Lounge of Tomorrow - View Single Post - Wall-E

Eliza Hodgkins 1812 · 07-07-2008, 01:42 PM

Chaplin, Lloyd, Keaton...WALL-E! I'm a huge fan of silent film and loved seeing an animated robotic love story that maintained its subtleties and slapstick. The first half of the film had me glowing with happiness as I, with rapid heart beat, developed a real affection for the characters. I even had to bite back tears when WALL-E held his own hand. It is one of the best and most human love stories ever told, I think.

But I didn't care at all for the use of live action. It made sense at first. The more realistic animators try to make 3D animated / CGI people look the creepier they look. Even an ounce of something other than human, and it's a freaky golem . You cannot help but notice there is something off about the creation. Exaggerating human features in animation makes the artifice palatable somehow, and we more easily recognize them as human than their more human-like CGI counterparts. Given how realistic the WALL-E robot and his environment were animated, I assumed the animators decided live-action people would be more believable in context. I didn't much care for the actor they chose, but I could look beyond that.

I had a lot of trouble looking beyond the evolution of the human race. CP and GP mentioned a book they were reading at mousepod's that detailed the animators original plans for an evolved race of blob people, and I think I would have much preferred that. That, or a consistent use of live-action, similar to Happy Feet.

Regardless, I just didn't care enough about the human characters to maintain an interest in their story. The message interested me, and I thought that was beautifully conveyed in the first half of the film. And even in the animation that accompanied the credits. But something just didn't sit right about the lazy space cadets, and I didn't appreciate the tossed in bone density explanation at the end. Bah.

I dug the Hal reference but wished it had been a bit more subtle. I could have done without the 2001 music...

Anyhoow, overall, a love story to love and love again, but I'll probably fast-forward through the parts I enjoyed less whenever I watch it again.

07-07-2008, 01:42 PM	#204
Eliza Hodgkins 1812 Sputnik Sweetheart Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Long Beach Posts: 2,685	Chaplin, Lloyd, Keaton...WALL-E! I'm a huge fan of silent film and loved seeing an animated robotic love story that maintained its subtleties and slapstick. The first half of the film had me glowing with happiness as I, with rapid heart beat, developed a real affection for the characters. I even had to bite back tears when WALL-E held his own hand. It is one of the best and most human love stories ever told, I think. But I didn't care at all for the use of live action. It made sense at first. The more realistic animators try to make 3D animated / CGI people look the creepier they look. Even an ounce of something other than human, and it's a freaky golem . You cannot help but notice there is something off about the creation. Exaggerating human features in animation makes the artifice palatable somehow, and we more easily recognize them as human than their more human-like CGI counterparts. Given how realistic the WALL-E robot and his environment were animated, I assumed the animators decided live-action people would be more believable in context. I didn't much care for the actor they chose, but I could look beyond that. I had a lot of trouble looking beyond the evolution of the human race. CP and GP mentioned a book they were reading at mousepod's that detailed the animators original plans for an evolved race of blob people, and I think I would have much preferred that. That, or a consistent use of live-action, similar to Happy Feet. Regardless, I just didn't care enough about the human characters to maintain an interest in their story. The message interested me, and I thought that was beautifully conveyed in the first half of the film. And even in the animation that accompanied the credits. But something just didn't sit right about the lazy space cadets, and I didn't appreciate the tossed in bone density explanation at the end. Bah. I dug the Hal reference but wished it had been a bit more subtle. I could have done without the 2001 music... Anyhoow, overall, a love story to love and love again, but I'll probably fast-forward through the parts I enjoyed less whenever I watch it again.
	Submit to Quotes