This film is endlessly charming and yet shockingly thoughtful and well-crafted. If not for the very visual nature of the story, this would make a fantastic classic sci-fi novel.
The beauty of this film is by and large (or perhaps Buy "N" Large) its mastery of visual storytelling. The majority of the film lacks dialogue, or at least complex sentences, but we get just enough information and then the movie lets its less verbal stars shine. The animation is stunning, with a largely realistic style that I almost feel is marred by the cartoonish humans, but it's still gorgeous. The robots all have brilliant designs that allow them to move in human ways beyond their mechanical intentions, and there's just so much personality. Gorgeous and sweet.
The premise is that long after Earth has been turned into an unlivable landfill and evacuated, one solitary cleanup robot is still functioning and displays an innocent sentience. The animation for WALL-E is fantastic, giving us a utilitarian machine with lots of humanlike personality, and we see how overwhelmingly futile his existence is, being the only robot left to clean the planet. He doesn't seem to notice, and he is more interested in human trinkets and romance. All of this is beautifully communicated without the need for dialogue, and what little is there could be removed fairly easily.
WALL-E meets EVE, a utilitarian, high-tech probe sent down to Earth to find life. WALL-E gets in the way of her mission and falls in love, and follows her back to the Axiom starship, the new home for humanity, where devolution has reduced them to giant babies for lack of ever needing to walk. Romance and adventure intersect when the plan to return the humans to Earth goes awry and the two robots have to save each other and the world.
The two main characters are so brilliantly displayed despite minimal speech. WALL-E is curious and timid, a hopeless romantic with deep empathy. EVE is wary and efficient, focused on her task, before she begins to learn more and understand that other things are important. The way they in turn sacrifice their interests for each other at the end is very sweet, and the ending is powerful, even though these two have never spoken a complete sentence. The film is so skilled, they never need to.
There are tons of other excellent sci-fi and general storytelling devices, too, especially with John and Mary.
This movie is very ambitious, but very successful. It tells a complex story with few spoken words, and also offers some commentary on the world we inhabit and what might be done for it. Watch or rewatch it, because it's fantastic.
Cute and charming, but deep and thoughtful; a great sci-fi story.
This film is endlessly charming and yet shockingly thoughtful and well-crafted. If not for the very visual nature of the story, this would make a fantastic classic sci-fi novel.
The beauty of this film is by and large (or perhaps Buy "N" Large) its mastery of visual storytelling. The majority of the film lacks dialogue, or at least complex sentences, but we get just enough information and then the movie lets its less verbal stars shine. The animation is stunning, with a largely realistic style that I almost feel is marred by the cartoonish humans, but it's still gorgeous. The robots all have brilliant designs that allow them to move in human ways beyond their mechanical intentions, and there's just so much personality. Gorgeous and sweet.
The premise is that long after Earth has been turned into an unlivable landfill and evacuated, one solitary cleanup robot is still functioning and displays an innocent sentience. The animation for WALL-E is fantastic, giving us a utilitarian machine with lots of humanlike personality, and we see how overwhelmingly futile his existence is, being the only robot left to clean the planet. He doesn't seem to notice, and he is more interested in human trinkets and romance. All of this is beautifully communicated without the need for dialogue, and what little is there could be removed fairly easily.
WALL-E meets EVE, a utilitarian, high-tech probe sent down to Earth to find life. WALL-E gets in the way of her mission and falls in love, and follows her back to the Axiom starship, the new home for humanity, where devolution has reduced them to giant babies for lack of ever needing to walk. Romance and adventure intersect when the plan to return the humans to Earth goes awry and the two robots have to save each other and the world.
The two main characters are so brilliantly displayed despite minimal speech. WALL-E is curious and timid, a hopeless romantic with deep empathy. EVE is wary and efficient, focused on her task, before she begins to learn more and understand that other things are important. The way they in turn sacrifice their interests for each other at the end is very sweet, and the ending is powerful, even though these two have never spoken a complete sentence. The film is so skilled, they never need to.
There are tons of other excellent sci-fi and general storytelling devices, too, especially with John and Mary.
This movie is very ambitious, but very successful. It tells a complex story with few spoken words, and also offers some commentary on the world we inhabit and what might be done for it. Watch or rewatch it, because it's fantastic.