WALL·E

To this day, this is still my favorite pixar film. The animation is stellar, its heartwarming, funny and proves that pixar movies are always bound to be great (except for cars 2 but thats a different story). This has a shot at the title "best movie of the century"

I just returned from an advanced benefit screening of WALL*E, and I want to be careful not to spill too much regarding the movie. I had the added privilege of watching the film at Pixar, which in and of itself, was amazing.

This picture is not a cartoon; it is a film. In fact, it even has the LOOK of film. One of my complaints of more recent 3-D/CG animated films (not from Pixar) is that they all seem to look the same... clean lines, crisp colors, and very "virtual", for lack of a better term. WALL*E transcends the typical look of CG animation, and has a true to life "grit." The creators at Pixar are true artists, and are indeed masters of their craft. Not only are they masters of the technology, they are masters of telling a story. WALL*E is no exception.

The best way to describe the film is as a science fiction, comedy, dramatic love story. WALL*E, as a character, has dimension, personality, and heart... pretty impressive given that he is essentially a trash compactor. It is true that there is little dialogue in this feature, but I personally did not feel it detracted from the story at all.

WALL*E is very much a different Pixar film from it's previous features. I will be curious to see how it is received by others, but in my opinion, I think Pixar has stayed true to itself, demonstrating a commitment to telling great stories and pushing the edge of technology to leave your jaw dropping! My most sincere compliments to Andrew Stanton, Jim Morris, John Lasseter, Ben Burtt, and all the creative forces at Pixar. Can't wait to see what the future brings...

I heard mixed reviews on WALL-E, there were those who said it was magical, and those who said it was one of the most overrated movies ever. I will say I loved this movie, it is a truly beautiful movie. It could have done with being a tad longer perhaps, but essentially this is more than a movie with A List vocal talents, WALL-E has genuine heart and will definitely enchant children and any Pixar fan. All I will say is that I am sorry it took me such a long time to see it, I will admit I was differing whether I should see it or not. But I am glad I did. The animation is simply incredible, the whole film is wonderful to look at. The whole movie is done in a very sophisticated visual style, and the bright colours and sublime backgrounds were a delight to the eyes. The music is stunning, the orchestral themes are gorgeous but the song from Hello Dolly! was great and fitted in with the story well. Speaking of the story, it may seem thin to some, but it is a very simple heart warming one all the same with depth and poignancy. There are some very imaginative moments, such as the zero-gravity dance and the ride through space. The voice cast that includes Fred Willard, Sigourney Weaver and Pixar regular John Ratzenburger did an exceptional job, and all the characters were endearing. What made the movie was WALL-E himself, he has to be one of the most lovable and in-depth Pixar characters ever, and the writers create a very haunting atmosphere in the early scenes to match our little hero's isolation. All in all, brilliant, quite possibly one of the best films of 2008. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox

We went to the San Francisco Film Institute's first public screening at their campus in Emeryville. Everyone's sworn to secrecy, but for a film with little dialog, it carries more of an emotional punch and has a richer story than any live-action movie this year. The tone and style of the film is completely different for Pixar, and Disney haven't tried to override the darker thematic elements at all, making the story surprisingly three-dimensional.

This will end up being the animated film of the year and I had the same 'wow' feeling as after seeing Ratatouille. Considering that animated films have always played second-fiddle to live-action, and have been aimed at kids, it's ironic that once again Pixar produces a film that rivals any live action on every level. Bravo!

Who says popular films are not and cannot be art? If anything is proof that popular films can be of a stunningly high quality, the beauty of the animation, writing, music, and sound design in "WALL·E" is it. "WALL·E" eclipses even Andrew Stanton's "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" in the Pixar pantheon, is perhaps Pixar's best film to date and, call me crazy as I've just seen it, a contender for the title of best animated film, period.

"WALL·E" is everything we've come to expect from Pixar and more- colorful, vibrant, imaginative, exciting, involving, beautiful, and most importantly a film with interesting, involving characters. Sure, WALL·E is adorable, and as much credit as the animators get for that, this film would be nothing without Stanton's screenplay, which features very little dialogue but is still notably intelligent and surprisingly subtle, making a refreshing change from the 'go green' campaigns we're all so used to. Does "WALL·E" have a message? Sure, but it's an important message and it is delivered subtly and beautifully.

"WALL·E" operates on two levels (and works spectacularly well on both). It is a majestic science fiction epic like we haven't seen in a couple of decades and it is a genuinely touching and never cheap romance. "WALL·E" will never get points for originality but it doesn't exactly need them because the homages to great films and figures of the past- Chaplin, Keaton, Tati, the Marx Brothers, "2001: A Space Odyssey" (this one is particularly spectacular), "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" are actually homages and not ripoffs. "WALL·E" is a wonderful tribute to a bygone cinematic tradition (well, two or three of them actually).

The social commentary in "WALL·E" is sobering because it's never overbearing and most importantly because we see the world through machines, machines who feel more about Earth and life than the humans do. The depiction of humans on the ship could have been incredibly offensive, cheap, and tasteless in concept but the execution here is absolutely perfect.

What is most surprising about "WALL·E" is how sad it is. Not even in the 'how will they get out of this, oh I feel so sorry for them' way "Finding Nemo", a previous Stanton effort, is, but in a truly melancholy sense. The early portion of the film maintains all the playfulness of a Jacques Tati film but also evokes a striking and powerful feeling of loneliness. It's a brilliant introduction to WALL·E, given that the rest of the film is too wacky to bother with long scenes focused entirely on character, and works beautifully with the ugly yet beautifully-rendered future Earth, a barren wasteland filled with nothing but garbage, a seriously resilient cockroach being WALL·E's only companion before EVE shows up, but I won't go into the story- it's best you see it unfold for yourself.

From the entertaining shorts shown before the film to the memorable characters, locations, and animation we have come to expect, Pixar films are now event cinema, and they have outdone themselves with "WALL·E". This film is spectacular, majestic, touching, involving, and achingly beautiful. Most importantly, however, it is perfect entertainment. I may be saying this too soon, but I don't think I have ever seen an animated film that has satisfied me more than "WALL·E", and 2008 is going to have to work hard to keep this from being the top film of the year, which it most certainly is at the moment.

9.5/10