So far, this is my favorite movie this year, and probably one of my favorite movies of all time. Jesus Christ this movie is the first one to give me a feeling that ET gives me since fucking ET. I loved it so much.It's one of those movies that, like Pixar's last one, Ratatouille, gives you entertainment in its purest and greatest form, and somehow this pure and simple form of entertainment is utterly loaded with substance. From social commentary to love, the movie is fucking packed and you're going to be utterly delighted from start to finish.
The question of what makes comedy comedy has been debated for a long long time now, but the one thing that is absolutely agreed upon is that it ALL derives from pain. Even a poop joke is rooted in a natural human function that, if deferred long enough, can kill you. It's utterly absurd that something so disgusting is so vital to living. That said, a truly great work of humor does have the power to absolutely floor someone. The folks at Pixar, incidentally, have an incredibly venomous sense of humor with just the right amount of hope, making for visuals that are indeed both funny and unnerving with how incredibly possible it all seems. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that Al Gore likely wishes he could draw these kinds of audiences.
Then there's a challenge to acting here where a couple of animated robots who never really speak any English at all convey emotions as competently if not moreso than most A List actors. It's astonishing and I can't help but imagine it also being insanely time consuming. I mean Jesus they made a couple ROBOTS make me almost cry and definitely got me a little misty eyed. Folks, I don't cry at movies. The ones that stick out in my mind are films I came back to viewing time and time again, and they didn't get that out of me on first viewing. I came incredibly close in this one. The funny thing is it likely happened in instances that weren't meant to induce that reaction. Regardless, so it went. Wall-E is one of my favorite protagonists ever. Portraying an ironic sense of wonder that so insanely heartfelt it's almost baffling that it worked on me. But that charm! That humor! Dude is fuckin' adorable! Can't you see it!? How can this kind of preciousness not get to you?
And of course his and Eva's journey is fantastic and unfolds at the pitch-perfect pace and tone for the movie. Pixar seems to have this down so well it's stupid. It almost makes filmmaking seem like craftwork than artwork. The only thing keeping it a thing of art is how much feeling it evokes. There's more here than mere technique, it's gestalt writ large. More than that, it's madly inspiring. The end credits roll and something inside me wishes it could be part of something like this. Something truly great and valuable. Something that makes people feel like a kid and look in awe. I caught myself with my mouth wide open and looking agape and retarded at the screen in a particular scene of exposition and it was one in many signs that I knew this was a great movie.
I also bring up Lord of the Rings now because within the first five to ten minutes of Fellowship I thought something along the lines of "This is going to be a great film." No movie has given me that reaction until now. If I could personally thank fucking ANYONE who worked on the film, I would.
Ok, now the brutal part. I have to say, by the ending my throng of awe and joy and wonder and more awe and sympathy tapered a bit. Only a bit, but endings are tough beasts. The fact is this is an adventure, and can only end in a finite number of ways, and they chose one. They did it well, but it was one of the many all the same. This isn't even really so much a criticism as it is a frustration that such journeys end. I guess that the ending wound down in such a way is the disappointment. Relative to the joy and wonder the rest of the film brings, it's fairly standard. Hardly enough to diminish the value in it, though.
Not that the movie will incite revolutionary practices on care for the environment or anything, or that it will all of a sudden get people to once again appreciate this beautiful planet that dwarfs even the mighty internet, but I truly think it can open some eyes. I think Pixar has done something that might actually serve as a valuable reminder about how good things can be and that they are worth fighting for. Maybe it will be a minority of its audience, but I'm willing to wager it's more than many films that aim for such goals would achieve.
Terrific work. Would watch again. A++++++
