The Importance of WALL•E

[SnakeClock]

WALL•E's been described as Pixar's greatest epic, but I find myself asking what lasting effects it could have for Pixar and the animation industry in the future.

As you may know, Pixar are the flagbearers of American 3D animated film, and their films are contributions to the culture. Their past movies have been grand and sweeping, but are still usually described as "cartoons". Nothing against them, of course, but an animated film can do so much more than a "cartoon".

WALL•E seems to have struck a chord with everyone, from the great unwashed to the cinematic elite. Pixar films have always drawn "hype", but rarely have they drawn so much "interest". The more serious treatment of the film, with such ugly yet likable characters like WALL•E, a minimum of dialogue, and the sweeping, trash-strewn vistas of old Earth with Buy 'N Large permeating everywhere, has made waves in the industry. The closest Pixar film I've seen achieve something like this was Finding Nemo, with the serious story of a father trying against all odds to find his son on his travels through the enormous ocean. Its juvenility, however, held it back.

WALL•E doesn't appear to have that problem, and that's why it seems important. It shows children a stark, dirty cast and setting and gives them all a terrible, if initially unrecognized problem, with the whole world in the hands of a robot who's too innocent and good-natured to realize it. It's a multifaceted story, with both the saving of the world and WALL•E and EVE's romance sharing the spotlight, an incredible setting, and by far the most epic movie Pixar has produced. This makes me think it could change the direction of the animation industry.

There's Oscar buzz centering around WALL•E, and not just for the Best Animated Feature award that's expected of it; people are talking about Best Picture. No animated movie has been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar since 1991's Beauty and the Beast, another animated film of considerable scope, back when Disney was still ambitious. It's not certain, but with the crop of films we've gotten in 2008, it's more likely than it's ever been.

This is also the first Pixar film that had a strong message about current events: environmentalism and indulgence. The reason that it has 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, rather than Pixar's usual 98% or 99%, is because some conservative critics have lambasted it for being pro-environment. Its depiction of humankind as a race of enormous babies, more so as a commentary on overdependency. Stanton claims he didn't have any moral or political motive behind his story and just wanted to tell a story about the last robot on earth, as per the humility and intimacy of Pixar's storytelling, but other ideas sprang organically from the material, like WALL•E's little green sprout.

What's your opinion on WALL•E's impact on the future, and not just in the movie?

[Solenoidclock]

It's cemented the idea that cartoons are not necessarily child's entertainment in the mind of our generation, but that had already been done to a degree.

I expect the animation will be booming from the echos of this movie for some time.

[TremcladClock]

I think critics are too anxious to declare something with the slightest degree of integrity a modern epic, due to what a bacterial wasteland of vomit and faecal matter the film industry has become.

[TequilaClock]

I just hope other animation powerhouses like Dreamworks begin to realize that they need some fucking content and effort instead of creating piggy banks also bound with Activision. (they are like a villainous duo in the media this past years)

Also WALL·E had a lot of ision I have of human activity on the planet so maybe being raw and direc to consequencs in a movie for kids like showeing an arid and agonized planet Earth is what is needed to give a better message on ecology.

Yeah I am a hippie, fuck you.

I think critics are too anxious to declare something with the slightest degree of integrity a modern epic, due to what a bacterial wasteland of vomit and faecal matter the film industry has become.

I agree with this too.

[SnakeClock]

I think critics are too anxious to declare something with the slightest degree of integrity a modern epic, due to what a bacterial wasteland of vomit and faecal matter the film industry has become.

Are you saying WALL•E is overrated?

[TequilaClock]

Are you saying WALL•E is overrated?

I think what he said is movie critics seem to not even dare to see the movies anymore.

[TremcladClock]

Are you saying WALL•E is overrated?

Considering the colossal size of the merchandising campaign surrounding it and the extent to which it's being praised and capitalised on; yes, It's overrated.

[SnakeClock]

Considering the colossal size of the merchandising campaign surrounding it and the extent to which it's being praised and capitalised on; yes, It's overrated.

All Pixar films are merchandised within an inch of their lives, as are most Disney films. I think there's something different about WALL•E. I wasn't aware that critics paid attention to the amount of toys and commercials a movie gets when they're assessing its sociological value.

If it was all about a movie's merchandising attention, Toy Story would be Pixar's greatest epic.

[FlossClock]

On tonight's episode of "Clocks!": Snake tries to be deep, Tremclad is a downer, Urkel annoys Carl, and Tim misunderstands something Wilson says and then grunts a lot!

[TremcladClock]

All Pixar films are merchandised within an inch of their lives, as are most Disney films. I think there's something different about WALL•E. I wasn't aware that critics paid attention to the amount of toys and commercials a movie gets when they're assessing its sociological value.

If it was all about a movie's merchandising attention, Toy Story would be Pixar's greatest epic.

The extent to which something is capitalised upon is a reflection of how successful its proprietors perceive it to be. It's the cumbersome result of critics going apeshit after finding a gold nugget in the horse manure.

[Biblo]

I just hope other animation powerhouses like Dreamworks begin to realize that they need some fucking content and effort instead of creating piggy banks also bound with Activision. (they are like a villainous duo in the media this past years)

Or even better, the audiences start growing some brains and stop paying money to go see Dreamworks' pitiful turds. I'd rather see Dreamworks fail first before making something good. Just to put a dent in their ridiculous capital.

[TequilaClock]

All Pixar films are merchandised within an inch of their lives, as are most Disney films. I think there's something different about WALL•E. I wasn't aware that critics paid attention to the amount of toys and commercials a movie gets when they're assessing its sociological value.

If it was all about a movie's merchandising attention, Toy Story would be Pixar's greatest epic.

I find it ironic how in WALL·E's main message, the merchandise of this movie is beign much more atractive to me.

Or even better, the audiences start growing some brains and stop paying money to go see Dreamworks' pitiful turds. I'd rather see Dreamworks fail first before making something good. Just to put a dent in their ridiculous capital.

Well both situations sound win-win to me.

[Solenoidclock]

Disney is BnL, tru dat.

[Topcatyo]

Kung Fu  Panda was an amazing movie, but was marketed as generic kids trash, which is was not at all.
On the other hand, Dreamworks is making 8 Shrek movies.
I'm conflicted on that subject.

[TequilaClock]

Kung Fu  Panda was an amazing movie, but was marketed as generic kids trash, which is was not at all.
On the other hand, Dreamworks is making 8 Shrek movies.
I'm conflicted on that subject.

This is enough statement to persuade me watching KFP. I was watching merchandise every-fucking-where and began to get sick.

[cokezeroglock]

since when was kung fu panda a good film i dont remember this
wall-e was a nice film that i enjoyed watching but i do not think it could be thought of as a "modern epic" at all

[FileCabinetClock]

Kung Fu  Panda was an amazing movie, but was marketed as generic kids trash, which is was not at all.
On the other hand, Dreamworks is making 8 Shrek movies.
I'm conflicted on that subject.

Kung Fu Panda was ass. I was just really bored during most of the movie, and it felt like there were hardly any gags at all, just stuff and then some other stuff happening.

wall-e on the other hand was a great movie, and the best of the pixar movies, but overrated.

finding nemo isn't relevant to this thread but i guess we're talking about cgi so okay i'm going for it. finding nemo was one of the shit ass pixar movies, and definitely the most overrated. all these mothers were shitting bricks about finding nemo and how their kids loved it and how it was so funny and how it was the best movie they'd ever seen and they wanted to have some sort of bestiality orgy with the cast. that movie was just really unfunny, and it was pissing me off half the time. and it's still lingering too, children still recognize "NEMO" in fish tanks in dentists' offices, and their mothers go "oh look, it's NEMO ^-^" and i don't see what was so goddamn enchanting about the film.

but yeah that wall-e

it was sure a movie

[TequilaClock]

Well... I loved Finding Nemo´s visual effects

[SnakeClock]

finding nemo isn't relevant to this thread but i guess we're talking about cgi so okay i'm going for it. finding nemo was one of the shit ass pixar movies, and definitely the most overrated. all these mothers were shitting bricks about finding nemo and how their kids loved it and how it was so funny and how it was the best movie they'd ever seen and they wanted to have some sort of bestiality orgy with the cast. that movie was just really unfunny, and it was pissing me off half the time. and it's still lingering too, children still recognize "NEMO" in fish tanks in dentists' offices, and their mothers go "oh look, it's NEMO ^-^" and i don't see what was so goddamn enchanting about the film.

I mentioned Finding Nemo in the context of WALL•E in that they both have a similarly large scope. You're partly right about Finding Nemo, though; I don't think it aged very gracefully. A lot of the humour is irritatingly popcultural, and at least there's nothing around here that already has a name that will have kids point at it and say "Look! It's a WALL-E! "

Also, what's worse, that everyone calls a clownfish a "Nemo" or that everyone calls meerkats a "Timon"?

[FlossClock]

finding nemo isn't relevant to this thread but i guess we're talking about cgi so okay i'm going for it. finding nemo was one of the shit ass pixar movies, and definitely the most overrated. all these mothers were shitting bricks about finding nemo and how their kids loved it and how it was so funny and how it was the best movie they'd ever seen and they wanted to have some sort of bestiality orgy with the cast. that movie was just really unfunny, and it was pissing me off half the time. and it's still lingering too, children still recognize "NEMO" in fish tanks in dentists' offices, and their mothers go "oh look, it's NEMO ^-^" and i don't see what was so goddamn enchanting about the film.

Truest statement ever.