Andrew Stanton "WALL-E" (2008)

This assignment will be critically analyzing Andrew Stanton’s movie “WALL-E”. It is one of the best Pixar’s works because of the beginning scenes. This review is based on Roger Ebert’s review from “Chicago Sun Times”, James Brandinelli’s review from “Reel Views” and “Andrew Osmond’s review” from “Sight And Sound”.

“WALL-E”, promoted with an interpunct as “WALL•E”, is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton. The story follows a robot named WALL-E, who is designed to clean up a waste-covered Earth far in the future. He eventually falls in love with another robot named EVE, which he pronounces Eva, and follows her into outer space on an adventure that changes the destiny of both his kind and humanity.


Roger Ebert Notices that: “The movie has a wonderful look. Like so many of the Pixar animated features, it finds a color palette that’s bright and cheerful, but not too pushy, and a tiny bit realistic at the same time.”(“Chicago Sun Times”, June 26, 2008) WALL-E was the most complex Pixar production since Monsters, Inc. because of the world and the history that had to be conveyed. Whereas most Pixar films have up to 75,000 storyboards, WALL-E required 125,000. wanted the lighting of the first act on Earth to be romantic, while the second act on the Axiom to be cold and sterile. During the third act, the romantic lighting is slowly introduced into the Axiom environment Andrew Osmond can see a lot of references from other movies: “On the one hand, the film has been sold to us as 'R2-D2 the Movie', though the robot's gormlessly cute appearance is more reminiscent of Johnny Five, the mawkish hero of the 1980s Short Circuit films. Indeed, the eponymous Wall-E recalls both droids, as well as E.T. and the toasters-on-legs of Silent Running (1972). His curiosity about the discarded items people have left behind also qualifies him as an honorary Womble.” (“Sight And Sound”, no date of publishing). James Brandinelli says: “Central to WALL-E's narrative is the "romance" between the lead character and EVE. What's amazing about the way these two interact is that the animators are able to humanize them through tiny gestures. Neither has a real face and they rarely speak anything more than electronic approximations of their names, yet we grow to care for them as deeply as we might any flesh-and-blood couple facing impossible odds in a live-action movie.” (“Reel Views”, no date of publishing).


All in all it is a fascinating story with a bit weak ending, but still very good for children’s audience. Andrew Stanton done his work well and it is easily noticeable.