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To Build a Garden of EEEEVVV-AH!
While right-wing talking heads this summer blasted Pixar's latest film "WALL-E" for supposedly indoctrinating little kids with an apparent environmental message, the real subversive element of this film was its silence. With so many animated movies dependent upon a script full of rat-a-tat jokes and zingers, "WALL-E" takes the time to observe and get to know its hero through movement, limited sounds, and yes, facial expressions, even on a robot. For the first 30 or 40 minutes of the movie, there's scarcely a word said by anyone or anything. WALL-E lives on Earth seven hundred years in the future, long after humanity has fled the planet, apparently to search for other habitable globes after leaving this one a mess. Since he is a robot, he apparently doesn't know it's okay to quit his job, so he spends the day compacting trash and collecting boxes, knick-knacks, Christmas lights, and old VHS tapes of Hollywood musicals. It's that latter item that provides both a recurring musical motif for WALL-E and his only reference point for a civilization that no longer exists. Into WALL-E's life blasts EVE, a sleek robot whose mission is to scan Earth for plant life in the hopes that humanity may return to re-populate the planet. EVE has looks that match the slinkiest Apple iPod, and WALL-E is immediately smitten. But what's this? How can robots have feelings? Court one another? The genius of "WALL-E" is that the folks at Pixar studied hours of silent comedies. Watch how WALL-E moves and you'll see elements of Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and especially the sad eyes of Buster Keaton. I could go on describing the plot of the film, which is pretty good, and involves humanity breaking out of its self-imposed cocoon to rediscover itself with the help of little WALL-E, but what really touched me was the love story (!) between EVE and WALL-E.
There are short films and bonus cartoons that widen the "WALL-E" world, but on Disc 2 of the set, there's a feature-length documentary about the history of Pixar that is remarkable for its somewhat candid discussions. The documentary reveals that Disney/Pixar’s current chief creative officer, John Lasseter, was once shown the door at Disney in the mid-1980s when studio execs balked at his ideas. Steve Jobs discusses the revenue sharing problems that arose when "Toy Story" became a mega success. In short, Pixar saw very little, while Disney raked in the bucks. What seemed like an overnight success story in the late 1990s was actually a long, hard, rocky road. "WALL-E" on DVD is also the first Disney-produced disc to include a digital copy of the film for viewing on your computer and mobile devices. I tried it out, and it was a breeze to download the film and watch it on my iPhone. Although some of the subtler moments in the film are lost on such a small screen, the movie still works overall. Whether subsequent DVD releases will translate well to a teeny screen may depend on the film. Like many good movies, “WALL-E” is one of those films that sneaks up on you. With the Pixar imprimatur, I was expecting a good movie, but I guess I just wasn’t expecting something quite as touching as two robots in love. And I certainly wasn’t expecting to have a song from “Hello Dolly!” stuck in my head for months on end. But that song, and the movie, work splendidly. NOTE: “WALL-E” is also available in a high definition Blu-Ray edition with stunning picture and sound. 12/2/08 PHOTO CREDIT: ©WDSHE Rights Reserved.
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On DVD, "WALL-E" looks terrific, and comes loaded with tons of special features. There's a great audio commentary by director Andrew Stanton, who brushes aside the environmental message of the film early on, insisting that his main goal was to tell this little robot's story of being the last thing on the planet. But, he needed a back story on why there were no humans anymore -- hence, the subplot involving the evacuation of the planet, courtesy the Buy 'N' Large corporation, a dig at Sam's Club, Costco, Best Buy, and yes, even Disney itself -- pretty much any mega-marketer and retailer. Stanton talks about the film's influences and its 12-year gestation.