It was only a matter of a few short months ago Disney Pixar's Ratatouille was being hailed as the greatest animated film ever made. As brilliant as Ratatouille was, now WALL-E has come along and blown it out of the water. This futuristic film about a little robot, left behind on Earth to clean up the rubbish swamping the planet, is a monumental achievement in animation.
A Film For Everyone: WALL-E Appeals to Children and Adults
In many ways WALL-E's delightfully retro-looking future dystopia is reminiscent of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's French classic Delicatessen. Both films share a marvellously acerbic, humourosly inventive view of a battered and bruised planet Earth. The difference with WALL-E, of course, is the focus on a super-expressive, cute little robot who effortlessly appeals to both children and adults.
WALL-E's working days are punctuated by a child-like joy in collecting treasures amongst the trash, accompanied by a wonderful soundtrack which is appropriately old fashioned but upbeat. A perfect fit, in fact, for the musical loving WALL-E, with a penchant for watching Hello Dolly on his ingenious self made VHS/ipod link up. When one day WALL-E meets a new robot, EVE, his world is turned upside down, revealing his noble, heroic nature for everyone to see.
Funny, Poignant, Eloquent Story Telling
WALL-E manages to convey complex issues such as environmental disaster and a future where technology has gone mad in an incredibly entertaining way. It is funny, poignant, subtle and eloquent. The fact that the lead characters are robots who barely speak more than their own names is an astonishing achievement. The film draws their world in such a detailed and complete manner that words are simply not necessary. Subtle movements and noises perfectly articulate the robots feelings, in an astoundingly moving way. It's hard to imagine being so affected by the piquant story of a pair of robots, but Pixar creates remarkable characters that are easy to sympathise with, and truly care about.
Disney Pixar's Revolution
WALL-E is a children's film which makes it an absolute pleasure for families to visit the cinema. For so long parents have been forced to sit through one dimensional nonsense, but Pixar's remarkable output has changed all that. Pixar have revolutionised cinema by realising that families deserve quality films, and in return will reward them with love and loyalty. Arguably, with WALL-E Pixar have gone a step further and created a film which surpasses mere family entertainment. WALL-E is a cinematic experience to be enjoyed by everyone, and surely deserves a hatful of awards.
Presto – A Magical Short
As has become customary for Pixar's releases, WALL-E is preceeded by a Pixar short film called Presto. A wonderfully inventive animation about a magician and his hungry out-of-the-hat rabbit. This uproariously funny short is the perfect precursor to the main feature, and a welcome return to two reelers at the cinema.
Further reading: The Best Movies For Kids
Michelle Strozykowski - Michelle Strozykowski lives in a small brewing town smack bang in the middle of England. She loves films, especially arty European ones ...
