This Andrew Stanton sci-fi romantic comedy made over half-a-billion when it was released
in June of 2008, easily besting its large $180-million dollar budget.
The computer-animated adventure follows a plucky little robot in the distant future
who inadvertently embarks on a journey through space that ends up deciding the fate of all
mankind.
Inspired by old clips from the musical "Hello, Dolly!", the titular character is a hopeless
romantic - but he's also the only thing with sentience on the entire globe, left behind
to clean up a planetwide mess after humans left the solar system for a better future.
Their expositional infomercial that begins the film reminds customers that, "We'll clean
up the mess while you're away!".
Despite being a mute, miniature Johnny-5 clone...
"Wall-E" remains remarkably expressive.
Hunting for trinkets on the abandoned Earth to satisfy his curiosity, his large eyes and
eyebrow flaps help him emote his very human-like feelings and desires.
He is perplexed and surprised to discover all sorts of leftover trash, and even mistakes
an old bra as large eyewear.
Revolutionary sound designer Ben Burrt, best know for his work on the "Star Wars" films,
provides the cutesy electronic voice of the robot - and is excellent with the limited,
but complicated role.
This, combined with his constant need to impress a new robot arrival, played by Elissa Knight,
makes the character an absolutely adorable protagonist.
Together, their unlikely and irrational relationship carry the G-rated narrative which is devoid
of human dialogue until the halfway point.
When more traditional characters and situations are introduced, the film unfortunately suffers
as a result.
Sigourney Weaver is appropriately cast the voice of the starship's computer; John Ratzenberger's
requisite appearance gives him plenty to chew on as a obese human who finally decides break
humanity's cycle of extreme consumerism; Jeff Garlin is great as an inquisitive Captain
eager to learn more about Earth's past, while Fred Willard is perfect as a smarmy CEO in
a short live-action cameo, the first for any Pixar film.
The 98-minute feature scored a record-tying six Academy Award nominations, winning for
"Best Animated Feature".
As expected, the visual effects used to accomplish all of the characters' nuanced traits are
impeccable, utilizing believable lighting and film-like depth of field to really sell
the realism.
But special mention needs to be made for a wonderfully poetic scene where our two robot
protagonists fly spiraling circles around each other in a sort of space-walk ballet
duet.
Thomas Newman's majestic score lends an emotional depth to this proceedings as well, while an
end-credits ballad by Peter Gabriel titled, "Down To Earth", is also rather memorable.
A sweet and tender love story set against a cautionary tale regarding gluttony and environmentalism...
this interstellar adventure remains one of Pixar's best, on every viewing.
"Wall-E" is a beautiful and romantic experience with lovable characters.
Now let's check out some of your reviews.
Remarkably consistent scores for "Wall-E", with everyone agreeing it's an AWESOME film.