Saturday 13 July 2013

Film Review: Wall-E

Without a doubt, Wall-E is one of my favourite Disney Pixar films. I probably say this about every single Disney Pixar film that I watch, but Wall-E is definitely up there as one of my very top favourites! Since we first got, and watched, Wreck-It Ralph I've been wanting to watch Wall-E again; I'm not entirely sure why but one just made me think of the other.


Wall-E is set on the Earth of the future. Human kind has abandoned the planet after filling it up with junk and pollution, leaving robots like Wall-E behind to clean up their mess. The plan is that they will return after around five years to a sparkly clean planet and in the meantime they'll sail around space in a cruise-ship type spaceship. Unfortunately that's not exactly what's happened; 700 years have passed and Wall-E is the only one left doing his thing, with just a cockroach for company.

Until Eve shows up. Eve is a robot sent down to look for signs of life on Earth and when she finds what she's looking for she has to return to the spaceship, the Axiom. By this point Wall-E is a robot in love and isn't going to let her leave him behind.

I didn't get to see Wall-E in the cinema, which I think made me love it even more. I heard so much about it but didn't get to see it for ages. For the first twenty minutes or so there is no speaking and when there is speaking it's two little robots saying 'Wall-E', 'Eeeve' and 'Directive'; it's practically a silent movie in the beginning. I think I actually read somewhere that when they were making it, they studied silent movies to get the balance right.


The characters in Wall-E are something really special. I think this is a brilliant example of animation at its best. After all, Wall-E is basically a big trash compacter and they've managed to make him into one of the cutest Disney characters ever. I think the big eyes play a big part but all of his little mannerism add up to make him into a really cute little guy.


Eve is a great contrast to Wall-E. I think that she kind of shows how technology has evolved for them since Wall-E was left behind on Earth. There's a bit of a May-December thing going on between her and Wall-E if you think about it, considering he's roughly 700-years her senior!

I feel like an honorable mention should go to Mo as well. I love the way that Wall-E keeps leaving dirt on the floor and eventually Mo just kind of crosses his arms and has a little sulk. Again it highlights just how much emotion the animators have managed to put into these little electronic characters.

And it's a film with a message. Unlike the usual Disney Pixar message (which tends to be about being true to yourself and who you are/where you come from) this one is more health/environment conscious. The film shows humans who have become sort of blobby from inactivity after having lived for so long on the Axiom and having robots to do everything for them.

Easily one of my favourite parts of the film is the end credits, they really make the film and are practically a little film all on their own. It basically continues the story so you can see what happened after the end of the film. I especially love the way that it shows all the different styles of art through the ages, right up to the 8-bit animation (which I suppose is why I felt like watching this after watching Wreck-It Ralph).

And the song is lovely too.



2 comments:

  1. Aww I do like this one but I enjoyed the first half more, when we get to see the fat humans I think it tails off a little. I preferred him amongst all the debris

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    Replies
    1. See, I quite like the chubby humans, especially John and Mary. But I would have liked a little bit more of Wall-E doing his thing on Earth.

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Let me know what you think. :-)