WALL-E

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Review by Loc

If you’ve read any of my reviews, you know Pixar holds great reverence with me. You also know that with a great track record and history, Pixar has high expectations for every release. Lastly, you know that I hold no preconceived notions for any films, so the last two sentences are null and void. I mention these things to you to simply to set the bar accordingly and let you know what I know. Quick hit: WALL-E is an absolute masterpiece that doesn’t quite capture its own genius.

Ah, but why try to contain genius? In this case, simply because the sum of its parts are not greater than its whole. And what are those parts? First, the animation jumps forth like only Pixar can do. As a company, Pixar tends to raise the bar and exceed expectations. Whereas other CGI films work to match the current trends, Pixar simply creates new ones in the technology. For WALL-E, Pixar employs a near photo-realistic style unseen before. The dusty garbage, the weathered metal on WALL-E, everything on this deserted Earth looks near perfect. This isn’t Toy Story, this isn’t Finding Nemo or Ratatouille, this is WALL-E and it captures a look and feel unique to itself. It’s amazing that Pixar continues to find new ways to reinvent CGI, but we’re all lucky to experience it.

Second, the characters are nearly perfect. These robots exhibit more depth and personality than I do on a daily basis, and they do it without speaking. For nearly half the movie, WALL-E and his companion, EVE, speak in robotic chirps, close enough for us humans to understand the words they’re mimicking. Yet, these characters interact without true passages of dialogue, without full, loquacious exchanges, and we see how vibrant and human they truly are. It’s an amazing accomplishment to see characters with full personalities, motivations, and reactions, and yet never hear them speak a complete sentence.

Lastly, the subject matter is important. It’s a tale of how the human race may face extreme consequences from its continued obsession with material consumption. In essence, WALL-E is one of the last functioning robots on a deserted Earth. It seems that the human race focused so much on buying and accumulating that it ran the planet barren, leaving heaps and mountains of garbage in its wake. Instead of conservation, humans left the planet, simply sending probes to determine if the planet would be inhabitable once again. WALL-E is the first Pixar film to blatantly put a stake in the ground on a social issue. It’s heavy-handed in the sense that it’s a driving point in the film’s plot; however, there’s not a lot of overt preaching, not a lot of ham-handed lectures, it’s a slice of life, self-reflection presentation that let’s everyone know: it’s time we took better care, of everything.

As stated earlier, the parts that make up this movie are amazing. Yet, it never quite coalesces like one would hope. Sure, WALL-E and EVE are fun characters. The requisite love story is cute and charming. Yet, there seems to be a reliance on robotic chirping that’s supposed to push cute into greatness. And that doesn’t happen. These robots are great, but for all their personal glory, they’re interactions and motivations miss a beat. Yes, you know why they do what they do, you root for them, you hope they accomplish their goals, but you never do it passionately. It’s like a nice round of applause instead of fanatic cheering.

The animation is great. Even stylistic choices like zooming camera shots offered new types of presentation. However, one thing that led to a significant disconnect: live action clips. WALL-E employed video clips, some of old-time musicals, others of a corporate blowhard extolling the virtues of the predominant consumer culture played by Fred Williard. Not only does this break the enchantment of the WALL-E universe, it hurts it by yanking you away from the illusion. After all, with the photo-realistic CGI and human video clips, shouldn’t we be seeing more actual humans as well? When we get to the human spaceship, shouldn’t all the people be real-life actors as well? Why mix and match to create a disconnect from the rest of the film?

Lastly, the lack of a truly deep, unifying thread from character to story hurts the film. Yes, we understand the robots and see that they’re cute. Yes, humans have damaged the Earth with their consumer-obsessed culture. However, the strong connection, the organic connection between character and plot isn’t there. And as a result, the whole thing plays more empty than you expect from a Pixar flick.

Overall, this is a great accomplishment. Take out a typical Hollywood resolution, and this film could easily have been presented as a stark commentary on our own lives. Take out the kid-friendly, and you could have made a truly gripping, tragic movie worthy of all the little golden statues in the world. Yet, as is, WALL-E delivers its distinct parts with vibrant energy and confidence. At the same time, it misses a couple beats and leaves you wishing for just a little more to shoot this into the realm of perfection. Out of 700 years of trash collecting, WALL-E crushes for an astounding 560 years. It had more potential, but even as it stands, the delivery is a great work of art.