The latest production from the Pixar factory is the most socially conscious animated film we´ve seen since "The Iron Giant." At times saccharine sweet, romantic and sarcastic, it contains a heavy dose of eco-friendliness to boot. While it is a worthwhile message-human beings are destroying the planet and only human beings can save it-the script needed to be toned down one more notch. As is, the story knocks the audience over the head with its (depending on your viewpoint) left wing "green" theme to a point of nearly becoming overkill.
In the future, humans have left the Earth to live in space. They have polluted the planet so badly nothing can grow here. The clean up was supposed to take a grand total of five years; it has been seven hundred. One lone robot on the surface continues his monumental task of cleaning up, Wall-E. This little guy is content to build towers of garbage cubes, watch "Hello, Dolly!" and pine for romance. Another robot, female Eve, lands with a mission: to find evidence of life. And when she pops up, it´s love at first sight.
From the very first Pixar theatrical film, they have had a knack for giving human attributes to simple objects: fish or bugs or toys or rats, as in last year´s "Ratatouille." Unlike all those previous outings, though, life is given to Wall-E, Eve and a host of other creations with little dialogue; rather, emotion is conveyed with our diminutive title character´s large binocular-like eyes. This remains the calling card for Pixar: taking a concept, flipping it on its ear and then flipping again, if only to prove they can. And while I´m not as enthusiastic about "Wall-E" as other critics are, it is a beautiful picture to behold.
That we develop an affinity for the robots on screen is a minor miracle in and of itself. Nearly the first half (running time 98 minutes) is dialogue free, aside from the "Hello, Dolly!" clips. In that time, we bond with the little guy, feeling the enormity of his job and his utter loneliness. All through the aforementioned facial expressions. It´s a risk for the film which pays off handsomely. Wall-E is like us, yet not as gluttonous, short sighted and materialistic. The same positive emotions and none of the negative.
It´s the first 45 minutes or so which work the best, providing us with dusty, arid landscapes of skyscrapers rivaled by towers of compressed garbage. There is a sense of desolation bordering on embarrassment over what the human race has turned the Earth into. Here also is the lions share of gags and injokes. A sprawling uber-mega mart called BnL on par with WalMart. Most of the humor found in the trailer is traced here, for good reason. When the action shifts to the Axiom-the new human home-the message stick comes out, constantly reminding the audience how bad the human race is. Not bad as in murdering, but bad as in unmotivated, slovenly and out of touch.
See, these people roam around the ship not on their own two legs, but on hover chairs. A nearly transparent screen keeps them in communication with one another (even if they´re sitting within arms length). They are so consumed with their technological easy way of life, they´ve all but forgotten why they live on a ship. Heck, most of these people don´t know the Axiom has a pool, let alone what it feels like to touch another person.
One or two mentions of an overweight human would have sufficed, especially in a movie aimed at the family. But for nearly the entire second half of the film, humans are shown as being without any redeeming features. A couple begin to break out of their shells at the end, to be honest, though it comes too late. There´s not a structural problem with the story; everything organically flows from one scene to the next in crisp, vivid detail. No, the problem is more at the design level.
In all of Pixar´s films, there has been a moral message at the center. The bond of friendship or family. Telling the truth at all times. Finding the courage to pursue your dreams. Those are standard kiddie stories. What Andrew Stanton has done here is take "An Inconvenient Truth," removed the science behind it and exaggerated the characters to the Nth degree. Do I necessarily disagree with the message? Not at all. It´s timely, accurate and socially conscious. What I object to is the way in which it is presented.
Does this keep "Wall-E" from taking a place beside "Toy Story" or "Finding Nemo"? I´d have to say yes, in the final equation. "Wall-E" is too earnest, too gung-ho, too "on message." The film loses its fun and appeal in favor of turning the screws on the adults in the audience. "Ratatouille" successfully maintained a light hearted tone throughout a longer running time. Why can´t "Wall-E"?
I´ve already alluded to the look of the film, but let me expand on it. Earlier this summer, I mentioned the one crime "Kung Fu Panda" made was not being a Pixar film, for these films have a distinctive look the DreamWorks production didn´t have. There´s a weathered look to Wall-E, as there should be, with rich textures and surfaces. And on the Axiom, everything we see is spit polished and shiny, just as the humans there would like it. The "Pixar style," if you will, is what I´m talking about. While we know the subjects aren´t real, they look as though they could be. It´s a quality "Kung Fu Panda" didn´t have.
Enough can not be said for Thomas Newman´s score, different from Michael Giacchino´s music for "Ratatouille" in all the right ways. Here, the sense of fun has been ratcheted down, except in the Earth sequences. In its place are lyrical tones playing with the action on screen instead of over them. He maintains a discrete distance from the material, accompanying it and never telling us how to feel.
So here I am, torn over "Wall-E." On the one hand, it is a quality picture that commits only one sin in my eyes. On the other, how much does that one sin stick in my craw? It looks beautiful, has a captivating main character and works splendidly for half its running time. To be fair, the second half works, too, just less well. And the last couple of scenes left me riveted to my seat. I can´t champion this movie like I did "Ratatouille" last year-it was the best time I had in the theater all year-but I will say this: maybe I´m looking at this too hard and need to take "Wall-E" for what it is.
A gorgeous looking, if flawed, entry into the Pixar pantheon. Not excellent, merely well above average. A 7 out of 10.