Wall-E Review

Wall-E-ReviewThanks for checking out our Wall-E review. You can also check out a video version of our Wall-E review at the bottom of this post.

I’ve said it many times before… for my money, Pixar is not only the best animation film studio in the business… they are the best film studio period. This company simply doesn’t know how to make anything less than excellence. Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Bug’s Life, Monsters Inc, Ratatouille, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Cars… name another studio that is literally 8 for 8? So whenever a new Pixar film is in development, it instantly gets my attention, and Wall-E was no exception to that rule. 2008 has already been a great summer for movies with releases like Iron Man, Wanted, Dark Knight, Prince Caspian and a few others… would Wall-E live up to Pixar standards and keep the summer season moving forward? YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!

THE GENERAL IDEA

The synopsis for Wall-E looks something like this: “Disney and Pixar join forces for this computer-animated tale about a wide-eyed robot who travels to the deepest reaches of outer space in search of a newfound friend. The year is 2700, and planet Earth has long been uninhabitable. For hundreds of years, WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) has been taking out the trash, and collecting precious knick-knacks in order to stave off the boredom of his dreary routine. Little does WALL-E realize that he has recently stumbled onto a secret that could save planet Earth, and once again make the ravaged planet safe for all humankind. When highly advanced search robot EVE makes friends with WALL-E and realizes the value of his remarkable discovery, she excitedly races back to let the humans know that there’s hope for their home planet after all. But after centuries alone in the world, WALL-E can’t stand the thought of losing the only friend he’s ever known, and eagerly follows her into the deepest reaches of space on the adventure of a lifetime. Along the way, the friendly trash-collecting robot who has always known what he was made for gradually begins to understand what he was meant for. Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton returns to the helm for this family-friendly sci-fi adventure featuring the voices of Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin, and Ben Burtt.”

THE GOOD

The visual element of Wall-E is just breathtaking in some spots. The earth really does look like its been abandoned for hundreds of years. It is a vast, dreary landscape whose visual style communicates the nature and emotion of the predicament of the earth. It’s not often anymore that an animated film makes you look at some shots with a huge sense of awe… but Wall-E does that.

One of the big questions going into the movie that a lot of people has were “how interesting can this movie be when the main characters don’t actually talk?”. A fair question. When your two main characters (Wall-E and EVE) have about 90% of the screen time, and each basically only ever say “Wall-E” or “Eve”, the burden for storytelling falls onto the shoulders of the character performances (animation) and the art of visual storytelling, and my goodness did they ever hit it out of the park in this regard. Wall-E communicates worlds of information to the audience without ever saying a word just by how perfectly and beautifully he’s animated. His movements, his expression and his very nature are the tools by which this story is told without the use of words (there is dialog in the film from some other characters… but the majority of the movie is told by just watching and experiencing Wall-E himself).

This is not only a great animated movie… this is truly one of the greatest Science Fiction films I’ve seen since E.T. Great Sci-Fi doesn’t just give us giant robots and flashy space ships… but also observations about the human condition. Great science fiction acts as a looking glass on our reality from the perspective of the fantastic or the other worldly. Throughout the film, Wall-E makes serious observations about us as a society, and all done in such a way that none of it seems unrealistic. 700 years from now all humans are fat beyond reason, almost without the ability to walk at all. They are so connected into their technology that they become oblivious to simple observations about the world around them in which they live. They engorge themselves in their modern conveniences while destroying themselves at the same time. It’s difficult to go into too much without crossing into spoiler territory, but for now I’ll just leave it at that.

Ok… we all knew this movie was going to be “cute”, as in the “awwwww” factor of it. But wow, it really is cute and endearing. I just fell in love with Wall-E and EVE as they go along on their little adventure. And I’m man enough to admit that near the end of the film I even felt some tears welling up in my eyes that I had to wipe away. Just so beautiful. Lots of fantastic humor too (which we’ve come to expect from Pixar) that kept you grinning or laughing almost the entire time.

Not really “Wall-E” related… but the Pixar animated short film “Presto” that plays just before Wall-E is one of the best they’ve ever done too and added to my overall enjoyment of the evening.

THE BAD

I’ve got nothing to add here

OVERALL

This is the best film of 2008 so far, and if Wall-E doesn’t get nominated for Best Picture (not just the cheap cop-out Best Animated Picture) then I’m going to throw a total fit. This is a beautiful, smart, touching, hilarious and damn cute movie that I’m going to see at least 4 more times in the theater. It is the best film Pixar has ever made in my opinion… and the most complete one too. I loved this movie. Overall I give Wall-E a 9.5 out of 10.

YOU CAN SEE THE VIDEO VERSION OF THE WALL-E REVIEW BELOW

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133 thoughts on “Wall-E Review

  1. The Michael Crawford recurring motif just ground after a while. Script dept. was on holiday first half of the film. Where’s the witty dialogue we know and love? Homage to HAL in 2001 was crass and a clear unimaginative “bolt on” No menace from this 8 bit computer. Again script out to lunch. 46 year old, 14 year and 5 year old clearly unimpressed by the hype.

  2. Wall-E was a great movie yes but it did have it’s flaws in my opinion. The graphics are breath taking to begin with but then we get to the second part of the movie and we go back to the stupidly fleshed out Pixar style humans I have grown to hate. Sure it’s a style they chose, it’s aimed at kids after all and the humans look funny to them. But to create such a vivid world with such stunning graphics just to throw those cheap excuses of animation in there at the end is just pathetic in my opinion and the entire human idea should have been left out if you ask me.

    But yes, as a whole I did enjoy Wall-E a great deal and also had that ‘tear’ moment John talked about. I’d give it a 8/10 because of the sloppy human animation/models.

    Robin

  3. After all this time-it finally came out on dvd today-and i promised i’d give it a chance after the uber-excitement-the gushing-the talk of Wall E as Best Picture nom. My take-NO cartoon picture should be nominated for Best picture-and this one least of all. Not one thing special about this other than the blessed silence. An enjoyable movie for what it’s worth but forgettable within minutes. Maybe it’s my aga-but I’ve appreciate cartoons before-this one is a trifle. If this is the best movie any of you have seen in 2008 then I really worry for the class of movies and movie goers. We are in bad bad shape-and now Quantum of Solace makes a magillion dollars. Possiblythe worst Bond movie in 20 years. All this is just a function of people being used to going to the movies weekly and whatever is the big movie for that week becomes the biggest movie of the week. It’s getting colder so more people go-I’m sure Twilight will be next weeks monster and prove absolutely nothing. Movie going and film making is deteriorating as quickly as our economy. Maybe the brad pitt, mclint eastwood, leo/winslet movies will redeem but they won’t make money like Wall-E and Twilight. We’re lucky if we get 2 really good normal films a year-and one or 2 super duper overdone films (this year we got dark knight and iron man-and for that I’m happy)

  4. I am a Disney freak; I’ve actually seen this movie 13 times! It has a beautiful message, that we should see the destruction being done to our planet and try to stop it (honestly, why would someone be opposed to that idea?). For those who don’t want to look at this truth, there is an excellently done plot that captures your attention with likable characters, and well as amazing animation. Basically, the movie is about saving the world (if not 700 years later than it should have been). I wish I could give it more than 5 stars!!

  5. It will get a nominations a lot. The great things about this movies are I don’t care how many people says crap about this. It doesn’t matter.

    The movie was Great, Brilliant. Perfection. It was the best of 2008 SO FAR.

    But if you still hate it there are plenty of brainless movie out there…

  6. great movie pure gold a cinematic masterpiece im not gonna waste my ine arguing cause movies are subjective like john always says… i hope it at least gets a nomination

  7. the .5 inperfection to the movie was because the president of the United States was a REAL human being, while the future human beings were animated. They should have made the president in the year 2000 a computer animation – this didn’t gel with the movie. For the Hello Dolly footage… well maybe the animated humans did the CGI for the real humans to achieve the “Hello Dolly” movie – so then real humans used in this movie can be justified. But other than that… the movie was perfect.

  8. I don’t know why everybody feels the need to find something in a movie so that they can rip it up. Once in a while a movie comes along that you just need to sit back, munch on popcorn, and enjoy. Wall-E was one of those movies.

  9. Yet, John, you do realize that the one thing that every pixar movie did, is layer the humor. Watching “Toy Story” and “Monster’s Inc.” now really did deliver as much laughs (maybe more) because there were alot of jokes i missed (e.g. The yeti in “monster’s inc.” says the “Armour Hot Dog’s” commercial, which was absolute gold). But because Wall-E was that “cute” movie, and was totally focused on the visual/silent humor, it will always be remembered as that “cute” pixar movie, and will not deliver laughs to people who have seen it, and will see it again two years from now.

  10. A little late to the party, but my kids and I just went to see WALL-E this past weekend. Absolutely LOVED it. The kids, 7 and 9, thoroughly enjoyed it, even though there were clearly concepts that went over their heads a bit.

    Like you, I’m sorry that Magealot and others couldn’t enjoy the film for what it was. Some folks seem to take issue with the fact that it wasn’t a true “sci-fi” film (based in science). But, in actuality, not once have I heard the studio itself refer to it as “sci-fi”. That’s just what others have labeled it because, well, we’re more comfortable categorizing things. And “sci-fi” is the closest category we can come up with… because it has spaceships and robots.

    Sure, the physics didn’t make sense a lot of the time, and WALL-E didn’t really rust and the buildings didn’t really deteriorate they way they almost certainly would have after 700 years (particularly in a toxic environment like Earth was supposed to have turned into). So, I wouldn’t say it’s true science-fiction. In fact, it may simply be a romance movie, with a large dose of poignant human admonishment.

    And to pick apart this movie simply because the ship shouldn’t have “tipped” the way it did, or because you don’t like an art directors decision of how one of the characters should look… well, that’s just missing the whole point of this beautiful story.

  11. John,

    I couldn’t agree with you more. The film is awesome – if you like Pixar films then this is another gem. For the few who don’t like Pixar films then they are indeed entitled to their opinion but for the vast majority this film will score big. I think you can safely say if you have seen a Pixar flim in the past and enjoyed it, then WALL-E is totally worth seeing.

    Aber_man

  12. Hey Magealot

    Prove you wrong??? Dude, you haven’t proven yourself right. All you’ve done is give your opinion, and you’re totally entitled to that.

    Clearly you don’t understand that film is SUBJECTIVE. You may like one thing, and another person may not. Film is art, and therefore if 10 people look at it, they’ll see 10 different things.

    Wall-E is the #1 rated film of the year so far, which means the vast majority of the people on the planet who have seen it, love it. That doesn’t mean that your experience isn’t valid, but it certainly means theirs is valid too.

    I’m sorry you couldn’t enjoy this masterful film. To each their own.

  13. Nobody has done anything against what I said. Thanks for everybody who agrees with me. Here it is again. See if you can prove me wrong!

    I found this movie to be the absolute worst I have ever seen. One, Sci-fi is supposed to be *based* (key word here that you missed) on actual fact and this had absolutely no basis on any science at all. How did everyone have weight in space? If you say ultra dense bottom, then the tipping ship isn’t explained. Two, the graphics were the worst out of any of the Pixar films. EVE looks like a hemisphere on a rounded cone, while there are only two human templates, only with color changed. All the jokes used were adaptations off ones used in other films. All movies have holes in the plot, but what happened with this one? There was no rust on Wall-e after 700(?) years of work, only a little dirt. I really don’t see why you think that this is a good film.

  14. From the standpoint of pure filmmaking, Wall-E is the best thing Pixar has ever produced. It is a truly beautiful film, both in visual aesthetics and in musical score, written by Thomas Newman of “Road to Perdition” fame.
    In fact, the look of the film and the Wall-E and Eve characters are so strong, maybe there was no need for human characters at all?
    Well, anyway …I’d like to see some new live action film this moving.

  15. I have to disagree with all of the people on here completely raving about Wall-E.

    It was good. But it wasn’t great.

    I loved the robots, all of them. I thought it was incredible that, without any real dialogue, the filmmakers were able to create characters that you could sympathize with. It was very well done.

    My problem? The humans. Well, maybe not the humans, but the message about what humans had (have) become. I just felt as though the filmmakers over exploited every opportunity they had to underline the moral message of “Humans are lazy and big corporations are bad!”

    Maybe that’s a fine message, but the film was way too preachy about it. This is how the film can be summed up.. in my eyes.

    – The world is desolate and over run with garbage.. BECAUSE HUMANS ARE LAZY!

    – The biggest corporation makes robots to clean up and flies all the humans away.. BECAUSE HUMANS ARE LAZY!

    – Wall-E is one of the robots and he’s been doing his job for hundreds of years. DON’T FORGET THAT HUMANS ARE LAZY!

    – Wall-E is very lonely, until a pretty robot names Eve comes to earth to see if it is livable again. Wall-E falls in love, but it doesn’t last because Eve gets called back to her ship.

    – Wall-E follows her, and when he arrives on the ship he find out that HUMANS ARE LAZY! MORE LAZY THAN THEY WERE BEFORE!

    – Eve’s programming, and Wall-E’s need to help the robot he loves puts them in a struggle against forces that want to keep HUMANS BEING LAZY!

    – Through the struggle, Wall-E and Eve grow close and a hand full of LAZY HUMANS manage to change.

    Moral of the story: HUMANS ARE LAZY! (And robots need love too.. but that doesn’t really matter because HUMANS ARE LAZY!)

    All in all, I felt, what should have been a gag or device to move the plot along (at best) ended up sucking a lot of fun (and attention from the love story between Wall-E and Eve) out of the film.

  16. This movie blew me away! What I really loved was how they explained why the movie was animated. First seeing a live action picture of the face of Fred Willard, humanity’s first captain, on the banner in the captain’s office then an inverse evolution depicting the various other captains who lost more and more bones in their bodies because of a lax of exercise unitl they looked animated! Wow. Very clever. Oh, and Wall-E is the cutest character on screen since Gromit.

    To check out it out, look at this great trailer website. Click around!

    http://www.zuguide.com/entity.php?ref=14138

  17. Hey i was completely blown away by this movie. so close to perfect, but right after the movie i started comparing and i still felt like it didn’t pass up nemo which was in my opinion the best of pixar. But hearing other people’s review i realize this is far ahead of nemo. and i don’t know what’s wrong with people who say they didn’t understand because i honestly did not notice that no one was talking during the film.
    Pixar is just simply genious and i think they should consider a sequel to this movie…. but then again i don’t want to ruin this movie. as close to perfect as i have seen in an animated film

  18. (Type your comment here. Make sure you’ve read the commenting rules before doing so)

    Oh by the way, ET scared the crap outta me. Any kid with common sense would
    A) Wear a helmet when biking!
    B) Not make friends with a creepy looking alien in its bedroom closet!

  19. This movie was amazing. No offense, but i disagree with you, HDMKOM. Even if you get bored with the plot or story line, the graphics are so amazing you can just look at them forever and ignore the rest.

    I felt this movie was truly amazing. Who knew that robots could have such real personalities in the movie. Just stunning.
    Finding Nemo has such a strong place in my heart, but i’d say Wall-E is tied if not better. yeah, its that good.

    I agree with many, that it should be put up for best picture not just best animated. Do you hear that, Oscar people?!?!?!

  20. (Type your comment here. Make sure you’ve read the commenting rules before doing so)
    First 1/2 hour, the Earth was a fascinating view and Wall E was enchanting…When Eva appeared, I was disappointed… She looked like she was visiting from “The Jetsons”
    I thought WALL E would have made a great short film…Nothing that Rod Serling(Twilight Zone) didn’t cover in 1960.
    BIG CORPORATIONS—BAD
    HUMANITY DISAPPEARING, MACHINES TAKING OVER.
    FAT LAZY HUMANS DESTROYING OURSELVES

    After a while, I got bored. Felt hit over the head with the “messages”…
    I dozed off, my wife did too, and my 5 year old son twice asked me when we were leaving…
    I know most reviewers would disagree , but I found the movie preachy.

    It was an amazing accomplishment to advance an entire movie without much diologue, but amazing to me doesn’t necessarily translate to entertainment…
    I got annoyed after an hour and a half of “adorable robot beepy sounds”
    I went in having read AMAZING reviews of this movie(always a problem, too much pressure on the movie) and telling my son it would be as good as ET
    I left thinking…Not even close….

  21. Unless you are really into “saving the environment”, think that the human race is an abomination and that technology is pure evil then skip it. Simply put, it is the Hitler Youth program of the liberals.

  22. Maybe I just saw this move in the wrong frame of mind, but I was so bored in the first 20 min. I almost walked out. The bleak landscape of the future earth was depressing, and after seeing the entire movie, I thought this was an environmental tract being presented as a major motion picture. The action on the cruise ship was the only saving grace for me. The robot love story was just sort of cheesy for me, and the return to earth? Please, who wants to live in a garbage dump

    I’m more of an Iron Man fangrrl, but I expected to love this because it was from Pixar. it’s not a kids movie, but it is family friendly, so I guess that will work for most people. I don’t think kids will get most of the references, especially the social commentary, which was the whole point of the movie, but they’ll enjoy the robots.

    For me, I think Hellboy II will be more my thing.

  23. Nothing ruins a movie experience more than people declaring “Oscar Worthy” at the drop of a hat. Best Animated, Yes. Best Picture? No way.

    Anyway, I’m not saying I didn’t like the movie. I’m just saying it was disappointing because of this:

    – The first act was completely engrossing with Wall-E and his life as the last robot on Earth. I wanted to follow his every move down there, but suddenly he’s out in space and I realized the film wasn’t about Wall-E. It was about Earth. And quite frankly, I wanted to see a movie about Wall-E

    – Pixar is known for it’s originality but we got a lot of borrowed themes. “A young man stuck on a desert planet follows love to space and saves the galaxy” (Star Wars). “Gluttony, Laziness and Technology are the downfall of society” (Idiocracy) “Boy likes girl. Girl doesn’t like boy. Girl softens and they fall in love” (Every romantic comedy)

    – Wall-E the character. Why was he so unique? Was he defective? A romantic? A survivalist? Heck, with the ending showing how easy it is to fix a broken Wall-E unit then an argument can be made that he’s a bit of a jerk for having the tools to fix his buddies yet choosing to scrap them for parts instead.

    – Ending. [Spoiler obviously].
    The idea that Eve rescued Wall-E, but instead of falling in love he went back to his mindless routine just seemed so perfect. I know, I know. It’s too mature a theme to end a family movie with but shouldn’t there have been a price to pay for humanities folly? Think about it:

    “Robots developed emotions because they had to compensate for the humans losing theirs. Humans were rescued from their robot overlords but it cost the soul of Earth’s last robot.”

    Overall I’d say it was good and will be better on 2nd viewing. But I had as much emotional attachment to these robots as the humans did when they proceeded to enslave them to do the work necessary to fix the planet.

  24. > But didn’t the live action footage of Fred
    > Willard as the President seem out of
    > place? It felt as though it undermined
    > the animation of the other humans in
    > the film.

    Since Fred Willard is generally so artificial and plastic himself, I felt his cameo humanized the Pixar humans.

  25. Wall-E is another great PIXAR baby, but I don’t think it’s their best overall film yet. I believe Ratatouille and The Incredibles far superior.

    The visuals were stunning and no doubt the framing is PIXAR’s best done yet. Despite its technical brilliance though, I found that the film wasn’t as engaging as the other two I listed above.

    Also, while I thoroughly enjoyed the film’s important message, I thought it was a bit overdone, and political allusions like “Stay the course” are too strong to not pull the viewer out of the picture.

    OK John, you have no BAD points??? But didn’t the live action footage of Fred Willard as the President seem out of place? It felt as though it undermined the animation of the other humans in the film.

    It’s still a great robot love story behind all the subtext. 8/10

  26. > my 5 year old cousin went to see it with
    > his aunt and they asked me if i wanted
    > to come and i sayd “wall-e? ha-ha! fuck
    > wall-e, that movie looks gayer than
    > liberachis asshole..ill come and ill 4 peat
    > the hulk wile you guys go watch wall-fuck”

    I’m gonna go ahead and guess that your last name isn’t Shakespeare.

    ———————————–

    WALL-E is a great movie, but John totally gapped his THE BAD section — this film has more plot holes and illogical scenarios that it does cute li’l robot characters.

    Being helplessly analytical myself, I hard a hard time getting past them.

    “BUT WAIT,” I’d shout from my theater seat, “IF THEY DECIDED 500 YEARS AGO THAT EARTH WAS A WRITE-OFF… THEN WHY WERE THEY STILL SENDING EVE PROBES THERE?”

    And from underneath the ensuing blanket of thrown popcorn, if you listened very carefully, you’d hear me shout, “AND WHAT TYPE OF ECONOMY COULD ‘BIG-N-LARGE’ BE BENEFITING FROM IF EVERYONE IS FLOATING AROUND IN LA-Z-BOYS AND NOT WORKING?”

  27. try forgetting religion, moral, ethics, politics and whatever

    Human are environmentalist because they live inside Nature (all around you) and have the power to act. We have not the choice, we are FORCED by our own nature to be environmentalist. every day.

    and it’s NOT the point of Wall-e ! it’s a SF love story and a backside story about what humanity could become if it forgets Earth, only living in space and machines. NOT a green movie.

  28. Pixar is the best studio so far. Many hits, not only one bad movies (even cars, I didn’t like)

    why pixar should stop to stick to animation ? some others studios only do “live movie”.. they should do also animation by the same logic.


    the main problem is , live or animation (cg, stop motion, whatever) are just illusion and technics to do a movie.

    Some people spoke about X-men. you really think x-men (or spiderman) are a Live Movie ? most part (spiderman) are cg-computed , fx and makeups. did I care ? NooOoo, but do not tell me it’s “live”.

    Even “realistic” movies are using tons of tricks. So, you just want to see actors. I don’t think actors or animated characters explain what is a good movie.


    kiddie stuff:

    again, some people speak about “adult animation, an huge animation x-men would be great”.. but, Are we talking about the X-men movies ? the 3 ones ?

    there were kiddy movies. yeah I know I knoiw, maybe a little too much violent, with some teenage interrogations (who am I ? why is my body so weird ? and so on)

    for the most part, X-men are Bad Guy and Good guy. You can rationalize all you want about some complexity in some characters

    I could do the same with Emile in Ratatouille ou Eve in Wall-e (or Nausicaa in the wonderful movie of Miyazaki)

    My point is, Juno is an “adult movie”, X-men not.
    but you speak about “why not some ADULT animation ” ?

    Japanese animation : I love them. For the most part, “anime” are for teens in Japan.

    Adult Animation would be “5 cm” (a story about an young man who completely miss his life because he never accepted to forget one girl he meet in school)

    or Honneamise (“the wings of honneamise” in US I believe) the story of an adult man without dream and future which discover a faith in his work (space exploration) thanks to a devot woman, and finally a hope for humanity beyond wars.

    this two movies, with some parts to please teens and grownup are completely impossible to interest kids.

    an “adult american movies” would be “Sex and the city”, “Aquatic Life” or “Juno” in animation. Some crazy japanese studios could do that. once in ten years, not often, but THAT will be “adult”.

    Perfect Blue, Paranoia Agent and Millenium Actress (the same director) was for the most part Adult animation. All about old people, problems with spouses, or lost loves, or the feeling to become crazy.


    Wall-e ? it’s a “family movie”.

    A movie kids and adults can love. The kids will love both main characters and will follow their adventures, adults will also love the two characters and all the details, SF elements and what you want to find in it.

    but I really thinks , for pixar, to do kids movies is a Quality, a rare gift, a pleasure they crave on. And good stories for children can please everyone.

    I Believe it was Hayo Miyazaki who said children are worth of great movies.


    but About Pixar, adult theme and Wall-e. I think Wall-e is pretty decent for everyone, neverthelss Ratatouille is more adult than Wall-e, Monsters Inc or Incredibles.

    Ratatouille is about young adults, responsibility, family, taste, and the difficulty to force people to accept what we want to do in life, even if it seems impossible. It is difficult them for kids.

    But also, children will receive the message “not everyone can be a genius, but genius can be from everywhere”

    Ratatouille is a heavy movie (and a great story), many themes in it.

    Wall-e is lighter,
    it’s not a green movie (ha!), not a movie about fat (it’s loss of bones because lacks of gravity), not about technology (robots are never rejected in the movie), it’s about Living, to go back home and absolute love.


    why mouse and cute robots to tell stuff ?? japan are so much better to do great stories !! many are saying…
    hum..
    think about anime one minute… why so many Big Robots, Daemons against woman-soldier, and high-school chronicles and dimensional travels in whatever fantasy-land of the day ?

    because it’s gimmicks to please productors, to please the public aaaaand… suddenly the creators tell a Great Story with Big Ideas ! (japanese animation do that every-time from Ghost In the Shell to Karekano without forgetting Twelve Kingdoms)


    in fact, a Mouse in ratatouille is the perfect tool to express the main theme of the movie (genius from everywhere) and to please everyone (see, a mouse! children will love him , and yeah adult will look beyond, no worry!)


    Wall-e is truly a SF movie. Science fiction use to tell an impossible story about human emotion and what humanity could become if it forgets itself, and of course by the way of completely wonderful SF Machines. I did not see real Science-Fiction in a american family movie for… years ? or it’s the first time? Incredible !

    I think Pixar was bold, daring, audacious. Eve is the ultimate symbolic animated character. only arms, head, blue eyes and minimal voice to convey emotions.

    The movie is, in some scene, lyrical, and never over the top.

    It is a very good movie, a very nice story and a Great Pixar’s feature.


    to end the debate, Pixar does Family Movie and great ones.

    – Directive ! (wall-e giving the plant to Eve)
    (eve drops the plant)
    – Directive (meaning him : wall-e)

    Simple, obvious, perfect.

  29. This movie has already won the oscar for best picture and here is why, good story good characters and breathtaking special effects. This was a ballsy film for Pixar to make but considering their consistancy they have hit yet another home run. I enjoyed Cars and Toy Story this film is a welcome departure from the deadly serious and mature films currently out today. Wall-E is dare I say it an art film that is really entertaining and unlike an art film dosent become overly pretnetious in its message good job Pixar.

    Movie Grade A+

  30. Andrew Stanton, director and screenwriter and Pixar Studios have produced a cinematic milestone with Wall-E. Probably the most original and innovative screenplay in 30 years – students and film-lovers will be studying this script for decades. There are Biblical themes, homage to various sci-fi movies (“2001”, “Alien”, and half a dozen post-apocalyptic films) and a simple love story, fully-realized without getting sappy. Setting aside the obvious and by now clichéd message of the consequences of unchecked consumerism, one finds deeper themes and innovations. For example, the use of music. It took Rogers & Hammerstein to advance the craft of story-telling in the musical theater, by incorporating lyrics that advanced the plot. In Wall-E, two songs from a musical (in this case, video excerpts from a film made of the Broadway musical, “Hello Dolly”) become an artifact and object lesson to advance the plot. Pixar is known for using pop culture references to keep adults engaged with the unfolding story, but this time the pop culture reference becomes a plot point advancing the story – ! Also, this script certainly puts the lie to Hollywood’s self-image (their own conceit) that all good “art” has R-rated language and images. The whole family can see Wall-E. Visually stunning, touching, engaging and thought-provoking. Not since 1989 when Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award (and “Silence of the Lambs” won), Wall-E should be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar – and should take it home. Regardless, take this picture to heart. You’ll be rewarded.

  31. For you people who don’t like the environmental message the movie is first and foremost a love story (said by Andrew Stanton in an interview), and an exceptionally beutiful one. There aren’t many movies that has made my eyes so teardripping in years. And the truth really is that we are polluting the earth. Even though Wall-E’s depiction of our future fate might not be exactly how it will turn out (cause it’s fiction Magealot), I would say it still is somewhat possible. And I think it is GREAT that this message can be delivered to children in such a wonderful achievement of a story that Wall-E is.

    When it comes to animated movies in general being targeted only for kids I think you are very wrong. Yes they are targeted for kids, but adults as well. Especially Wall-E I think. However, I would like to see an animated movie that’s only targeted for adults. It could be cool to see Pixar pull that one off. Maybe then the acadamy will change their mind about animated movies and give them space in the “Best Picture” category. A movie is a movies, regardless of how it’s made. And Wall-E is definately one of the greatest movies of the year. My favourite movie to come out since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind and the greatest animated movie I’ve ever seen. I really hope it will be considered for “Best Picture”.

  32. Watching Pixar’s WALL-E delivered EVERYTHING a movie-going experience is meant to be: you are in awe of the incredible visuals, you are moved by the music, you are inspired by the story, you laugh, you feel, and yes, you are even made to think.

    Wow, “thinking” at a movie. Unfortunately, that’s something SOME folks don’t want to be made to do … “think” while watching a film. And in reading some of the (very rare) bad reviews for this movie, one quickly gets the notion that those who express offense at being made to “think” during WALL-E are the exact same folks who just threw out their unseparated and un-recycled trash, got into their gas guzzlers and drove to the nearby McJumbo Burger (leaving their lights and Tee-Vees running at home), and then headed on to the moo-vies to be numbly entertained. If anything, it’s their own guilt, their own bad consciouses sitting on their shoulders that begin whispering in their ears as soon as the essence of WALL-E’s story line becomes clear to them.

    And when those same folks write in their reviews how “I didn’t like being preached at and even my children hated it,” something tells me that their own reactions (and inactions) have gravely influenced those of their children .. and not only with respect to this finely-crafted movie.

    WALL-E is the perfect film for reminding kids (and even adults) the peril truly facing our world today. Sure, there is a message as the colorful frames flicker on the screen, but certainly not one that should offend viewers with any kind of reason.

    And while this movie probably is not for average kids under the age of 6, there is an entire universe of humor, beauty, drama and fun waiting for everyone else … entertainingly beckoning all of us to leave our hover-loungers and take a stand for love, a stand for this planet that so desperately needs us.

  33. @ John

    I agree wit the point you bring up in the first chapters of book of Genesis of the Bible God put Adam on the earth to have domain over all other animal. He was given a mission to name them, protect them and, eat them. So right off the bat we as human were created to be environmentalist. So I totally agree that this issues Save the World/ Environmentalism is a moral issues but it has become more of political issues to world. Like you said “there are those who try to make it a political one.

  34. I have seen this movie twice in the last two days and can not stop thinking about it. It is unlike any pixar movie I have witnessed, or for that matter any movie. It’s main character the robot WALL E has the most innocence, curiosity, and humnaity that I have ever seen. The movies easy humor and captivating story shows a tale of unparralled love rivaled only by that of the best live action movies. It is remarkable and will continue to be praised for years to come. This movie proves that pixar has just begun and to me, has made its spot on the list of Disney’s best.

  35. I just want to make a couple statements here. The whole “liberal propaganda” and all that junk. Why does being environmentally friendly make you liberal? To all conservatives out there, do you support pollution? If you said yes to that, wow.

    I really liked the whole “unplugged” message the movie had throughout the entire thing. My favorite line in the movie had to be “I don’t want to survive, I want to live!”

  36. “One, Sci-fi is supposed to be based on actual fact.”

    WHAT?!? Science “Fiction” is not supposed to be based on any actual fact. That’s what makes it fiction. If it were Science-NonFiction, then your statement would be true. Their ship has artifitial gravity of some sort, just like Star Trek and Star Wars (the people on the Death Star didn’t float around).

    The animation was beautiful. When Wall-E and Eve are in Wall-E’s home, the lights were reflecting off of Eve’s smooth exterior. It was pretty sophisticated.

    Also, those people who think American animated films are only aimed at kids, you are also mis-led. The first ever feature length animated movie with color and sound was “Snow White.” It was aimed at adults (that’s why it is so dark). Also, anyone who grew up watching “The Muppet Show” would have thought it was a children’s show, but watch it again as an adult, and you will realize it was targeted toward adults. “The Simpsons” are another “kids” show that is aimed at adults, why do you think it has had such a strong run during prime time?

    Wall-E is by far the best animated movie I have seen (and I’ve see all the major Disney releases). The themes of this movie really get you thinking about your own life. I also noted the topic of social networking and how it is out of control in the Wall-E future (myspace, facebook). Truly a remarkable film, and I agree with John, this film should at least be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, and, in my opinion, should win.

  37. John,

    As far as Wall-E goes, I must agree wholeheartedly with you when you say that it was Pixar’s best movie. Not to mention that it is both possibly the greatest Disney film and the greatest animated film of all time. Also technically speaking, when was the last time that Disney released a film with such a MASSIVE positive response, both from critics and moviegoers alike? It was an extremely surprising movie and I loved every second of it. What made it even more surprising was that I’ve always been a bit in the middle when it comes to Pixar’s films. Toy Story, The Incredibles and Monsters Inc. were good, not excellent by any means, but still good and solid films nonetheless. Bug’s Life was okay at best. And I could care less about Finding Nemo and Cars. I haven’t seen Ratatoullie in it’s
    entirety, so I’ve no real opinion on that one. But Wall-E blew all of these movies right out of the water and I hope that it makes history by being the second animated film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and the first to win it.

  38. I found this movie to be the absolute worst I have ever seen. One, Sci-fi is supposed to be based on actual fact and this had absolutely no basis on any science at all. How did everyone have weight in space? If you say ultra dense bottom, then the tipping ship isn’t explained. Two, the graphics were the worst out of any of the Pixar films. EVE looks like a hemisphere on a rounded cone, while there are only two human templates, only with color changed. All the jokes used were adaptations off ones used in other films. All movies have holes in the plot, but what happened with this one? There was no rust on Wall-e after 700(?) years of work, only a little dirt. I really don’t see why you think that this is a good film.

  39. Hey Orren,

    I would argue that the destruction of the environment that we all live in is indeed a moral issue and not a political one (oh, there are those who try to make it a political one).

  40. Let me preface that it was a Disney/ Pixar which is golden. I liked the film. It had the cutesy-kiddy-funny parts, I laughed. Wall-e was a cross between Johnny 5 (Short Ciricut) and R2-D2 (Star Wars) which made him a likable character, while EVE was a cross between an iPod and the robot of the future also very likable. Then there’s Mo a cross between an electric shaver and a vacuum also likable. All the elements of this film scream gold and I believe it achieved that status. Some where deep down inside of me this film doesn’t live up to the Pixar name, I don’t why it just dose. It might be the way Pixar promoted the film or maybe it was the over all theme/ message of the film: Save the World/ Environmentalism. It’s a good message but at the same time I am getting a little tried of the Green campaign in movies. I believe every story has a moral and has something we can learn from it but animated feature focus harder on the moral because of vast amount of kids that will go see it. It seems lately more and more the lesson learned in a film is becoming more political and less simple humanity. That’s the only “negative” thing I saw in the film besides that the film is golden and I recommended it for all ages.

  41. Jessica, that sounds like a comment someone like Dr. Laura or Sean Hannity would make. And I hate to say it, but the film was spot on. Our society, especially us in the United States, mindlessly go about our lives sometimes. Shuffling from one big box store to another, consumed with the notion to accumulate more “things” and save more “time.” My guess is this probably hit close to home for you.

  42. I saw WALL-E last night and it was AMAZING! Definitly goes to the top of my favourite pixar movie. I totally agree with John, I would have given it a 9.5 too, because it can always be better. Nobody’s prefect, right?

    I really would like to see it nominated for best picture, and I think it has what it takes to be up there in the best picture category, but I do conceed that the Academy most likely won’t nominate Wall-E.

    Just one other thing I’m a little confused about…
    I know that Pixar doesn’t put out that many movies and if they spent less time and effort on each movie there most likely would be a noticeable drop in quality. But, just because Pixar specializes in animated movies, how does that make it NOT a film studio?

    But, WALL-E ROCKS!!!

  43. I think the thing that tips pixar into genius territory is the presentation in the theatre – with the opening short. It really makes it feel like you’re going to a proper movie night, like I imagine it was like in the golden age of hollywood. I wanted an intermission and a n usher with ice cream to come round.
    Best film in years. I loved it.

  44. John,
    Do you think that a string of really great entertaining films from many different studios and sources (assuming this years run continues) will have an impact on audience enthusiasm for each progressive weekend’s releases, and the overall box office when everything is said and done at the end of the year?

  45. Screw the nay sayers, I am 100% with John on every point he’s made. I would add that I thought WALL-E had very serious political, economic, and social satire that works on levels that will engage and be meaningful to both adults and kids. On the face of it WALL-E may not be an obvious crowd pleaser (like say “Finding Nemo”) but I really think the vast majority of people of any age or gender will fall in love with this film.

    And isn’t 2008 giving us a much better slate of top quality entertainment over the many failures (in storytelling not money made) that 2007 gave us. I was constantly disappointed last summer by piece of junk after piece of junk (Spiderman 3, Shrek 3, Pirates etc..) and this year has been really top notch comparatively. It seems there was something in the creative water this year. I’m really getting more excited about the next several releases coming out now.

  46. NOO!!

    my 5 year old cousin went to see it with his aunt and they asked me if i wanted to come and i sayd “wall-e? ha-ha! fuck wall-e, that movie looks gayer than liberachis asshole..ill come and ill 4 peat the hulk wile you guys go watch wall-fuck”

    now that you gave it a 9.5 i HAVE to see it

    i should have gone with them!

  47. I didn’t see Wall-E yet, but from the reviews of you guys, I’m totally gonna see it. I think it got 3 or 3 and a half stars. I’m pretty sure only 3.

  48. Wall-e was definitly the best movie I have seen this year.

    @JLA

    The themes were pretty easy to identify, but personally I think those are exactly the kind of ideas that new generations should be exposed to.

  49. Great great movie def the best movie of the year so far but I honestly don’t think it will be nominatesd for best picture because of the best animated categroy- sorry john I guess you’re gonna have to throw that fit..

  50. Great great movie def the best movie of the yeaer so far but I honestly don’t think it will be nominatesd for best picture because of the best animated categroy- sorry john I guess you’re gonna have to throw that fit..

  51. @ “Maybe try not to over analize these movies or projecting your own impressions into their stories and just see them as they are.”

    Rodney, as skewed as Jessica’s take on the film is she did correctly identify the themes the film explores. It absolutely does have shades of misanthropy (I felt indicted as well; it’s scathing at times) and a message of evironmental responsibility (or as Bill O’Rieley’s audience would call it “liberal propaganda”).

    It’s unfortunate that she feels the need to “protect” people from ideas she disagrees with but she’s certaintly not over analyzing anything. I’d like to see more discussion of the themes of the film (as well as the amorality of Wanted)

  52. I know he rated Juno a 10. Although oddly, if I remember correctly, I think he put the soundtrack in the bad section (whereas Wall-e had nothing). Then again, a soundtrack shouldn’t impact a movie in my opinion, only make it better.

  53. John, are there any movies out there that you would rate 10/10? If not, then I understand why you gave this film a 9.5 (pretty much your highest rating.)
    Can’t wait to see Wall E.

  54. I just saw it again, and it was just too cute. Without spoiling things, the almost ending had little kids in my theater crying. LOUDLY. You all who’ve seen the movie know what I’m talking about.

  55. Amen, John. This movie was all kinds of fantastic. I actually teared up at one point. It’s cinematic poetry, really. Just a lot of heart-filled creativity and storytelling that blankets young and old alike with the feeling of magic.

  56. You would think the Wii Fit would of saved mankind from becoming the giant blobs that were depicted in this movie. The only logically explanation is there is still a shortage of Nintendo products 700 years laters. This supports my theory that there should be more Nintendo Wii’s available on the market.

    Thank you and God bless

  57. Ok John what does a movie have to do to get 10 from you…Name some or at least one 10.

    To me Shawshank is a 10, (Every single performance is perfect)
    Casablanca is also a 10, and that’s about it.

    I would give Wall-E a 9. Although I will be seeing it again with my 5 yo daughter and 2.5 yo son this weekend (Their first viewing), and their reactions will color my review too.

  58. John, Pixar are definitely 9 for 9 I agree.
    But you can’t compare them to other studios when you ask for an example of another studio whgo are 9 for 9.

    Pixar have released 9 films in 15 years or so……I am pretty sure if they started producing films at the same rate as warners or universal with say 15-20 films a year you would see the quality dip
    Know what I mean? Unfair comparision really.

  59. Jessica, considering everyone I know who has seen this demands that I do make the effort to see this, I doubt your concerns about a poorly illustrated human race is going to stop me.

    Maybe try not to over analize these movies or projecting your own impressions into their stories and just see them as they are.

    Just sayin.

  60. I was truly insulted by the way this movie viewed humanity as a whole. This movie’s viewpoints on the world around us are skewed and hurtful for mankind. I believe that this movie was a direct propaganda in order to indoctrinate our youth. It’s liberal viewpoints about the environment and big corporations are just another example of how Hollywood feels they are above the rest of us peons and that they must teach us a lesson on humanity. I would like to warn people before they take their young children with such impressionable minds to go see this travesty of a movie. Sorry for ranting but it was truly that bad. Please don’t go see this movie!

    Thank you!
    Jessica La Corte

  61. I have to say this movie was incredible. Excellent animation, an interesting story, some underlying themes, and very great humor. I have to say I liked the small tie in to 2001: Space Odyssey. This is now my favorite movie of Pixar, my next one being The Incredibles.

  62. hell no Bug’s Life being their worst.

    Everyone seems to think their bests are Toy Story and Finding Nemo.

    My favs are Incredibles, Monster’s Inc., and Bug’s Life. And now Wall-E.

  63. John:

    amen to that.

    tho i wudda gone for the 10/10.

    alan: i wouldn’t say cars is their worst film. it’s a great film, it just came out of pixar at the wrong time.

    if it had come out before monsters inc. or just after, it would be more respected for it’s successes as a film. but finding nemo changed everything for pixar. it stepped up character risks, it made life and death a consequence of action in an animated film. as apposed to just having a bad guy about.

    real consequences based on character decisions is one of the many things that make pixar films great.

  64. Pixar had 9 films.

    Toy Story
    Bugs Life
    Toy Story 2
    Monster Inc
    FInding Nemo
    Incredibles
    Cars
    Ratoutille
    Walle

    All of these films are top notch, In fact one of Pixar’s worst films (Cars) is better than 99.9% of the shit released by Hollywood, so its saying A LOT.

  65. Glad to here you liked it John. Hope to see soon myself – can’t right now – serious stuff at work has me off the radar for awhile.

    Did anyone get a Charlie Chaplin vibe for the first part of the movie?

  66. Saw Wall-E today and thought it was great. My only 2 minor complaints are with the humans in the movie. I won’t go any further to avoid semi-spoilers. 9 out of 10 for me.

  67. “…are entitled to their respective opinions, they just happen to be wrong.”

    LOL!
    Seriously, laughing out loud, waking up the neighbours.

    Again, I think we need some kind of F.A.Q., some kind of reference sheet for some basic tenets, not even necessarily film-specific ones.

    For starters, if some one has an ‘opinion’ (I love the ‘entitled’ bit, it’s as if there’s a connotation of kindness, you’ve been so generous as to grant it to them), by definition, it’s a subjective observation.

    Got that? SUBJECTIVE OBSERVATION.

    (The only variable here, on a sliding scale, has to do with the ‘qualifications’ of the opinion-giver. You don’t really believe that everyone has the same level of qualifications on any given subject, do you…?)

    So by extension, an opinion can’t be ‘wrong’. Because all YOU have to counter it with is YOUR ‘opinion’, YOUR subjective observation.

    Aside from tangibles, such as how many cinemas this film opened in, how much Morgan Freeman was paid to be in that film, what the weekend B.O. numbers were, nearly everything on this site deals with opinions. Subjective observations. There is no ‘wrong’. There’s only ‘I can’t understand how this dickhead sees things that way, but that’s his problem, I disagree entirely.’ (Oh, and then there’s the Little Voice Addendum, ‘Besides, MY opinion is the only one I’m really interested in, anyway. ‘Constructive dialogue’? Pah.’)

    John, just curious; any idea of your site’s general demographics?

  68. “Fair enough Al,

    But I stick by my point. Every single film Pixar has put out has been gold. Huge box office, Critic and fan mega hits.

    Name another movie production company that can say the same thing?”

    Not to play devil’s advocate John – but can you name another movie production company that only releases one movie per year? I won’t elaborate on this point – it’s pretty clear i think.

  69. I dont know if I can say this every time there is an animated movie that people love. Animated flicks cant be up for Best picture. I believe it was Beauty and the Beast that was up last and almost won. The academy freaked out and made its own category so that it would never happen again. God forbid a movie with no actual people wins the best movie. BEST PICTURE (with actual people) I guess

  70. @thos

    “Pixar movies are not aimed at only children. What kind of generalization about animation is that? If that were so, they wouldn’t work so hard at the story telling. I’m with John on this. Bruce & PT are entitled to their respective opinions, they just happen to be wrong.

    Wall-E rocked. Can’t wait to see it again (and again)?

    i didnt say it was a generalization about animation, although if you want to go into that its fair to say that animation is the most accessible for kids entertainment, its been used as Saturday morning entrainment and to sell toys or about 50 years. The films are aimed at kids, do people think that someone like me saying that makes them feel if im calling them a kid for enjoying it? because thats retarded. Pixars audience is children, but that does not mean they cant make them enjoyable for everyone. thats what they do and thats why like you said they work so hard on other aspects of the story(although at times its arguable that these things dont need to be there)

    What makes pixar so successful and so popular is that they have been able to make films that work on many levels and that most people can enjoy, they want the parent of the child to laugh and cry as much they do. But i dont think you can say there not aimed at kids only because they clearly are! imagine telling a 40 year old to go see a film about talking toys or talking cars, they wouldn’t be interested. With these movies comes all the merchandise which is all aimed at kids, all the adds and campaign are aimed at kids, you dont, and i have seen 4 movies in two months and didnt see one wall e trailer while in a m rated film, because thats not its main audience. weather you like it or not who cares, its still going to be in the kids section when its out on dvd.
    you are entitled to your respective opinion, it just happens to be wrong.

  71. Loved, loved, LOVED Wall-E but I loved Presto even more because it brought back memories of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. And who wouldn’t love a rabbit with a name like Alec?

  72. Hey John –

    Is there such a thing as positive bias in your opinion – or rose colored glasses due to a general consensus that preceeds a movie from being released and shown to the public. I have nothing wrong with a 9.5 for Wall-E – I got to see the film myself and it was indeed very good. What worries me is the amount of praise that this film got even before anybody got to see it. You could hear people talking about it like it was going to be a flawless film and that whoever who could bring something negative about it clearly has no heart or knowledge at all…

    Pixar seems to have reached a similar status to Kubrick. Again, I have nothing against Kubrick, but the man could make a movie about how to make a good blueberry pie and everybody was calling it “an absolute masterpiece from a true genius”.

    Wall-E is very good, but does it have to be pre-decided that it would be just because there’s nobody who can think otherwise?

    Cheers,
    LP

  73. @ Padthai,
    But wouldn’t it be a shame for someone to miss out on those two amazing films by saying “oh they’re just kid movies. I’ll pass.” They’re not realizing that these films carry some deep themes that adults can appreciate more than kids. I think you’re doing yourself the same disservice by passing on Wall-e. At least don’t judge it until you’ve seen it.

  74. I doubt it will get nominated, not because of the quality, but ya know… politics.
    3/4 of the way through the movie i noticed my jaw was open, while i was watching in awe. I also had a hint of tears. 5 stars out of 5

  75. EmilyK,

    Princess Mononoke, Grave of the Fireflies have a far more serious and sophisticated tone than almost all American animated movies. they are aimed more for kids, but those movies are still more complex and deeper than anything than comes from American animated movies. A movie like Wall-E is almost a baby’s movie compared to those two films.

  76. I realy love the animated movies/TV shows that seem to be aimed at kids and they generaly are but then they also have hilarious adult jokes that older people can laugh at and at the same time kids think it’s funny without understanding the full implications behind it. Kinda like Spongebob. But i also liek those types of moments because you can watch somthing while your a kids and then you watch it again and you get a whole new expirience out of watching the movie so your guaranteed to enjoy it twice. But i do have a question related to my opinion. Does Wall-E have moments like that with the whole double sided joke that is understood differently if you an adult or kid? And also as an unrelated question that i jsut thought up while writing this, what do you think of Spongebob, and i guess, more speicifcly, what do you think of his movie (since this is The Movie Blog)? Oh and also, what were the 4 movies that you gave 10’s to? (i’m gunna take a guess and say at least either Star Wars (4 or 5), The Godfather, or The Highlander are in there somwhere).

  77. No argument from me on Pixar consistently kicking major ass at the box office and also having the best track record with positive review from both critics and the general public, yet the fact remain its an animation studio, a damn good animation studio at that but an animation studio nevertheless. I tend to look at animation and film as two separate art form with each of its own unique qualities.

  78. I can’t believe John is having to spend so much time defending Pixar.

    This movie was terrific through and through as are the rest of the Pixar catalog. Not enough good things can be said about this film.

    John, perhaps you could drop the number grade centric review method. People argue over the number grade you give a film instead of what you said about it.

    Also, this review is the most spot on review you’ve given. I don’t always agree with you but you are dead on here.

  79. John,

    I think that one of the most brilliant things about Pixar is that they know how to blend in comedy for the adults to enjoy. Does Wall-E do that? Thanks.

  80. Fair enough Al,

    But I stick by my point. Every single film Pixar has put out has been gold. Huge box office, Critic and fan mega hits.

    Name another movie production company that can say the same thing?

  81. Sorry John but I can’t agree with the second part of this statement: “Pixar is not only the best animation film studio in the business… they are the best film studio period. ”

    The key word is animation and Pixar does only just that. Unless Pixar step outside of animation and the convention that they constantly do with it (ie talking rat, bug, car etc, cartoony characters, comedic driven plot and targeting it for the family friendly crowd), I can’t say its the best film studio. Just my 2-cent….

  82. I saw this movie yesterday…and it was awesome. Screw Iron Man. To Hell with the Wanted and Batman. This is probably the best of the summer, and one of the best this year. Wall-E’s gonna dominate the Earth and he will make us his slaves. He’s gonna make us turn the trash into cubes, and any man who dare defy him will be put into Wall-E’s stomach and is gonna be the cubes. Make cube or be cubed. That was my rant and I give Wall-E a 10/10.

  83. some of you are arguing with John and have not seen the movie. He is very correct in saying 60% of Wall-E will go over kids’ heads. I’d venture to say even more of it. Wall-E deals with loneliness, love, obesity, human impact on their environment, …and much more.

  84. The bit with Wall-E touching Saturn’s rings was shown in every commercial. I’d seen it a million times.

    I see it on a big screen and see the look on that little robot’s face, and I let out a sob. I was so embarassed until I saw a guy down the aisle dabbing at his eyes. Just a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL film.

  85. Awesome review, John!
    …and the ending also made both me and my husband cry. Can’t wait to see it again.

    @Padthai
    I’m an anime fan as well, and I wish animation was taken just as seriously here too. However, I really think you should see this film before writing it off as “too kiddish”. It’s kid friendly, but so are films like Princess Mononoke or Grave of the Fireflies. It doesn’t mean that these films can’t be enjoyed just as much, if not more, by adults. Same thing with Wall-e.

  86. Could have been a bit shorter–there were a few superfluous scenes we could have lived without–but overall, a great film. Probably the best I’ve seen this year, but then again, I haven’t seen TDK or any of the coming fall’s Oscar bait either. Watch Wall-E, you won’t go wrong.

  87. Pixar movies are not aimed at only children. What kind of generalization about animation is that? If that were so, they wouldn’t work so hard at the story telling. I’m with John on this. Bruce & PT are entitled to their respective opinions, they just happen to be wrong.

    Wall-E rocked. Can’t wait to see it again (and again).

  88. I abosultely loved this movie the visual storytelling was fantastic. This is definitely a repeat viewing movie because there is so much going on I feel like I couldn’t take it all in at times.

  89. Hey John,

    Nevermind about my question earlier. I went back to your review and saw that you said that it was the best pixar mover ever..Can’t wait for this

  90. “You seriously think the issues of marriage, struggling with thoughts of lost youth and importance of family in “The Incredibles” were aimed at kids?”

    John, they were pretty weak as in barely there, in fact the only main one was importance of family, but what kids film is without that or something close related like friendship

    Pixar dosent make movies for everyone, they make movies aimed at kids with a few adult theme so adults wont get as bored and will think its better than the last cg flick they saw whcih was most likely something by dreamworks which will boost pixar image just like disneys of been more than it actually is. Also they have stuff like that because people look down on animation and kiddy stuff, so to look creditable and trendy they try and get all deep at one stage of the film, then no reviewer can say its just a kids film.

  91. *sigh*…..well John, like i said when i talked to you on the live show i’ll wait on your review..i think i just might have to go see this thing…i’m still going in with low expectations though.

  92. seeing this tomorrow- one question john..how would you compare this to last years Ratatouille, The Incredibles, and Finding Nemo? Also imo Toy Story has gotta be the best pixar has ever done, how does this stack up to that? Great review

  93. Hey Padthai,

    Sorry man, I totally disagree with you.

    There is a serious difference between being AIMED at kids (like Madagascar) and being kid FRIENDLY.

    You seriously think the issues of marriage, struggling with thoughts of lost youth and importance of family in “The Incredibles” were aimed at kids?

    Nope.

  94. I dont think it will win best pic either, its an animated film, and people would want to see the efforts of other humans win, not the power of pixars cpu’s. Im with a few other people, john u gave it 9.5 and said nothing was bad, i dont get that. Pixar does what Disney did in that they create an image of standard and make people think and believe that they are the best, ask any average person what the best animation in the world is and the will say Disney because that’s what Disney promotes

  95. I think that a 2 hour animated X-Men feature film would be awesome. With animation, anything that they can imagine can come true. They aren’t as limited as with live action.

  96. John,

    C’mon! Pixar movies ARE aimed at kids. I think in America we are still under this weird notion that animated movies are cartoons and so it has to be a kids movie. We should copy what Japanese Anime is doing, branch out to different animated genres from action to scifi to drama. It can all be done animated, but Disney constantly makes animated films aimed at kids. Why can’t they make a 2 hour sci-fi action film animated? Something that is serious and dark.

  97. Hey Padthai,

    If you think Pixar films are just for kids… then you’re not watching the same movies I am.

    For instance… 60% of Wall-E would have gone far over kids heads… they never woulde have understood most of it… but it’s done in such a way that keeps kids engaged.

    A great movie is a great movie. Doesn’t matter if it’s animated, comedy, drama, Historic, Kung-Fu, Documentary or whatever.

    Juno showed that it’s not just Dark serious flicks that get nominated.

  98. I don’t think Wall-E will be nominated as best picture, just because it’s animated, too kiddish, not serious enough. What I really want to see is a serious animated 3-D or not-3D movie, something that isn’t aimed at kids. Why can’t Pixar make a 3D animated action or dramatic movie? Something that doesn’t have talking animals, toys, cars, or cute robots. So far, every single animated movie (3D or not) has to be aimed for kids. Japanese Anime is something that can range from kiddish to serious drama/scifi/action. We don’t have this in America for some odd reason. Animated always has to be for kids.

  99. I loved this movie as well. It’s amazing Pixar can make so many great films one after another (with the exception of Cars which wasn’t good in my opinion). I can’t wait to snag this on Blu-Ray.

  100. Please John, how we can expect a movie that has 96% on Rottentomatoes and an average score of 8.6/10 to be up for Best picture. I mean it doesn’t have actors so it can’t be a best picture nominee.

    I was being sarcastic just so everyone knows.

    Hopefully Dreamworks sees this and can improve their animated pictures, Kung Fu Panda was a good start, but they need to keep it up.

  101. 9.5 out of 10 is great score. I loved the movie as well but I actually felt a little boredom in the middle area of the movie. I can’t place why I felt it but I did…it went away tho. But overall the movie was great. I liked the beginning the most tho when Wall-E was alone on Earth and we just got to see all his expressive movements and how he copes with being alone. Beautiful movie all around.

  102. Yeah, now that I think about it, it did only get an A rather than an A+ in a few parts. I can’t remember specifically, but a few times I was questioning the logic/physics of it, and not as in “hey, that’s unrealistic” because it was an animated movie, but because the physics and universe set up by the movie itself seemed to be violated briefly. I can’t quite remember what it was though.

  103. For those who are having a hard time wrapping their heads around this concept.

    Let’s say a student got the following grades

    Science: A
    Math: A
    English: A+
    Geography: A+
    Biology: A+

    Tell me, which one of those subjects was he “bad” in? None of them. But at the same time he wasn’t “perfect”

    In my reviews, I break them into “Good”, “Bad” and “Overall”. Wall-E didn’t do anything “Bad”. Everything it did it did right… but that doesn’t mean it did everything PERFECTLY, and thus I didn’t give it a “10”

  104. Hey Max and Bobby,

    As I already said in a previous comment… just because a film doesn’t do any thing “wrong”, doesn’t mean it did everything perfectly.

    I think some people think all films start PERFECT, and as they make mistakes you deduct points. I don’t see thing that way.

    Too many people hand out 10 out of 10’s way too easy, which in my opinion devalues what a “10” means. (I’ve only ever given out 4 10’s as long as I’ve been doing this).

    Just because a film doesn’t get a “10” doesn’t mean there was anything “wrong” with the film.

  105. Hey Max,

    My point exactly…. if it is so great John and it almost made you
    cry…. ha ha ha… then, why not a perfect 10 if it’s in your
    opinion… “The Best Sci-fi film since E.T.”… ??? A pretty bold
    statement in my opinion but… film is subjective and to each his
    own.

    Also, when giving a review… would be nice to leave out how you
    got to see this movie and actually get to the “Review” part of it… ha ha ha I mean really…. this review should have been called “How I got to see Wall-E”…. you gave us a minute and thirty-two seconds of this… :( Just stick with your informative reviews on movies and leave out how you got to the movie… ha ha ha
    I just want to enjoy every second you can give us on an actual
    review… nothing else… :) Other than that….

    Have a great day,

    ~B

  106. WHAT? You say its so great but you don’t give it a 10? How dare you. Are you saying its a whole point better than Dark Knight? How dare you. Are you saying Wanted is only half a point less of a movie than something by Pixar? How fuc………i’m joking John. Just figured i’d beat any ‘so inclined’ people to the punch.

    I do have two questions though. Thinking about out, how would you rate all the Pixar films now on a list of your favourites to least favourties (i’m always interested by people’s answers to this because i always get a different response)?

    The second is, having seen this, TDK and Wanted within the space of two weeks, has this felt like the best movie summer of this decade to date?

  107. Seeing this tonight in about 2 hours. I can not wait! It looked fantastic back when the first teaser trailer and hasn’t faultered at all. Just one question. If there was nothing bad about the movie, why the 9.5 and not the full 10?

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