just how perfection can be achieved. WALL•E is Pixar's loveletter to audiences. Go, see it, and love it. It truly is a masterpiece.
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SECOND OPINION | Neil Davey ****** Since Monsters Inc, when I cheerfully awarded Pixar full marks, I've had my hands tied. For, as Stuart explains above, every subsequent movie has upped the animation ante and shown that this most impressive of studios is constantly at the peak of their creativity. And, like Stuart, I've been forced to re-evaluate the entire scoring system. Even a small blip such as Cars stunned in terms of visual flair, making it easier to forgive the story's shortcomings, but Nemo? Ratatouille? The Incredibles? They're all five star, grade A classics. And now along comes WALL•E to push that blasted envelope some more. Moral, moving, pointed and poignant, it's still light, subtle and, best of all, unashamedly romantic. It scores more ecological points through that previously-mentioned 30-second montage than 100-odd minutes of Happy Feet, is dotted with laugh-out-loud moments and if you don't wipe a tear away from your eye at the end well, frankly, you're probably dead. As for six out of five? I'm a borderline seven: Pixar had already earned six with Presto, the opening short, which contains more gags, flair and creativity than six months of Nickelodeon. It is, without doubt, Pixar's best short. Whether WALL•E deserves the same full-length accolade is one I'd happily debate for hours. The final act, where the attention is deflected from WALL•E and EVE to assorted lesser robot creations, does flag slightly and Finding Nemo and The Incredibles might just have the edge in terms of consistency. But those are the smallest of small potatoes. This is a thing of wonder, an almost dialogue-free work of genius, and just plain lovely.
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THIRD OPINION | Craig McPherson **** When it comes to movies, kid flicks aren’t my cup of tea. For all the folks out there that love 'em, I generally loath them, and I particularly despise being immersed in an audience of hyperactive munchkins who can’t sit still, much less remain quiet. So it comes as somewhat of a surprise that I found myself sitting in a theatre surrounded by antsy children waiting for WALL•E to begin. Things weren’t looking good as the trailers started to roll. Dancing hippos and super dogs failed to stifle the little monsters as promos for the Madagascar 2 and Bolt movies rolled by. But then the main feature started to run, something magical happened. You could hear a pin drop. The munchkins had been wrapped in enchantment, and I found myself absorbed like never before in a movie designed for the sandbox set. Told with minimal dialogue (the robots don’t say much beyond their names) and relying heavily on pantomime and the conveyance of expression through mechanical means, the folks at Pixar have truly created a gem that is as much a work of art as it is entertainment. Because much of the story is told through mime, even the youngest of kids can follow the story. As an adult, there’s plenty of substance here too, as the film explores the consequences of human dependence upon all-serving technology. The animation is also something to behold. WALL•E’s sequences on Earth have a hyper-real look to them, breaking down the barrier between what appears natural and animated. Thanks to WALL-E, my faith in kids flicks has been restored ... but you’ll still have to drag me kicking and screaming to see Madagascar 2.
• Official UK Site
• WALL•E at IMDb
