Suffice to say that Pixar’s Wall-E is a moving, stunning film, working on two exciting levels. Firstly, it really succeeds on levels we haven’t seen before, with poetic, visual, bold direction, plenty of pathos, and some dark, vulnerable storytelling. But secondly, and importantly, it is also just a showcase for great characters and a wonderfully simple, romantic story, and it really grabs your attention and makes you care.
Andrew Stanton is, I think, confirmed as a master writer and director of extraordinary vision. He described in an interview what he and Pixar strive for, and I think what is the key to Pixar films standing out from the crowd of animated films-
“Movies made by a singular vision. Made by a filmmaker who knew what he wanted. That’s why I go to the movies—I go to see what those filmmakers want to make. I don’t go to see what a studio wants. And so we’ve applied that ever since.”
Stanton’s interest in focusing on his own vision rather than ‘what audiences want’ has apparently insulted some people, though regardless, the overriding reaction to the film is extremely positive. The previous link also alludes to Best Picture Oscar talk.
And on branching out into fresh thematic and narrative territory, and treating animation as a medium, not a genre, Stanton says-
“I don’t go to [a live-action movie] and say, ‘Oh, it’s a live-action movie. Well, that guarantees that it’s going to have a cop chase and it’s going to have, you know, a long melodrama or dramatic scene or whatever.’ I don’t think that way, and I don’t know why people do that when suddenly they’re dealing with the medium of animation. It’s still just a movie. What’s the story? What’s it about? How is the best way to tell it? That’s the way we’ve always made many of the movies, it’s just that I think we’re getting a little braver now.”
All I can say is that my love of animation, and ultimately great filmmaking, is refreshed by this film.
Update: I still think Wall-E is an amazing film, but Mark Mayerson’s analysis of the film’s narrative weaknesses and lack of direct message are interesting to consider. Warning, though- spoilers abound in his post!
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