I rarely see a movie in the theater. Now that DVDs are released so soon after the film’s premiere, I have even less reason to go spend $20 at a theater. But when I saw the first ad for WALL•E, I knew this was one I’d have to see on the big screen. So after hearing raves from several friends, I decided to catch a late Saturday showing.
Oh. Man. Am I ever glad I didn’t wait.
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The first 20-30 minutes are dialogue-free, as WALL•E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) goes about his lonesome daily routine, collecting and compacting trash, keeping interesting relics for the home he makes with his trusty cockroach sidekick. Director Andrew Stanton and his production team from Pixar spent a lot of time and energy getting the pantomime just right. The result is magical.
When a spaceship lands with EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator), WALL•E immediately falls in love, while EVE remains focused on her mission. Through a long series of events that I shan’t spoil here, EVE and WALL•E wind up on the humans’ spaceship, where they quickly become outlaws for reasons that (again) I’ll leave for you to find out at the theater. Just trust me that it’s great, okay?
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Need proof? Okay, see that picture up there? It’s the future and there are both capes and robots! And Fred Freaking Willard appears as the CEO of Buy N Large, the Wal-Mart-esque super-mega-corp, second only to Try N Save in fake store naming! Also, taco shakes for dinner, which I’m not entirely convinced would be such a great thing.
WALL•E has action, it has humor, it has drama (seriously, bring the tissues), but more importantly, it has a heart. Two songs from musical Hello, Dolly! (“Put on Your Sunday Clothes” and “It Only Takes a Moment”) are crucial to the development of the plot. Kudos to 20th Century Fox for allowing Pixar/Disney to use clips of the film. WALL•E wouldn’t be the same without it. Count on a resurgence of interest in the nearly 40-year-old film! (An added bonus: Jerry Herman, the lyricist who wrote both songs is in love with WALL•E, saying “What a wonderful use — to show a desolate world contrasted with the joy of those lyrics.”)
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Of course, it wouldn’t be a Pixar feature without a Pixar short. They’re always great but this one outdoes even Lifted, my previous favorite that shipped with Ratatouille. Presto is a dialogue-free piece of genius about a rabbit and the magician who forgot to feed him before going on stage. Big mistake. What follows is a wildly imaginative series of magic-induced punishments that left the audience in my theater laughing in the aisles. It’s hysterical, on par with Chuck Jones’s Wabbit Season/Duck Season shorts from the 1950s. (Presto is now available on iTunes.)
There’s talk of WALL•E being submitted in the Best Picture category rather than Best Animated for this year’s Academy Awards, and I think that would be a smart move. Take my word for it. WALL•E is the real deal.
