For a movie to be considered (although it likely will not get it) for nomination as “Best Picture” at the Oscars is a much larger feat than to be a "shoe-in’ for best animated feature…but by God Wall-E may just have what it takes. A serious picture involving the state of the world, the sloth of the human race, technological advancement, and the age old ideal of artificial intelligence containing actual heart all disguised as a cutesy children;s film about an adorable robot (?), Wall-E is a marvel from start to finish. I do admit that at the beginning there’s a bit of a drag, but the movie picks up so nicely and maintains its cuteness throughout whil also providing a powerful science fiction film as well. Simply compelling.
The voice acting is minimal (they are robots who tend to repeat, but in a rather unique and well put manner) but the people chose to do the voices are perfect, as per the Pixar special.
Andrew Stanton has brought back and era of cinema where clever dialogue, in-referencing, and speech altogether do not matter as much as the story. the characters say so much with minute movements and with the story in general that dialogue is only a way of setting up the next scene. I firmly believe that this film could be a silent film and the effect would be exactly the same…that is to say, breathtaking, heartbreaking, and uplifting all at once.
to be perfectly honest, this is a Pixar film, and they are very well known for having outstanding work withou much in the way of edge at all. the closest this comes to having an edge is a brief joke involving a rather conservative ladies’ bra, two gelatin-like folks frolicking in a pool (in a g-rated way) and moments of dread. there isn’t a person i wouldn’t recommend this to, save for people who fear some variation of the apocalypse or people who fear technology.
It’s hard to gauge the future. on one hand, this is a rather crazy story. On the other, the future Earth being a grabage planet being slowly cleaned while human beings turn into gigantic babies aboard a ship where they rely entirely on their own keen robotic intellect to serve them seems far fetched, but in 1000 or more years it is possible. The computer was invented less than a hundred years ago, for example. In another 1000, who knows? I’m going to give it a high number, however, as this is far fetched even for dystopian future purposes.