What I Loved about Wall-E

With the release of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, it appears Wall-E has now officially left theatres, and looking back over the seven weeks of its release, it seems a good point to reflect on what is, to me, so remarkably endearing and even prophetic about this marvelous little film.
First, consider the crafting of the movie. Top notch, to be sure. Pixar, in their typical fashion, gave painstaking care to critical details of the plot, which unfolds quite consistently. There is admittedly some lack of believability (e.g. how could there possibly be enough regenerated oxygen on a future earth devastated of most of its green vegetation to support indefinitely the returning human population?), most of which a reasonably intelligent viewer can rationalize enough to suspend their disbelief and appreciate the emotional plot line as well as
the movie's deeper and more significant themes. The animation is, of course, first-rate. With each new film, Pixar seems to capture a story with striking authenticity and to delve with greater zeal into the photo-realistic potential of the Renderman software. Wall-E, in particular, allowed them the opportunity to portray a rich variety of intricately adroit robots and automated technology with dizzying charm. Every wonderful and minute imperfection is faithfully maintained or modified where appropriate as the story unfolds, including the unique array of dents and smudges on Wall-E's yellow frame and the web of cracks that splinter their way across his solar charge indicator.

Next, the sound design. I really think Ben Burtt displayed a commendable degree of digitized wizardry in not only the sound effects, but also the various voice characterizations. The voice of Wall-E is a particularly good example of a believably futuristic robotic drone tinged with just the right degree of pleading personality and quirkiness to create the emotional sustainability without which the character could never have communicated so much with such a limited vocabulary. In fact, despite a few repetitive sundries, there is really only one word that was used to fulfill the breadth of Wall-E's performance, and that is the name of his co-star, Eve, which his character delivers with such tender and sympathetic yearning that the viewer is in no doubt of his feelings and intentions from one moment to the next. To supplement the sound issue, let us not forget the film's music. An intricate and tasteful score, sometimes thrilling and urgent, sometimes cleverly understated, is provided by Thomas Newman. More remarkable still is how the score weaves its way through the sound design to the point where the contrast between effects and music almost seems to disappear. Add to the mix a few exuberant tracks with the stamp of Peter Gabriel's jubilant panache, and you have a soundtrack of tremendous style and balance, perfectly complementing the film's quirky, at times deliciously disjointed, parade of moments.

At last, consider the characters themselves, which are developed carefully and consistently to reveal not only newfound strengths, but also to paint the full thematic scope of the movie. On this note, I should say that I don't see the film as posing an environmental statement (though that theme is perfectly apparent), but rather as offering a humorous critique of globalization and the portent under which technology may further alienate people from each other by widening the strain to maintain authentic human relationships. However, the irony that the human race is redeemed on this score primarily by robots puts a somewhat hopeful spin on what could have been (and indeed often is) a dismally treated subject. Wall-E is not an apocalyptic story. The dystopian state of the Earth and the degenerate means of existence preserved aboard the Axiom are simply the puzzle waiting to be solved through the auspicious efforts of Wall-E; Eve; and to a lesser extent, Captain McCrea and the other escaped robots. What's so wonderful about Wall-E's character in particular is that these efforts are almost certainly inadvertent; his only consistent motive throughout the film is to gain the favor of Eve, which could be further distilled by saying that his mission is simply to hold hands with Eve, which motif becomes the cornerstone on which the bond between them is developed. He certainly realizes that rescuing and preserving the plant is of utmost concern to Eve and that this is, perhaps, the best way to win her favor (i.e. to allow him to hold her hand), though Wall-E himself seems nearly oblivious to the greater importance of these efforts. Of course, this is not a weakness on Wall-E's part. What's so perfect about the way this theme is played out is that Wall-E's loneliness and subsequent devotion to Eve turn out to be his greatest strengths and the redemptive means by which the other characters are able to achieve the reunion of Earth and humanity. What's more wonderful is how beautifully and ingeniously this is achieved so that neither resolution is minimized or overshadowed by the other.I love this movie. It bewitched me such that I saw it six times in the theatre, which may seem rather excessive (or even obsessive), but after the first couple of viewings, my only aim was to revisit my delight in watching the purity and simplicity of Wall-E's character on-screen: single-minded, tender, even adorable. All in all, what I loved about Wall-E was the richness of craft and theme, the mixture and balance of science-fiction, commentary on technology, and the ironies of redemption all in one tightly-packed, superbly designed, tastefully executed romantic dramedy of a screen pleasure that, for whatever reason, I warmed to from the beginning (in part due to the unassuming sweetness of the main character) and marveled at the ingenuity with which Pixar had managed to achieve so generous a helping of entertainment and introspection with such a modicum of dialogue, particularly in the first half of the film. The opening scene in which Wall-E returns home to his cache of beloved knickknacks and dives eagerly into a snippet from Hello Dolly on some worn, aged cassette is almost reminiscent of The Apartment with Jack Lemmon, though Pixar manages to achieve the same portrait with almost no dialogue and no narration whatever.

Yeah, Wall-E was great, easily among the best movies I've seen this year and quickly climbing my list of personal favorites. What else is there to say except that it's available on DVD November 18th? [In Homer voice] Mmmhhh... Waaall-E...