Pixar Playlist #9 - WALL-E

Ladies and Gentlemen, whether you like it or not, the Pixar Playlist

Wall-E is the 9^th film in the Pixar library, and back in the director’s helm is Andrew Stanton, who had directed Finding Nemo as well as co-written the Toy Story films and A Bug’s Life (though we won’t hold that against him) he was also came up with the plot with Pete Docter, and wrote the screenplay with Jim Reardon, who worked on the Simpsons as well as Tiny Toon adventures.

This film presented a unique challenge, as the main characters had a bare minimum of dialogue and they’d have to other ways to convey the information through the visuals, as a result, this film was their most complex since Monsters Inc, requiring 50,000 more storyboards than the usual 75,000 for a Pixar film.

The animators used silent films as a reference for getting their characters to emote without words, but their job was made even harder given what they were animating and the limitations that came with it. R2-D2 was apparently influential in that regard.

The budget for this film was $180m, another increase and more akin to the norm as the Disney era continues, the film made $533m at the box office, less than Ratatouille did but enough to be successful, this film was applauded by critics and audiences with ratings of 95% and 90% respectively. But where does it rank on my list? Let’s take a look.

WALL-E (Ben Burtt) is a tiny trash compactor dealing with the trash on the long-abandoned planet Earth. He’s the last one still operational and has become somewhat lonely, collecting bits of history he finds interesting and befriending a cockroach. Things change when he comes across EVE (Elissa Knight) a modern machine that’s searching for any signs of organic life on Earth, WALL-E begins to fall for EVE but EVE finds a plant, and her directive is to report it to the captain of the Starliner Axiom, signalling that it’s safe to return to Earth. Unfortunately in the 700 years since they left, humans have changed, the gravity has reduced their bones, leaving them barely able to walk and their reliance on machines has left them fat and lazy, and the Auto-pilot of the axiom (voiced by MacInTalk in one of the most ingenious casting tricks ever) has been told to prevent them returning.

Before we get to the subtext let’s talk about the rest of the film. The animation is really good, the robots are given a lot of personality just by the way they move and interact with each other. WALL-E and EVE are adorable, they’re very well designed and highly versatile. They also incorporate a few bits of live action to make the world feel a little more real, we’ll get to why that’s important later. I didn’t notice any particular new features but the animation also conveys the mood. The use of light and colour on the Earth scenes is fantastic, and the more clinical but busy design of the axiom is great also.

The idea of humans evolving the way it’s presented here is both terrifying and believable, their design is repulsive by intent, we are not meant to idolise where these people are.

The music is what sells the first half of this story, the use of a few old songs and some atmospheric tracks sell the mood well, complimenting the animation. The theme of nostalgia is certainly present during the first act. In fact the first 30 minutes might be some of the best work Pixar has ever done up to this point.

The film incorporates some slapstick comedy and consumerist satire so the film isn’t dire to watch, it knows how to make an impactful story without it being entirely depressing. The humour isn’t laugh out loud funny but it works with this story.

But we really have to get to the messaging. Wall-E is as relevant today as it was 12 years ago when it came out. It has harsh critiques of the human race and our attitudes toward our environment, and also our ever-increasing reliance on technology. But it must be stressed that this is not what the story is about, they are elements that inform the story, which is at its heart a love story. Its not the core of the story, but it’s enough to make people think.

In that respect, the aspects on the ship end up as the weaker part. The pace is dialled up, as well as the comedy, which works but it’s no longer as atmospheric and impactful as the bits on Earth, though those aspects are not entirely removed. The ending is the one bit that I find a bit suspect. One plant living on Earth is not proof that humans can live. Plants require carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, the opposite is true of humans, it also doesn’t eliminate the fact that most of the Earth, or at least what we see, is covered in rubbish, and operation clean-up did not, in fact, clean it up. The credits do show humans starting to thrive, so there’s that I guess.

Also, EVE managing to spark WALL-E’s memories back was a contrived way to get a happy ending, I know WALL-E was damaged but they could’ve just left his memory in-tact.

WALL-E stands as a stunning use of visual storytelling, with a phenomenal first half-hour, it has a good mix of heart and humour, complimenting a complex message enough to adults think about their impact on the world. Its ending puts a neat bow on things that it probably shouldn’t have.

#1 The Incredibles

#2 Finding Nemo

#3 WALL-E

#4 Toy Story 2

#5 Toy Story

#6 Monsters Inc

#7 Ratatouille

#8 Cars

#9 A Bug’s Life