Wall*E Blu Ray review

The Film:

This sounds like a cliché or some very typical to say, but leave it to Pixar to raise the bar in the animated world once again. Wall*E is like something that rarely comes along; a film so magical, it’s nearly impossible to describe, a rarity that must be see to understand. This is by far Pixar’s best (even though I said that for Ratatouille), but it’s by far the animated world’s more ambitious, experimental film since Fantasia. Like that film, Wall*E takes the genre conventions of the animated film and shows us something vastly new.

I hand most of the film’s success not to Pixar themselves, but to director Andrew Stanton. Not only has he written some of Pixar’s best films, Toy Story 2, Monster’s Inc., but has directed their most well-known film to date, Finding Nemo. The reason Wall*E succeeds as one of 2008′s best films, is from these works, in which he drew from. Each film he has done has all had great, memorable characters and a rich story full of laughter an emotional moments. Wall*E is no different from him wanting to connect physically and emotionally with EVE or his undying determination, within the story, Stanton has found these moments and made them real.

The comedy in Wall*E is a natural, fresh, and just down right funny wealth of material. In an age of self-awareness and pop culture references that litter most animated fare today, Stanton finds times when to add comedy. He doesn’t stop the film to add a joke, these moments come natural when Wall*E works or is curious. It has a timeless appeal, much like some of Disney’s classics before it, but all great comedy has its source. Here, Wall*E is a robotic Buster Keaton; from his falls to his foolish bumbling towards EVE, each moment is rooted in the comedy of Keaton. Even his nickname, ‘Old Stone Face’ could be applied to Wall*E; his has nothing but his eyes to emote emotion, though his facial complexion is stoic.

Disney wisely sold the film based on Wall*E’s bumbling persona; the cuteness of him and the name of Pixar slapped on the logo, pretty much sells the film. What’s surprising is where the film takes you. This is where the ambitiousness comes in. The film is underlined with lessons that would make old Walt himself happy. All of the best Disney films have had these themes or lessons laced in between the comedy, the story, the colorful characters and Wall*E is no different. The consumerism nature of us is questioned, the basic laziness of humans is attacked, and in the wake of this comes the very origin of why Wall*E exists in the first place. Through this gentle robot we see beauty within our own nature of existing and the beauty in which we might be begin to lose: Earth.

It’s all handled well and most kids under 8 might not get the film’s complexity. Unlike Ratatouille which felt more adult, Wall*E never condescends to us, whether we are a kid or an adult. If the message is felt to be preachy to you, then you must want to either avoid its message or are the reason Stanton himself has chosen to comment on these themes. Comparing Wall*E is another animated film outside of Pixar is unfair, although in doing so proves why the Mouse House is still the best in the animated world nearly 75 years into. Wall*E feels like it’s pushing the medium to some new level, all the while having the feeling familiarity without the risk of conventions. The animation is perhaps the best seen in an CG animated feature (well, until Pixar’s next), but the real success of the film is the fact that only Pixar and Stanton can make such a disgusting insect such as the cockroach, a lovable side character without having it say one word.

 

The Blu Ray

Audio/Video: This is perhaps the best Blu Ray, in terms of presentation, out there on the market. Audio is fantastic as is the picture quality, mainly because the film is all digital and there’s nothing to ruin it. Disney is the best studio releasing Blu Rays and this is no different. It’s so great; I’ll run out of praise for it.

Audio Commentary: Stanton is thorough with his knowledge of the film, making for an engaging and informative listen. He tackles the controversial elements of the story as well as the basic ideas prior to filming. All in all, it’s an animation class in audio form. Blu Ray gets the picture-in-picture bonus, called Cine-Explore Mode.

Burn*E: This is an al new short, which features a character named Burn*E. He’s the only one not positively affected by Wall*E. It’s pretty cute but not that funny. The animation is just like the film’s as some scenes ae shown from different angles in telling Burn*E’s story. Cute film.

Presto: This playing in front of Wall*E and it’s another delight. I hope these shorts continue as much as Pixar does. Their shorts are as good as some feature length animated films. Presto reminds me a lot of the Looney Tunes classic shorts.

Trailers

Disc 2:

Deleted Scenes: about 23 minutes worth of some finished and some un-rendered scenes featuring more of the humans. Decent.

Behind-the-Scenes: This is broken up in three parts, all totally 30 some odd minutes and if the commentary isn’t your thing, this will do the trick. Covering more of the animation side of things, you’ll learn a lot regardless.

BnL Shorts: these three segments feature the films Wall*E watches in the film, in their entirety. Clever.

The Pixar Story: This is the meatiest extra, running at 90 minutes; this covers all things Pixar and their origins and successes. Featuring interviews with the likes of Roy Disney and Tom Hanks, the only negative is that you’ll have to search for it in the “Humans” section on page 2 of the disc’s menu. A must watch.

Galleries, Bot Storybook (interactive game), more trailers, Wall*E’s Tour of the Universe (promo for the site), and Wall*E’s Treasures and Trinkets (montage of cute things done by Wall*E) round out this great package.

Disc 3

Digital Copy

Not only is Wall*E an amazing piece of animation, but it’s an amazing piece of cinema. Smart, cute, funny, Pixar has created a new Disney classic. The Blu Ray is about the best out there too.

Rating: