Genre Films: Animation

The best animated film of all time, there is very few things wrong with this film and I just can't stop appreciating the benchmarks it set for the rest of the world to follow in.

Wall-E is without a doubt Pixar's most ambitious project to date. Toy Story was a revolutionary step forward in animation and since then, it seemed like that major step forward would overshadow everything else they made after it (much like M. Night and the effect The Sixth Sense had on him). Things shaped up though after the release of Ratatouille last year and that great film only made Wall-E even more anticipated. He was just so damn adorable. By the time the movie came into theaters, people were dying to know whether Pixar would deliver again. And without a doubt, they certainly did.

The story revolves around a robot who is on a deserted planet Earth cleaning up the trash, which is what he is programmed to do, stacking them up in high buildings. And that's about as basic as it gets. You get a "love" interest added on sometime later with EVE and eventually move onto a spaceship were we see what happened to human beings. All that is interesting, but the true beauty lies with Wall-E himself. He has an undeniable charm that is infectious and will warm even the darkest of hearts. Reminders of Chaplin cross through the audience as almost the entire first 20-30 minutes is without any dialogue of any sort. The silence creeps up on the audience capturing a serene, but haunting landscape of destruction and beauty. Pixar crafted a beautiful movie, but not in there traditional sense. This world that Wall-E is in is a dark, apocalyptic environment that has rich detail in every building, item, and etc. bringing to life one of the most breathtaking animated movie to date. You have to see it to believe it.

Like I said the character Wall-E is incredible and the first 30 minutes of this film are easily a masterpiece among other great works of art. So what about the rest of the film? Well, it definitely works, but not quite on the same level. EVE doesn't add anything that Wall-E has not already brought to the screen, but her presence brings out even more charm from Wall-E has he consistently tries to charm her when she seems to not even care. Eventually they become friends of sorts and it is charming to see a romance more powerful than any shitty romantic films Hollywood likes to churn out constantly. She soon finds what she was programmed to find on Earth, and the story transcends briefly into a tragic love story. These moments in the film are equally spectacular as the beginning.

What comes after this though is the weak point in the movie. A bunch of politics of sorts ease its way into the film, most of which I care not to get into, mostly because they only work on a simple way. Delving too deep into these politics would be besides the point that Pixar made, or so I would think. The fact is that although Pixar took great measures to please adult audiences, this stands as a children's movie. That said, it still has far too many subtle things that adults can pick up on that will keep them interested throughout the 2nd half of the film, while the children are entertained by the mayhem that ensues on the screen.

I can't think of much else to say right now about Wall-E because so much of the movie you have to see for yourself to completely understand why its Pixar's best film yet. Do yourself a favor and make sure you see this near masterpiece in a theater, to experience something truly magical.

It's the only animated film ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for overall best picture of the year? Go figure.

Walt Disney had balls to put this one out there. Classical music that is centered around the entire movie? Absurd? You bet your ass it is! But it was an amazing bet that paid off.

"Hey look kids, Disney's telling you it's so cool to do drugs. I mean, look at Alice and her LSD. Far out man, far out."