The Movie

Let's face it, Pixar rules the world. There is no other movie studio currently enjoying a streak as molten hot as Pixar's. With blockbuster hits dating back to 1995's Toy Story, it would be easy for this animation studio to trip up now and again. Instead, Pixar consistently puts out high quality, enjoyable features beloved by all ages. During the summer of 2008, Pixar enjoyed their ninth consecutive hit; the year's highest grossing animated film, Wall-E.

Wall-E shows a bleak future in which a mega-corporation dominated Earth has been abandoned due to an excess of pollution. The planet's (seemingly) sole inhabitant is a work robot, Wall-E. Wall-E spends his day compacting trash and building skyscraper-sized monuments with the resulting bales of refuse. With a plucky little cockroach as his only friend Wall-E toils away until an unexpected spaceship drops the exploration droid, Eve. The chance encounter leads to a unique, robotic romance that will transport Wall-E to the farthest reaches of the galaxy and solve the mystery of what happened to all the humans.

As usual, Pixar has again achieved a remarkable piece of work. Wall-E is spirited, innovative and yet delivers everything the public expects from the studio. Pixar goes a little further this time by giving the film themes involving ecological disasters and the dangerous results of a society overrun by corporate consumerism. Wall-E is also a cautionary tale of how easy it is for people to let things spiral out of control. Don't worry, the film is never preachy and the message is subtle, leaving viewers room to formulate their own thoughts. Kids may not even pick up on these ideas as there are all sorts of eye candy to behold.

It's amazing what current digital animation technology can achieve. The movie is stunningly detailed and intricate and Pixar's films can be watched multiple times, if only to catch subtle details missed in previous viewings. Technological amazement aside, writer/director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) has filled Wall-E with a sense of wonder. It doesn't tug at the heart strings as strongly as Finding Nemo, but it's still quite good. Wall-E goes through long stretches with a minimum of dialogue, feeling more like an old time silent film. A lot of the credit for the film's success goes to sound design legend Ben Burtt. Every beep, robotic click and sound is used to great effect to replace what would be a normal amount of dialogue. It's all so skillfully crafted that you won't miss it. Just let the sounds and beautifully rendered visuals tell the story and you'll have fun.

Pixar's biggest problem is that there's now a tremendous amount of expectation associated with each new film. It's a gross stretch but Wall-E can almost be called a "disappointment." On it's own, it would be heralded as a masterpiece, but instead I feel it lacks the emotion of Finding Nemo or Ratatouille or the outrageous thrills seen in The Incredibles. That's probably an unfair assessment on my behalf, but it's a testament to the incredibly high bar set by the Pixar Animation Studios. I can't recommend it nearly as much as those other classics, but Wall-E is still a superior film achievement crafted by an amazing stable of artists.

4 out of 5
Rated G

The Blu-ray

As much as I love high definition, I'm not afraid to tell it like it is. I have indeed seen several Blu-ray discs that I thought were unspectacular. However, I can honestly say that Disney and Pixar go out of their way to produce some of the highest quality Blu-ray discs on the market. They understand the capabilities of the technology and use it to full advantage. Pixar's films in particular epitomize everything you could want out of a high definition format. Along with past Pixar releases, Wall-E is stunning in high definition. The level of detail put into the film is simply amazing and the colors and motion absolutely pop out of the screen.

Wall-E is presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratio and comes with a robust DTS-HD audio track. Disney/Pixar has formatted this disc for the audio/video aficionado and if you love high quality, you'll love how this disc looks and sounds. In addition, the Wall-E Blu-ray comes jam packed with enough bonus material to cover two discs. The special features are aplenty and chances are there's something you'll find to interest you.

Bonus Features

Disc 1 comes with the feature film as well as several special features

Cine-Explore with director Andrew Stanton – The director commentary also features pop up "windows" that appear displaying conceptual art, animatics and even the pictures of other Pixar employees as the director references them.

Geek Track - pop up/audio commentary with a group of Pixar geeks - If you've never sat and watched a film with a bunch of movie nerds then this is a way to explore that experience. The group does get a little annoying at times, but they also chime in with some interestingly spirited discussion and anecdotes. Be prepared to hear a lot about comic books, Star Wars and Star Trek.

Presto (5:14) - This is a great short film about a power struggle between a magician and his rabbit.

Burn-E (7:19) - Want to know more about one of the robots seen in Wall-E? This excellent little short focuses on the repair robot Burn-E and you'll see how Wall-E and Eve's Axiom adventure affects this troubled little repair bot. Oregon native Angus MacLane was the supervising animator on this short. Click on this link to see his recent appearance on AM Northwest.

Geek o Rama Easter egg (4:48)

Disc 2 contains the bulk of Wall-E's special features and is broken into two sections, Robots and Humans

Robots section

Wall-E's Treasures and Trinkets (4:56) – This short film contains a series of Wall-E's comedic adventures. See him interact with common items in a hilarious manner

Lots of Bots Storybook - a narrated story about Wall-E and the Axiom's robots. Watch the short story or select the play along version and play the interactive games. Good for little kids.

Axiom Arcade - YEAH!!!! This section contains four low resolution games seemingly inspired by old school Atari 2600 action. Play Eve's Bot Blaster (a lot like Asteroids), Wall-E's Dodge and Dock (very challenging), M-O's Mop Up Madness, or Burn-E's Break Through (kind of like Burger Time). These games are more fun than they should be.

Sneak Peek: Wall-E's Tour of the Universe - a short tease for an on-line feature

Bot Files - learn specific details on the Axiom's army of robot servants

Humans section

Deleted Scenes (22:54) - Four scenes with an introduction by director Andrew Stanton

The Imperfect Lens (14:32) - Creating the look of Wall-E, including explorations into how commonplace camera, lens and cinematography techniques were achieved in computer in an all digital environment.

Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds From the Sound Up (18:43) - Legendary sound designer Ben Burtt shows how he achieved the sound effects for Wall-E and takes the viewer on a history of sound design going back to Disney's early days.

Captain's Log: The Evolution of Humans (7:57) - See how the story's Humans evolved along with Wall-E's script. The original concept is a lot different than the finished result.

Notes on a Score (10:39) - Director Andrew Stanton and composer Thomas Newman discuss their collaboration on the movie's score

Life of a Shot (5:08) - This is a fun little short showing the dizzying amount of people it takes to animate one sequence of film.

Robo Everything (5:45) - Learn about the extensive design process it took to create the movie's many robots.

Wall-E and Eve (7:08) - the design process taken to build the film's two stars

BNL Shorts (8:45) - Delve into the future with Humanity's ties to the all-encompassing BNL corporation in five shorts, Captaining the Axiom, Operation Cleanup, Meet the BnL Bots, The History of Buy n Large and All Aboard the Axiom

3-D set Fly Through - detailed looks at the Axiom and what's left of Earth

Galleries

Worldwide Trailers

The Pixar Story by Leslie Iwerks (1:28:30) - I honestly don't know why this was buried so deep in the bonus features section as this is an excellent documentary detailing the history of the Pixar animation studio. Running nearly 90 minutes, you'll learn about the history of digital animation and how this entertainment giant nearly got lost in a shuffle of corporate assets. 

Conclusion

If that's not enough supplemental material for you then I don't know what is. Again, Disney and Pixar have created a Blu-ray disc with crystal clear video and audio and packed it with an overabundance of great features. If you're an animation fan or just want something for the kiddies then this disc is an excellent purchase.

Bonus Features rating
5 out of 5