Wow! This has shaped up to be my second favorite Pixar movie after The Incredibles (the latter being my favorite film of the decade).

Don't wait for the dvd. More than any picture in recent memory, Wall-e deserves to be experienced on the big screen.

I was just reading a few early reviews, most as positive as yours, Carson. The rest were just glowing.

We're going to visit my wife's family over July 4th. There will be plenty of folks around who will happily watch our little boy (in fact, we'd probably have to pry him away from them), so I hope we'll be able to catch this one and Indiana Jones.

I know some people quibble about the relative merits of one Pixar movie or another (and then there's Michael Barrier, a malcontent of the highest order), but has any other studio ever come out of the box with such a solid success streak? I mean, when I talk about "lesser" Pixar movies, I have to make it clear that I'm judging them relative to one another. Even the least of them (A Bug's Life and Ratatouille, in my opinion) are excellent movies any other studio would be tickled to have produced.

Qapla'

SSB

I agree. When I talk about animation movies with my students, I have to make very clear that when I speak of some PIXAR movies being sub-standard, it is within the context of how incredible their quality is overall. Their lesser movies are still better than most other studios best efforts.

As Kenneth Turan noted in the Los Angeles Times...

"Not since Preston Sturges made seven classic comedies in a row between 1940 and 1944 has one name been such a frequent and consistent indicator of audience and critical pleasure."

I think that's probably a pretty accurate statement. Not even Steven Spielberg, at the height of his career, could make such a bold claim.

Glad to hear it's good, frankly, the trailers don't look that promising. But then neither did the original trailers for Cars.

(Hope you didn't work on either one, Rob!)

I eagerly await all Pixar films and will in the theater opening weekend.

Have to put in a rave review for Peter Gabriel's song, "Down to Earth," from Wall-E. Download it soon. I also believe that iTunes has all Pixar soundtracks of sale this week.

Jim

Glad to hear it's good, frankly, the trailers don't look that promising. But then neither did the original trailers for Cars.

(Hope you didn't work on either one, Rob!)


We cut the final trailer for Cars, along with a bunch of TV spots for both films. I'm not crazy about either campaign to tell you the truth, but as an independent vendor hired by the studio we don't always get to make the final call as to what gets finished. Print wise, I art-directed over two hundred sketch comps for Wall-e. There was some great stuff in those presentations (if I do say so myself), but you'd never know it from the ho-hum campaign Disney went out with.

Ah well, at least the movie's good.

Have to put in a rave review for Peter Gabriel's song, "Down to Earth," from Wall-E.

Thanks for reminding me; Gabriel's got a new album out.

We cut the final trailer for Cars, along with a bunch of TV spots for both films. I'm not crazy about either campaign to tell you the truth, but as an independent vendor hired by the studio we don't always get to make the final call as to what gets finished. Print wise, I art-directed over two hundred sketch comps for Wall-e. There was some great stuff in those presentations (if I do say so myself), but you'd never know it from the ho-hum campaign Disney went out with.

Ah well, at least the movie's good.



Yikes, what were the odds of THAT! I certainly didn't mean I thought either trailer was bad or poorly executed. It's just in the case of Cars, I liked the movie a whole lot better than I expected to from the trailers, in fact I waited till it came out on DVD. I'll probably see Wall-E with my boy this weekend, your good review knocked me off the fence.

Carson, is this one of the images we discussed a year or so back?

http://www.laughingplacestore.com/images/products/11210L.jpg

Regardless, I like. No way in the world I'm paying what the Laughing Place wants for it, though, as I'd rather my wife not murder me for the sake of a poster — so I'm recreating it in Illustrator, purely for my own amusement, of course. Not sure yet how I'll accomplish the aged, yellowing effect ...

Qapla'

SSB

Carson, is this one of the images we discussed a year or so back?

http://www.laughingplacestore.com/images/products/11210L.jpg

Regardless, I like. No way in the world I'm paying what the Laughing Place wants for it, though, as I'd rather my wife not murder me for the sake of a poster — so I'm recreating it in Illustrator, purely for my own amusement, of course. Not sure yet how I'll accomplish the aged, yellowing effect ...

Qapla'

SSB

I would do that background paper in Photoshop and then use that as the background layer to all of the nice vector art on top of it in Illustrator. That's how I'd do it...I'm just sayin'.

BTW..I got my ticket for the 10a.m. show tomorrow morning. Going to see it with my friend and animation instructor, Adam. I cannot wait. I have never missed an opening day/first showing of a Pixar movie since 2000.

I would do that background paper in Photoshop and then use that as the background layer to all of the nice vector art on top of it in Illustrator. That's how I'd do it...I'm just sayin'.That's more-or-less how I'm going about it. I'm just doing the vector art first. The aged look of the paper -- if I decide to duplicate that part -- will be applied as a layer in Photoshop. I might even create the "antique/distressed paper" by hand on an otherwise-clean sheet, and then scan it into Photoshop.

I just now finished the vector art. Pretty pleased with it, overall. I couldn't find an exact match for the type at the top of the poster (the "A Brighter Future" line and the "from" next to the BNL logo), but I was able to get them pretty darn close. I didn't feel like redrawing all that type; the "WALL-E" logo was enough of that for one day!

It was actually a relatively simple project. Once I'd drawn the large WALL-E that dominates the poster, multiple scaled-down copies of it (with just a little bit of augmentation) forms most of the background. I'll probably print it and hang it in my son's room tonight ...

Qapla'

SSB

Yeah Bax, the image in question was generated in-house by Pixar as a proposed "wild posting" (i.e. the type of "unofficial" guerilla-style (non-MPAA sanctioned) campaign art occasionally found on billboards). I've tried and tried to get hi-rez copies of those pieces, but for political reasons this has proven difficult. Fortunately, as you know, recreating this sort of vector line art is pretty simple if you have a sample of the original.

BTW, "The Art of Wall-e" is out, and if you like the film's designs it's a must-own.

I was actually a relatively simple project.
Qapla'

SSB

Well, that explains a lot:cool:

Well, that explains a lot:cool:Well, in comparison to your average female ... :p

Qapla'

SSB

How true, how true!

I can't relate to what you all are talking about.. But the movie was excellent I love the animation absoulutely amazeing..It was a goodtime at the theater...Jeff

Saw it with the family today. Quite enjoyed it.

Better than "Speed Racer"??!!!

We say it Friday along with friends, family, etc. Very enjoyable, beautiful to look upon, well made, everything you expect from Pixar, etc. BUT (for me anyway) I found the characters less engaging than other Pixar flicks. Thereby, Wall-E doesn't immediately leap to the top my Pixar favorites. Other Pixar movies also have more visual impact for me; Finding Nemo and The Incredibles come to mind first. In that respect, Wall-E is almost forgettable now two days later. However, I loved Thomas Newman's score, beautiful as always and that is hanging with me a bit.

Enjoyable, definitely see it in the theater, just not a home-run in my opinion.

John O.

I saw some pretty cool toys from the movie recently. Interestingly, the WALL-E "figures" depicted him more as he would have looked when "factory fresh." Might be fun to take one of these and weather it so it matches how he looks in the movie. They looked pretty accurate otherwise.

Qapla'

SSB

BUT (for me anyway) I found the characters less engaging than other Pixar flicks. Thereby, Wall-E doesn't immediately leap to the top my Pixar favorites.

It's funny but I sort of agree with you, Wall-E is not an engaging character. But then I got to think about what I liked about the character (and EVE). Previous Pixar characters are made engaging both through their actions and words. Wall-E has no words just sounds so his (its?) character relies almost solely on his actions.

That's where the movie succeeds for me. The indecision over the spork, checking out the size of a new set of treads, the whole hand holding thing with EVE. It's amazing how much expression you can get from a rusty yellow box on treads with a pair of binoculars for eyes.

Love this movie.

Jim

I agree, just look at how effective Chaplin or Harold Lloyd were without dialogue

I was thrilled with this film. and it kept the attention of the kids in the theatre without resorting to ADD editing, either.

the only thing that took me out of the movie were the "live action" scenes with Fred Willard. I don't know if it was because of him or just the mixing of the two looks.

Wall-E is not an engaging character.

Good grief, I found Wall-e to be the most engaging, amusing, heartbreaking, and memorable character to hit the screen in some time.

Just goes to show you how subjective this stuff can be.

Good grief, I found Wall-e to be the most engaging, amusing, heartbreaking, and memorable character to hit the screen in some time.

Just goes to show you how subjective this stuff can be.

I agree :thumbsup:

Saw it Saturday with the family. Different - but good! Tomorrow is a holiday here and the forecast calls for rain. I asked my 5 year old what he wants to do and he said:

"Go see Wall-E again".

And there you have it!

Huzz

Good grief, I found Wall-e to be the most engaging, amusing, heartbreaking, and memorable character to hit the screen in some time.

Just goes to show you how subjective this stuff can be.
You just have to read the whole post, CD, but maybe I could have phrased it better.

Wall-E starts off with character disadvantages (no voice, no facial expressions, etc.) and as such is initially not engaging. What was truly amazing is how the animators used these disadvantages to make the character come to life.

Jim

I would do that background paper in Photoshop and then use that as the background layer to all of the nice vector art on top of it in Illustrator.That's how I would do it, too.

It's funny but I sort of agree with you, Wall-E is not an engaging character.

Please understand, I'm being relative with my remark about the characters not engaging me ...I mean ...for a Pixar movie. There is a lot to like about Wall-E and I would tell anyone to see it.

One aspect the film I am currently enjoying is that most of my summer students have seen it and it gives us an interesting point of conversation because the film leave lots to talk about.

John O.

My family and I really want to see this...should I be afraid of the supposed hidden agenda in it, will it warp my fragile mind? :jest:

My family and I really want to see this...should I be afraid of the supposed hidden agenda in it, will it warp my fragile mind? :jest:

Yes. It teaches that mankind is inherently evil and will ultimately destroy the world as we know it.

Waitaminnit, Its the Bible that teaches that.:eek:


Either way, go at your own risk.

^^^and to add that the only surviving form of entertainment will be a Barbara Striesand (sp?) film.

Pure Liberal propaganda.:):):)

Art direction supports the Round Earth Theory.

My appreciation for this film grows with each passing day since seeing it last Monday. I went in with mixed expectations. The reviews have been great, but the trailer wasn't at all appealing. Maybe I'm not the target audience for their trailers, or maybe it's that you can't capture the scope and depth of a Pixar movie in 2 1/2 minutes.

I want to give a shout out to the beautiful ending montage and credits, which by itself is better than 90% of the animated crap flooding the multiplexes (Fly me to the Moon, anyone?)

Minor credit spoilers below:




I just downloaded the Peter Gabriel song used for that coda and have played it five times in a row. The song, evoking that end sequence depicting the rebirth of humanity on Earth in an evolution of artistic styles from Grecian mosaics to 19th century impressionism gives me chills. I'm getting teary just thinking about it. These Pixar artists are so classy.

Shawn Marshall
Portland, Oregon

The Bible as "liberal propaganda"? That's a new one.

^^^and to add that the only surviving form of entertainment will be a Barbara Striesand (sp?) film.

Pure Liberal propaganda.:):):)

I found the movie to be very well done. Simplistic and very much targeted to a young audience. There wasn't the subtle "in-jokes" (for the most part) or deeper levels of meaning. Wall-E on the surface, is a pretty simple film with superb art direction and rendering.

Saw it this weekend. Truly exceptional. I can't remember another film that could take essentially three words of recognizable dialogue on the part of the two leads -- "Wall-e" and "Eve" along with "Directive" -- and make them by turns cute, funny, triumphant and, finally, heartbreaking.

Pay no attention to the political slant some try to hang on this movie. The dystopian future is the setting, not the star. And to the extent that the setting is important, it is to set up the optimistic ending. Walt would approve, I think.

Go see it.

I noticed that most of the other non-Disney/Pixar CG-animated features for which we saw trailers before WALL-E didn't fail to make sure you knew they contained bathroom humor. They looked strident and annoying, except maybe the Igor film. That one might have some promise, based on some of the talent involved. But even that one looked like Shrek crossed with Nightmare Before Christmas, and I've had enough Shrek to last a lifetime.

I wonder if we'll see other animation studios conclude that audiences now want very little dialogue in their animated features, thus creating a new bandwagon for them to ride. Not taking anything away from Pixar, but I think a really good, 2D traditionally-animated feature would clean up at this point. It would be almost as much a novelty now as Toy Story was when it was first released.

Qapla'

SSB

We finally had a chance to see Wall E last night, and I wasn't disappointed. Visually stunning. I love the fact that a charming, touching story can be so entertaining and engrossing.
The only part of the story that disturbed the flow was towards the end when Wall-E lost his personality after being rebuilt. It felt like an obligatory heart tug thrown in the script, when you knew it would be resolved. I would have preferred seeing Eve reconstruct his original motherboard (it representing the soul) and seeing his awareness return after it was reinstalled. Eh, it's just a personal preference.
I agree with WShawn's observation as well - the final credits with the Peter Gabriel score were brilliant, AND fun!

tsk. everyone knows the soul doesn't reside in the mainboard, it's in the memory...

and I've had enough Shrek to last a lifetime.

Qapla'

SSB

Yeah, so have I. Unfortunately my two sons haven't.

On the plus side, they never request the third one, so at least they have good taste.