[NOTE: I made this shortly after seeing Slumdog Millionare while it was still in cinema, so best to bear that in mind for the first paragraph or so. Also, it's my first full review, and after reading the announcement in this section, I'm actually quite embarrassed how little objectivity there is. Still, I thought I may as well post it, for the sake of contribution and whatnot.]
Anyways...
So about a week or two ago, I watched Slumdog Millionaire, right. The film has recently been touted as something akin to Jesus jumping the Grand Canyon on a chocolate shark, the amount of love and awards it's been getting.
You may be wondering where I'm going with this all. But having recently watched the film, it kind of set a standard, which is stupid I guess. So then I decide to watch WALL-E, and I must shamefully admit at this point I'm not expecting it to be a film that can knock Slumdog fresh out of my mind?
But this film was a rare one that both did and didn't surprise me. I was expecting it to be good (a gem of awesomeness, even), but not good enough for it to totally grab Slumdog by the balls, spin it right round over its head and throw it into the conveniently placed dustbin labelled 'Forgotten'.
The first thing I have to say about this film is that it looks absolutely stunning. I mean, many animated films look the bee's knees nowadays. Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean and most Hollywood films in general use totally spiffing CGI, but WALL-E blows them all out of the water. From the vast regions of space to the detailed dirt of forgotten Earth, it amazes me how Pixar can keep outdoing itself in the visual department. And not just that, but the quality of its films in general. I never expected them to top Toy Story in all honesty, but they've done it right here, and I truly look forward to any film they release in the future.
Tell me this is not the cutest trash compactor you have ever seen. I DARE YOU.
The film gets into the groove straight away by getting us acquainted with the little robot called WALL-E, the last 'living' thing on Earth after every Human evacuated into... [say slowly for dramatic effect] Outer Space. And being on the trash covered planet for centuries has done wonders for his character. It's quickly established he's a total eccentric, and after a good ten to fifteen minutes or so of viewing his antics, you just... fall in love with him. The great thing is though; I don't believe they could have made the character so brilliant if it was human. It's so many things about WALL-E that make you love him and what he does. His movements, sounds (of which are fantastic), and even his shape contribute to a fantastic character who I'm so sure I'm not going to forget for a good while.
After a while, the plot sort of kicks into effect when a rocket lands on earth with a female robot called EVE, who's 'directive' is to evaluate whenever Earth is habitable by searching out any living life. WALL-E, who's been more devoid of some romantic action than a Eunuch with a nasty fungal infection, quickly works his mojo with the stern, advanced droid. Once again, it's a relationship that would have far less effect with human characters, and it astonishes me how well it's been done.
After the two depart into space, we find out that Humanity has decided to say balls to not just exercise, but even moving, with the entire species resembling something I once made out of playdough. As we discover, centuries of being in space with hover chairs and no word from Earth has plumped up the species to the point I'm surprised there's no heart attack epidemic going on. It is also at this point we are introduced to much more robot characters, including clean-freak M-O and the ship wheel Auto. The latter I felt was quickly established as an effective antagonist due to his cold demeanour (and possibly the red eye too). It really gives a sense of all the robots in the film having varied personalities and motives that doesn't cease to entertain.
Belly's gonna get ya!
Thinking about it, there's no actual criticism I can think of for this film. It was just that good. If I have to think of something weak, it'd be that the human characters had far less effect and likeability than the robots. I wasn't too sure whenever this was down to their lazy, roly-poly ways or even just their silly faces, but even this wasn't really a problem to me due to how they weren't seen as often as the robot characters.
The conclusion of the film had to the most powerful moment I have ever seen in an animated film. By the end of this film, I had realised it had brought out all the emotions that make you love a film. I laughed, cried, and had such love for the characters charm that, as I said before, will stick in my mind forever. Seriously, if you haven't seen this film; don't think about it, just get it. It's a visually stunning hour and a half full of genius and magnificence that you will not regret or forget.
-AV
Anyways...
So about a week or two ago, I watched Slumdog Millionaire, right. The film has recently been touted as something akin to Jesus jumping the Grand Canyon on a chocolate shark, the amount of love and awards it's been getting.
You may be wondering where I'm going with this all. But having recently watched the film, it kind of set a standard, which is stupid I guess. So then I decide to watch WALL-E, and I must shamefully admit at this point I'm not expecting it to be a film that can knock Slumdog fresh out of my mind?
But this film was a rare one that both did and didn't surprise me. I was expecting it to be good (a gem of awesomeness, even), but not good enough for it to totally grab Slumdog by the balls, spin it right round over its head and throw it into the conveniently placed dustbin labelled 'Forgotten'.
The first thing I have to say about this film is that it looks absolutely stunning. I mean, many animated films look the bee's knees nowadays. Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean and most Hollywood films in general use totally spiffing CGI, but WALL-E blows them all out of the water. From the vast regions of space to the detailed dirt of forgotten Earth, it amazes me how Pixar can keep outdoing itself in the visual department. And not just that, but the quality of its films in general. I never expected them to top Toy Story in all honesty, but they've done it right here, and I truly look forward to any film they release in the future.
Tell me this is not the cutest trash compactor you have ever seen. I DARE YOU.
The film gets into the groove straight away by getting us acquainted with the little robot called WALL-E, the last 'living' thing on Earth after every Human evacuated into... [say slowly for dramatic effect] Outer Space. And being on the trash covered planet for centuries has done wonders for his character. It's quickly established he's a total eccentric, and after a good ten to fifteen minutes or so of viewing his antics, you just... fall in love with him. The great thing is though; I don't believe they could have made the character so brilliant if it was human. It's so many things about WALL-E that make you love him and what he does. His movements, sounds (of which are fantastic), and even his shape contribute to a fantastic character who I'm so sure I'm not going to forget for a good while.
After a while, the plot sort of kicks into effect when a rocket lands on earth with a female robot called EVE, who's 'directive' is to evaluate whenever Earth is habitable by searching out any living life. WALL-E, who's been more devoid of some romantic action than a Eunuch with a nasty fungal infection, quickly works his mojo with the stern, advanced droid. Once again, it's a relationship that would have far less effect with human characters, and it astonishes me how well it's been done.
After the two depart into space, we find out that Humanity has decided to say balls to not just exercise, but even moving, with the entire species resembling something I once made out of playdough. As we discover, centuries of being in space with hover chairs and no word from Earth has plumped up the species to the point I'm surprised there's no heart attack epidemic going on. It is also at this point we are introduced to much more robot characters, including clean-freak M-O and the ship wheel Auto. The latter I felt was quickly established as an effective antagonist due to his cold demeanour (and possibly the red eye too). It really gives a sense of all the robots in the film having varied personalities and motives that doesn't cease to entertain.
Belly's gonna get ya!
Thinking about it, there's no actual criticism I can think of for this film. It was just that good. If I have to think of something weak, it'd be that the human characters had far less effect and likeability than the robots. I wasn't too sure whenever this was down to their lazy, roly-poly ways or even just their silly faces, but even this wasn't really a problem to me due to how they weren't seen as often as the robot characters.
The conclusion of the film had to the most powerful moment I have ever seen in an animated film. By the end of this film, I had realised it had brought out all the emotions that make you love a film. I laughed, cried, and had such love for the characters charm that, as I said before, will stick in my mind forever. Seriously, if you haven't seen this film; don't think about it, just get it. It's a visually stunning hour and a half full of genius and magnificence that you will not regret or forget.
-AV
