Wall-E scores
The first 40 minutes or so of Wall-E take place on a desolate future Earth which is, quite literally, buried under mountains of garbage. The film is free of almost any dialog at all and on its own is as good as anything Pixar has made to date. In fact, the first 40 minutes are just about as close to perfection as it is possible for mere mortal film-makers to get.
The rest of the movie does not slack off much from those dizzying heights, although there is some drop off. In the pantheon of animated movies, I place Toy Story 2 at the very top; quickly, but at some distance, followed by several other Pixar films, a handful of Disney movies, and a good half-dozen Japanese. Toy Story 2 was consistently great from start to finish and there is still–after the repeated viewings of a parent with children who’ve watched the movie over and over until they’ve seemingly worn the grooves of the DVD down to mere numbs–there is still no point where the movie sags, gets old, or is anything short of brilliant.
Wall-E doesn’t quite do that. Not quite. But it is well in that pack of second-runners with the original Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Beauty and the Beast, Pinocchio, Grave of the Fireflies, and others. And it has some absolutely magical sequences: Wall-E and EVE’s zero-g dance with a fire extinguisher as a thruster was just beautiful from beginning to end.
There is something else too, beyond the mere quality of the film, and that is that it manages to make a very powerful environmental statement without ever succuming to preachiness or ham-fistedness. That is not to say that it is subtle, but it’s managed to put that fist inside a velvet glove so one hardly notices it’s there.
There are several well-done and not-to-subtle references to 2001: A Space Odyssey, from the Red-eyed Auto-pilot to some choices in music to a rather important plot-point that I will not reveal.
I am very glad that the Academy added an Oscar for Best Animated Feature (first won by Shrek in 2001, beating the superior Monsters, Inc.), because we’ve gotten some real gems. Among films that didn’t win are the aforementioned Monsters, Inc, The Triplets of Belleville, Howl’s Moving Castle, Corpse Bride, and Cars. And would we have ever seen the magical and daring Persepolis without that potential Oscar out there? I don’t think so.
It is a shame that Kung Fu Panda had to come out this year, because I think last year it would have taken the Oscar. For 2008? Nothing can top Wall-E. And yes, I really liked Ratouille last year, but Kung Fu Panda was better, and Wall-E is better still.