As Pixar has solidified itself as an unstoppable force, certain distinct voices have emerged from film to film. Pixar is not a singular creative vision, instead it has proven itself to be a house of auteurs. WALL-E is the second film Andrew Stanton’s has spent in the director’s chair, this one following his 2003 effort Finding Nemo.
WALL-E contains an amazing level of attention to detail, and visually surpasses all previous animated films. Stanton, along with his two directors of photography, produced lush landscapes to create a future that is not without hope.
As the first ever animated film to mimic use of an anamorphic lens,
WALL-E creates a unique style that can only be compared to other space epics, most notably Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. The ship’s computer even pays a special homage to Kubrick with a reference to a HAL 9000.
The tone of the film excels due to the filmmakers dedication to our perception of reality. Stanton and his crew were not afraid to let the title character drift in and out of focus or fall into shadows. Degrees of illumination help earth become a place of beauty, even when it’s covered with trash, with the main character longing to share all of its wonder with someone special.
WALL-E may lack some of the emotional punch that has been present in other Pixar staples such as Toy Story and Finding Nemo. If WALL-E is anything, it is a film that supports ideas. Pixar has always been wary of becoming stale, so it has continued to evolve when most companies would have become complacent with their success.
WALL-E is more than a step in the right direction because it signals the need for each Pixar film to be truly different from the last. Which other studio would have enough faith in their audience to believe that an almost silent film would be capable of recouping a production budget of 180 million dollars? Andrew Stanton created a film that is a look at where we are today, as much as it is about a little robot looking for love in a far off future.
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