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Every once in a while a film can come along that can entice
you, excite you, make you think, make you in awe and reinvent
cinema. And it seems to be everytime this film arrives it is an
animation from the pen or mousepad of Pixar Studios. It was
Toy Story, then Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and now Wall.E. I
think this is because they show us things we have not seen before on
the silver screen, in this case it is a post-apocalyptic Earth and
secondly a second Earth on a ship. However, it is the lead
character who captures our attention and sympathy. Wall .E is a
lead who does not speak, he communicates with beeps and boops –
this complete depiction of innocence is both intelligent filmmaking
(gain the audience early) and then following through with the
protagonist’s goals. It is a technical accomplishment that is admired. In Ratatouille, you had a rat who could talk to us, but could not talk to Remy – this sense of communication and audience participation and anticipation has been taken to the next level. Wall.E communicates with his one-tone voice and his eyes . He is for us, and EVE is our impulsive reaction, and the way she eventually comes round is akin to our feelings. But it is the attention to detail and minor observations that speak volumes of the level of expertise that has gone into the work – the cockroach, the little rock he gives himself as he goes to sleep on the first day we see him. Even the ‘Hello Dolly’ soundtrack is not overdone; it is used as a diegetic device to synthesise Wall.E’s emotions to which eventually EVE gets. See it because if you do not you will be kicking yourself as you will fall in love with a trash compactor.
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