elicopperman
10 years ago, Pixar released Wall-E, which started development as far back as 1995 when Toy Story was released, but was never put into full production until 2002 by Andre Stanton. What followed was a movie going experience unlike any other Pixar venture ever before crafted due to the raw emotions and intellectual philosophies it contains. While Ratatouille still remains my personal favorite Pixar film, there is no denying how brilliant Wall-E is from start to finish. Imagine what would happen if "Walt Disney, Charlie Chaplin, Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg decided to collaborate on a movie together" (Stefan Ellison).For starters, what makes Wall-E stand out from many animated films is its usage of visual storytelling. As it centers around two distinct robots, one named Wall-E from a trash ridden Earth and one named Eve from a maximum spaceship, they mainly communicate with vocal effects and bleeps. This is the perfect representation for animation, as the first ten minutes establishes Wall-E and its position on a deserted wasteland to an understandable degree to the audience. As the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words, and it's fantastic how Wall-E's interests and interactions with the environments around it tell more than any amount of dialogue ever could.Speaking of vocals and lack of dialogue, most of the robot sound effects were provided by former Star Wars sfx technician Ben Burtt. Burtt doesn't simply create mechanical beeps, he creates multiple vocal ranges and sounds that define each robot depending on what they're conveying, let alone Wall-E. Another cool touch was having the Apple product MacInTalk to be the voice of Auto, as it emulates its artificial intelligent presence throughout the film. There are of course other noteworthy voice actors like Jeff Garlin, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy and even Sigourney Weaver, but as good as they are, none of their contributions will ever live up to the specific sounds for each robot that make them come off as more than just interactive machines.At its core, Wall-E is a love story, and the progression of Eve feeling uncomfortable around Wall-E to soon falling in love with it transitions believably throughout the feature. This is because Wall-E never directly forces its feelings towards her and mainly wants to have a friend to no longer feel alone. Even though Eve was initially designed to be "directive", she does develop outside her duty upon seeing the positive qualities of Wall-E and the Earth itself. Not to mention, despite Wall-E's attempts to approach her romantically not growing outside of Hello Dolly, the scenes of it taking care of her or following her around come off as charming due to its unselfish attitude. It isn't until she views footage of Wall-E taking care of her that she decides she loves him back, making her arch all the more touching.Now the one aspect of the film that has been debated ever since its release is its social commentary, mainly the environmental message depicted in the conflict between idealism and capitalism in the Axiom spaceship. The main reason the humans can't leave the ship is because of a massive government corporation taking control of the world. A plant that Wall-E and Eve discover hightens the environmental message to remind the humans to take care of the Earth, yet it does not come off as preachy and instead works as a major goal. While Wall-E initially came aboard the Axiom to save Eve, it discovers the bare necessities in how effective the plant is to humans, making it more determined than ever to save them. The main reason the humans are so infatuated with their own technology is because they've become too careless to do anything else, something unfortunately common in today's era of social media dominating people's lives. However, the film at no point ever mocks the humans and instead sympathizes with them, down to Captain McCrea giving orders all the time by his auto pilot for no other reason other than his naivety. Even two humans aboard the Axiom named John and Mary come face to face in romance thanks to Wall-E himself, showing how the unlikeliest of coincidences can be more meaningful than everyday occurrences. However, what I like most about Wall-E is how optimistic it is, as it shows a genuine love and respect towards planet Earth through the simplest of things, hence why Wall-E itself finds so much joy in stacking up cubes of trash. In addition, Captain McCrea represents the best kind of optimist, the ones that are highly determined to save their own life based off the smallest form of natural evolution, while Auto represents the pessimists who refuse to believe that anything can bring a positive change to the world. Seriously, there are plenty of people out there who only live and breath on nothing but pessimistic thoughts, and they'll also try to manipulate you into believing their ideas, regardless if you have your own feelings or not. This makes the moments of McCrea and Wall-E standing up for what's right all the more captivating, showing how positivity and hope helps one more than negativity ever will.Finally, the animation is stellar beyond belief, mainly because of how experimental it is. The acting from Wall-E and Eve is quite clever, given how the crew chose Wall-E to have binoculars for eyes, which convey all its emotions and outer thoughts beautifully. Eve's various eye expressions are also enough to sell herself as a fully realized character. The depiction of outer space is gorgeous to the eyes, and the define dancing sequence just might be one of cinema's greatest moments due to the stunning effects and crisp flying scenes. The usage of color is a notable highlight, especially the contrast between the brownish and grainy wasteland of the world and the Axiom's blueish sterile interiors, creating an identity for each area the film takes place in. The camerawork is also fun to watch, given the influence of 1970s cinematography, swooping crane shots, and even the camera going in and out of focus, all of which to help bring us into the world much more.In conclusion, after ten years of existence, Wall-E still stands the test of time as one of the most magical, touching and downright brilliant films ever made. As both a major game changer for the sci-fi genre and an adorable romance story, it succeeds in flying colors with its unique take on storytelling, characterization, and themes of fundamentalism vs cynicism. No joke, if we had more beings like Wall-E in our lives, chances are the world would be a much better place, and it all starts by shining hope around the world, let alone with plants. Thank you to not only director Andrew Stanton, but also the likes of Jim Morris, Pete Docter, Jim Reardon, Ben Burtt and all the talented animators, artists and technicians at Pixar for bringing his movie into our lives. Even after 700 years, there's a high chance that audiences will still be immersed and enchanted by its wonderful story and characters.
