I'm going to have to try and defend my hypocrisy again. A couple of days ago I lambasted "that impressive and hyper-detailed but oh-so-fucking boring and lifeless computer generated 3-D bollocks that all Pixar films are made with these days" and now I'm going to give a computer generated Pixar film the blogging equivalent of a blow job. Because this film transcends such considerations, it is simply great film-making and could only have worked by being made in this way. And that's why I feel no compunction in lambasting the look of Kung Fu Panda and praising it here, the former would have worked better done another way (as I explained with reference to the title sequence) and, as Balloo the Bear in The Jungle Book shows, a simple cartoon would've been fine. The advances in computer generated animation- which Pixar have been at the very vanguard of- allow films to be made now that display the most outrageous and wildest imaginings of film-makers and this is what it should be used for. And this is what WALL·E is. It is a work of art that easily stands comparison with the likes of 2001: A Space Odyssey as a visual epic, but is a thoroughly entertaining film in its own right too- which is more than can be said for 2001! I sat smiling with sheer joy when I watched it.
What is wonderful about WALL·E is that it isn't afraid to be clever. Not arch or wry or eyebrow-raising or ironic, just genuinely intelligent. The film is, for a long period, little more than a silent movie and- as such- really challenges the contemporary audience who have become accustomed to fast, loud, bright and brash. For (what is ostensibly) a kid's film to offer up this challenge is a brave risk but one which pays off beautifully. There is so much to see and consider, the musical accompaniment is sublime and the comedy is intelligent. It is a wonderful sequence and really sets this film up beautifully. And what follows is great too, but in a different way. Where the opening is beautiful but with a wistful melancholia as we see WALL·E alone on Earth, what follows is more comical and event-filled (if no less sad). It is also more conventional and narrative driven, which complements the artistic Tati/Keaton/Chaplinesque style of the opening wonderfully well. The 'message' of the film is beautifully delivered, with wit and pathos and- most importantly- without preachiness or bombasticity. The 'robots teaching humans to be human' idea is sublime, it isn't original but it's originally presented. This is a film about humanity and love but plays like a sci-fi movie. You don't have to look far for the meaning, but you aren't being clobbered over the head with it. How refreshing. In fact everything about the film is underplayed beautifully. It is utterly masterful and my paltry descriptive will never be able to do it justice. I've been amazed tonight- the direction is magical and the screenplay is as good as I've seen in a long time. The lack of dialogue presents a real challenge which is surmounted so easily that it is barely credible. There truly is genius at work here. Truly.
Even before the film gets predictable with the victory-from-the-jaws-of-defeat ending which is de rigeur I didn't care, I had been hooked long ago. My emotions were being played and I knew it and I didn't care I was hooked. I cried like a baby. Doesn't happen often and has probably never happened with an animated film but there you are- the film did its job in every way. I laughed, I cried, I felt great at the end and I wanted to see it again straight away. 10/10.
