WALL-E (2008)

Directed by: Andrew Stanton
Written by: Andrew Stanton/Pete Doctor/Jim Reardon

Star ratings need more stars for Pixar movies these days. But what of the previews?

MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA–You know, I never saw the first one. I saw clips from it and figured that the penguins were the best part. Then, by the time it came out, I was over penguins, so I just didn’t care.

What little I saw of this preview (I got to the theatre late…damn trains!) looks ok. But I’m not clamoring for it.

BOLT–Disney hasn’t been doing to well lately outside of Pixar. (Is it any wonder why they won’t let them go?) And their CGI fare has been pretty lackluster.

Bolt, however, looks like a LOT of fun. It’s the story of a dog who is the star of a hit tv show about a bionic dog who gets his girl out of trouble every episode. When the young actress is kidnapped, Bolt goes to get her…but he doesn’t realize that he’s not really bionic. It may be the best thing John Travolta has ever done! Then again, Chicken Little looked a lot better in previews than it actually was. I guess we’ll see. But I’m in line for this one.

As always, Pixar stuck a short on the beginning of their movie. And it may be my new favorite Pixar short.

Presto is about a rabbit, a magician, a magic hat and a carrot. All the bunny wants is the carrot. All the magician wants is for the rabbit to come out of the hat. Beautifully orchestrated chaos ensues. These guys have an incredible knack for setting things up to happen later in a way that we don’t even think about how things will play out. The action just builds and builds until we’re just about rolling on the floor wondering what’s coming next.

How do they top Presto?

Well, with WALL-E, of course.

WALL-E (voiced by Oscar-winning sound man, Ben Burtt) is a cleaner. He was built to clean up our mess. Once there were thousands of little WALL-Es running around Earth, compacting trash into tiny cubes and making the world a slightly cleaner place.

Now, though, 700 years later, he is the last one. He keeps his job going, but he’s gained something in all that time: a personality. He collects remnants of human life and tried to figure out what it all meant. He found a tape of Hello, Dolly and has become an incurable romantic.

So, of course, when EVE (voiced with command and cuteness by Pixar ass’t producer, Elissa Knight) comes along, he falls head over tread in love.

EVE is on a mission, though. She is trying to find life. (Cockroaches apparently don’t count…no matter how improbably cute they are.) WALL-E gets in the way, but she eventually start to fall under his naive little spell.

Until she finds life. Then the space adventure begins. WALL-E clings to the ship that EVE came to Earth on and meets people. They’ve been living on a ship for 700 years having everything done for them. They are now rubbery pillows.

And that’s all I’ll tell you about the plot. Go see the movie if you want more.

I will tell you that I think this is my favorite Pixar movie now. Not only are the characters real (especially the robots…much more human than the human characters, who don’t have a whole lot of screentime) and not only are they cuter than just about any other animated characters out there right now, but they have a message that isn’t beaten into your brain.

And, oh, do they have a message. It’s interesting that this sort of message would come from such a corporate monster like Disney…but I guess it’s really coming from Pixar.

You see, the world was basically destroyed by a Wal-Mart type of corporation called Buy N Large. Everything was run by them. The CEO, Shelby Forthright (Fred Willard in the first live action used in a Pixar film)was even the President.

The Earth that Stanton and his crew created is a dry and ugly place. There is so much trash (all with the BnL logo) that WALL-E could never clean it up. A whole team of WALL-Es probably couldn’t. But he keeps trying. It’s his home now and he wants it to be livable.

And that, my friends, is the real message of WALL-E. Stop being such a pillow and do something. Not just for yourselves, but for the world.

None of this, though, stops WALL-E from being first rate entertainment. Pixar is one of the few companies these days that has consistently put out amazing films. (Cars being the exception that proves the rule…however it manages to do that.) There is absolutely nothing wrong with this movie. Some have complained that it slows down once it ceases to be basically a silent film and the humans show up. Meh. Not really because they still aren’t a huge part of the story. The robots (and WALL-E and EVE collect a LOT of friends–some are even human!) are still the story. The humans only propel the story along and make us see what we could become and that there is still some hope.

And speaking of that ending hope: remember when I said that Pixar was amazing at setting things up for a chaotic ending? Yep. That goes for here, too.

WALL-E could possibly be the best movie of the summer. So far, it definitely is. I’ve really liked a lot of the movies I’ve seen. Even loved one or two of them. But this one is the true keeper. As soon as I left the theatre, I wanted to ride again.

Stick around for the end credits. Not only are they done in the style of many different famous artists throughout history (including Van Gogh, Rembrandt and…Atari), but there’s a new Peter Gabriel song! Even if it’s not his best song (still good, though), a new song from him is always a cause for celebration.

And, of course, listen for John Ratzenberger as one of the voices.