My Favorite Movies

For me it is quite literally an unforgettable film. I can't stop thinking about it and think I will be like this for at least a few days! A beautiful film that really played to the emotions. Matched with my new favourite score (Clint Mansell) this film left me deeply moved.

I'm going to go to town with this review, this film deserves more than 2 minutes of my time to reflect back on what I've just watched and happily paid for (and probably will again while it's on cinema release).

Each year if there's a Pixar film release due it automatically becomes one of my most anticipated films to see. You don't even have to tell me the films plot outline or title, I already want to see it because I have full trust in Pixar to make a delightful and inspiring film lovingly made by the creative whizzes at San Franciso Pixar Studios (OK so A Bugs Life and Cars weren't hugely inspiring, but still damn good animated harmless fun). Their films are nothing more than heart felt honest story telling with the visually captivating animation to go with - which I can't help but feel defeated envy for while being inclined to be enraptured by the sheer quality of visual work at play.

I'll be honest, when I first got glimpse the trailer for Wall-E my first thought had to be 'oh, it's robots'. I'm not actually a huge sci-fi fan and didn't expect Pixar to be attempting this genre for a while. But this isn't Pixar doing sci-fi, sure it's full to the rim with robots, technology and half set in space but it's only the backdrop, the story is still very much one to warm to and relate with.

Wall-E is Pixars most daring film yet. With the competition of modern cinema it technically shouldn't work; this is a studio with a history of not only producing visual feasts but also great script work. Wall-E for the most part has very little dialogue. What the lead characters do mostly consists of beeps, whoops, zoings, bings ... and of what vocabulary they do say it's high pitched and slightly distorted (Wall-E is easily comparable to Johnny 5!) But this is where Pixar can be trusted and know how to work around this, doing what the do best - animate. (Dictionary definition for animate: to give life). Cinema started out without the advantage of sound, but films still managed to project their stories through the exuberant mechanisms of the actors (Charlie Chaplin anyone? You cannot watch this guy's performance in The Tramp and not be impressed!)
But then these are robots, standardised to be rigid and only capable of basic swift or clunky movements (After my attempts to animate a robot, despite my bad ass robot moves on the dance floor, I failed miserably to animate an entertaining robot). Again technically this film shouldn't work!! But thinking back to Star Wars (yes even the poor recent additions) one character is easily favoured by all and is one of the most memorable - R2D2. That little hub of white bleeping nonsense doesn't do a lot, roll about (well, sometimes it seemed capable of hopping side to side. Hopping?!) And other than being able to turn its head around 360 degrees ... that's about it! But it plays off so well with the other characters, comedy relief done in the most basic style but it works brilliantly - especially with his partner in crime C3PO (another robot!)

Wall-E thrives in this minimalist performance, his clumsy curiosity or constant desire just to be touched or hold the apple of his eyes hand (Eve) does more than what a script could easily over complicate or elaborate. Wall-E works because despite being a story of one little robot, it's a story with a solid heart and a robot with so much love in his little metal case - it outshines that basic natural capability lacking in most humans today!

The first half hour of Wall-E is this film at its best and an arthouse treat! It glides through the visually stunning scenes of a deserted earth left with nothing but the crumbling buildings and piles upon piles of waste that have begun to outgrow the original skylines. It's a dead waste land but right in the middle of this dystopian backdrop is the only Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class left: Wall-E. He trudges along to his daily routine of collecting, compressing and stacking waste. But he has outgrown his kind of just a waste-stacking robot and has developed his own personality.

It's in this first half hour Wall-E did exactly what I thought it would, it made my heart melt and the film geek in me sigh. It's not just how cute this curious little guy can be, but it's also his adolescent behaviour to remain so high spirited and curious of his surroundings (Wall-E has a terrible habit of collecting artefacts that he comes across!) despite being the only activity left amongst the waste leftovers of what humans have done to earth. (well, other than his little cockroach friend! Aww!) He has no knowledge why he's there and why he does what he's meant to be doing, he was built to clean up the mess the human race has left and is meant for nothing more. It's for this reason I couldn't help myself welling up (apart from the stunning visuals, the instant likeable factor of seeing Wall-E .. yer yer I can't help myself sometimes when it comes to Pixar) Wall-E also fills you with great shame. There's always a genuine message to be had through a Pixar family film, hopefully taken in by the kids watching it. One wonders if this might be one unfortunately missed by the kids - despite being well thought it's delivered heavily and so soon in the film. Environmental issues, corrupt corporate manifestation, the downfall of life on earth - oooo wait Wall-E's just found a bra and is amusingly unsure what to make of it!! Well this is a Disney owned production after all, Pixar films must cater for kids and keep the serious messages as an constant under layer to the story.

It's because of this catering that Wall-E bloats a little mid-way in the story. Just when Wall-E leaves earth to go after Eve he enters a completely different world from the left overs of earth into one which humans now live in - cruise ship style space crafts with robots catering the lazy overgrown representation of what humans have become from their dependence on technology. The robots have more personality than these human blobs who hustle along in their flocks of hover chairs!!

It delves into classic Pixar childs play of a quick paced sea of swishing colours and amusing events of a story now very much in motion to entertain. It is highly fun to watch and continues to offer touching moments, now not just provided from the loveable Wall-E, but even amongst all this fun it's the simple quest and behaviours of Wall-E which make it nothing more than just a backdrop to root for this character (as if you didn't need to from the first seconds of watching him!)

I'll admit to blubbering far too much during this film - I just couldn't help myself! Heck I'll even shed a small tear in awe of an amazingly lit pebble from Pixar. They just continue to have that hold over me to be inspired and enthralled by what they produce. It's a geek love affair.

Wall-E sets a new precedent for Pixar, it's an instant classic! They seem to be the only animation studio in America making the effort to raise the bar and giving animation the serious credit as a deserving medium of film making. Every other American animated feature film just waltzes under Pixars bar with films that are bound to appeal to the kids and get the parents out to spend their money. It doesn't matter so much about animating it well to these studios (a heavy green ogre bastard would not walk that easily on such tiny sparrow legs. Urgh!) if it's computer animated, colourful and heck how's about just having a whole cast of over paid well known actors to give their voices to these characters ... the revenue should do these studios just fine to get working on their next productions of violating their knowledge of animating with the computer science. Wall-E will inevitably win this years Academy Award for best animated feature (as Pixar so rightly deserved with their previous titles to be awarded since the award category was first created in 2001) but Wall-E is such a beautifully crafted film of cinema history breaking proportion it deserves to be the first animated film in history to be nominated for best picture. It's by far the best film I have seen so far this year.

As a recommendation for others: Wall-E is an absolute delight!! I urge you hang up any reservations you may have against paying to see an animated film (catch a later showing if you can't stand the kids) and dare not to be affected by this film. And this does not include downloading the film illegally. I turn a blind eye most of the time, but this time DON'T YOU BLOODY DARE!!!

Too many words could be used to decribe this film, all in its praises! A must see!! Also very odd to see as this film is the one I ended up walking on one of the open sets as it was partly filmed in my town!

Favourite film of the 3!!!

A creative film which was fun to delve into. Although hard at times to distinguish dreams and reality this however made the film more appealing for the boisterous brain work and great humour. Lovely performance by Gael Garcia Bernal too!!

Stunning!

Dance magic Dance!! Put that baby spell on me! Slap that baby, make him free!!

So so funny! Makes me want to see Will's next one Talladega Nights, even if trailer is slightly offputting I do want to give it a chance.

A really overlooked animation, it's gorgeous!!

Nicely done and love it's score.

Awesome!!!