Wall-E for President
I submit this to you: the movie Wall•E is an instant classic. Instant. New York Times columnist Frank Rich, in “Wall-E for President”:
Indeed, sitting among rapt children mostly under 12, I felt as if I’d stepped through a looking glass. This movie seemed more realistically in touch with what troubles America this year than either the substance or the players of the political food fight beyond the multiplex’s walls.
While the real-life grown-ups on TV were again rebooting Vietnam, the kids at “Wall-E” were in deep contemplation of a world in peril — and of the future that is theirs to make what they will of it. Compare any 10 minutes of the movie with 10 minutes of any cable-news channel, and you’ll soon be asking: Exactly who are the adults in our country and who are the cartoon characters?
It is not good: our news-as-entertainment fails so miserably that our entertainment must step in to fill the void.
Comments
Nils
I hate to be the one to say it, but I was underwhelmed by WALL-E. When I really think about it it doesn’t surprise me too much. The movie was mega-hyped both in TV spots and mega-positive reviews that pumped too much expectation into my viewing. I’m not saying WALL-E was bad or that I didn’t like it, I just think it could’ve been better and I wanted more from it. Then again, it is a kids movie, with kids expectations in mind; a film that is marketed towards kids to entertain kids. It’s just that these days when you see the Pixar label slapped onto it, an added dose of adult-approved-credulity is applied to the mix. So my two cents: WALL-E is good, lightly entertaining, but not the best movie of the year/summer, nor is it as thought-provoking as some have said. The whole rampant consumerism, dystopia-warning messages don’t work so well on me. (Also, the kids that were in the theater with me weren’t contemplating anything. They wouldn’t shut the fuck up)
Richard Roche
Hopefully it helps. The next generation needs to see this type of stuff often enough when they are young that they won’t be able to figure out why ones before them cared so little about the environment.
I thought it was pretty cute, and the animation was amazing. The depiction of the obese people on hover chairs was so bold of Pixar, I couldn’t even believe what I was seeing. From a purely entertaining value, it was slightly above average for a Pixar movie, which is more a testament to the quality of previous movies than a knock on this one.
The sad part is seeing the obese people rolling around my store on our motor carts, asking where all our Wall-E merchandise is…
Shayla
WallE is just about my favorite animated movie of all time. I thought it was fantastic, and its social commentary came as both a surprise and delight to me.
However, many people don’t agree. In fact, they call WallE “fear mongering leftist propaganda.”
Check this out.. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/01/right-wing-hates-wall-e/
Nils
Dark Knight reviews are already coming in from sources who have been allowed sneak peeks. If their first impressions are any indication (and they should be; Variety, Time, and Rolling Stone are pretty big) this is going to be the best movie of the summer, probably the best of the year, and definitely the best superhero movie of all-time. I’m seeing it on midnight next Thursday and I can’t wait.