It’s a dirty job, but some robot has to do it
Wall-E is a clean-up bot. He is the second to last remaining functional object on earth that still wants to do his job. His cockroach companion is the other. Wall-E spends his day cleaning up trash that mankind has left behind on earth. Day-in and day-out he collects trash, stuffs it in his body and produces a trash cube. Along the way he collects little treasures that make his life easier and happier. One day a mysterious ship lands on earth with a very lovely, yet dangerous, robot coming out of it. Curious and love-stricken, Wall-E follows the mysterious robot, named Eve, around trying to find out what she’s doing on Earth. When Eve discovers Wall-E (and doesn’t try to kill him), she finds more than a robot, she begins to find freedom that she never knew, but is happy to get to know. Eve and Wall-E spend their days and nights on earth, until Eve bumps into a tiny plant growing in a boot. Instantly she transports the plant into her body and closes herself up, basically shutting herself down. Confused, Wall-E sticks with trying to figure out what has happened. Regretfully, she is soon retrieved by the ship that brought her to Earth and Wall-E has a decision to make. Should he go after Eve or stay on Earth. He decides to follow her and try to see what’s up. What he finds is the biggest adventure of his simple life.
The story is so damn cute! Pixar keeps making the simplest of traditional stories into something epic. While no true dialogue, other than the humans, is spoken, the actions of Eve and Wall-E (and their other robot companions) seems so real. Pixar’s animation team put together two very emotional characters through a very unemotional concept. Robots! I mean… robots! Who would have thunk that such very cold and stiff beings could ever pull-off such a remarkable love story? I know that I wouldn’t have put stock into that concept. Thanks to clever construction through the eyes and through emotional movements, you will adore Eve and Wall-E the entire movie. I’m just beside myself on how well the players play their parts. You will find such an adoring, deep love story told on the simplest of levels. I can only imagine the script and how many descriptions there must have been in it. Also, the storyboards probably were more detailed than the 1080p picture that accompanies it.
Are there any flaws in the film? I haven’t really been able to find one. For goodness sake the darn cockroach was even entertaining and you felt for the little fella. Sure you can say there is also a deeper environmental message that goes along with this film, but I don’t mind it. It’s not preachy at all, it’s hopeful, which makes it forgiving. Most movies that have such a message don’t do it correctly, but Wall-E pulls it off perfectly and subtly.
Overall, one of the best films of 2008.
There’s more here than lines in Eve’s programming code
First, you should know that Wall-E looks superbly perfect on Blu-ray. I’m not sure if that’s an actual legitimate phrase or not, but it’s superbly perfect in my view. The picture looks gorgeous in 1080p. You’ll see all the wonderful details that Pixar crafted in the making of this movie. You’ll appreciate what could probably be considered one of the most painstakingly detailed efforts that that Pixar crew had to go through. Not that you wouldn’t appreciate it on DVD, but you’ll be immersed in such detail through the power of Blu-ray technology. This is exactly why I’m a gigantic supporter of this format; it truly shows everything the filmmaker was seeing what they were seeing while the film was in the creation process. As dumb-witted as that sounds, it is what makes HD so special.
As for the audio, it plays the role of the pick-up person. Coming in at a DTS HD 5.1, you’ll fall into the visuals and be taken in with the audio. Audio is nearly the entire production and hearing the movie through all channels makes the experience that much better. For us lucky folks who sport 7.1, we’re just in heaven. Again, credit Blu-ray on an enhanced experience with the movie Wall-E, it truly is something special.
Speaking of special, let me show you what you have to look forward to on the three-disc special edition of the Blu-ray:
Presto – This is the opening act that is typical of Pixar. A witty story told without words to the audience through action. It will make you laugh, but not quite as much as previous attempts at Pixar.
Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds from The Sound Up – Ben Burtt, takes you on a real treat for the ears as he shows you how things got done for Wall-E, while giving props to disney sound effects masters from the pst. Excellent stuff.
Audio Commentary by director Andrew Stanton.
Deleted Scenes – There’s always a reason why things are deleted.
Robots – Good stuff here, that I won’t ruin for the kids out there. Don’t skip it though, plenty of laughs to be had.
Behind the Scenes – I like it when short featurettes are put together to make one long featurette. The information here can be compared to that of what you would find on a Star Wars DVD. Informative, charming and makes the experience of the movie that much better.
Buy n Large Shorts – Fred Willard. God bless you.
The Pixar Story, A Documentary by Leslie Iwerks – Here’s something you won’t see very often, if ever; a full explanation of Pixar. Positively one of the most entertaining documentaries on the Blu-ray. You’ll get to know the ins and outs of one of the most ingenious places in the film industry.
Early WALL•E Development Test – Good stuff.
Cine-Explore – This will make you hug your Blu-ray player or friend/parent who bought the Blu-ray player for you. There’s nothing more depressing than to see an underutilized technology. Recently, Blu-ray releases have had fun with visual commentary and showing the reactions of the commentary that generally doesn’t show up on standard DVD players. This is a more advanced version of the commentary from the director, expect with extras included. It’s really entertaining, only if you have time for it though.
Geek Track – An additional commentary full of obscure references, little known trivia and lively sci-fi discussion, this pop-up silhouette in-movie feature gives viewers a peek inside the minds of some of the more passionate geeks at Pixar.
The Axiom Arcade – Enjoy this, you video game nuts out there! Excellent usage of Blu-ray technology.
3D Set Fly-Throughs – Cut-away illustrations of the Axiom and Earth sets provides viewer access to HD set fly-throughs from ten of the film’s most detailed locations. Want to see details on some of the coolest places in the film? Look no further.
Disney BD-Live Network – I’ve been waiting patiently for someone to actually put BD-Live to good use. Thank the maker that Disney has done that. Maybe with the following studios will start thinking outside the box. The word there is ‘maybe’. One can only hope. Here’s what you get with BD-Live:
Movie Chat – It’s just like it says.
Movie Mail – A very cool feature. A must-see for the people who use BD-Live on this Blu-ray set (and you should if not only because of this).
Movie Challenge – Users will be able to test their skills against online players in a synchronized, real-time, online trivia game while watching WALL•E. There is always a Movie Challenge game in progress to join, regardless of the time of day. Absolutely one of the best features of BD-Live, something that other studios should include.
Disney Movie Rewards Live – WALL•E Blu-ray owners will be able to accumulate reward points by participating in any Disney BD-Live Network activity. In return, viewers can redeem points for exclusive content such as ringtones, avatars, previews of upcoming movie trailers, downloadable extras and many more exciting possibilities. YAY! Easy peasy ways of using Disney Movie Rewards. Kids and the younger peeps out there will love it.
Digital Copy of Wall-E – Imagine if the RIAA had done something this smart? MPAA is at least trying and encouraging studios to accept the digital age. This is the third disc in the set and well-worth having. Why? Think about this… would you like your kids scratching up a Blu-ray disc? Me neither, so put this on the computer for them and let them watch the movie when they want. It’s an ingenious concept that many movie places are picking up, thankfully.
While I won’t ruin it for you, this is the majority of what you get with the Blu-ray. It’s everything that comes with the SD version of the DVD, plus you get a nice amount of Blu-ray features to accompany it. The biggest feature being the BD-Live capabilities. I can’t stress to you enough how neat the BD-Live features are. For a good portion of the viewing audience, you have an ethernet connection. With that you’ll be able to use your BD player to use the BD-Live network. Excellent stuff for one Blu-ray set. I’m happy to say that the Blu-ray is worth the extra money and you should consider it when you’re choosing between DVD and Blu-ray. If you have a regular DVD player, you won’t be disappointed either, but you won’t get some of the cool features that accompany the Blu-ray set.