I WROTE THIS LETTER IN JULY 0F2008, A MONTH AFTER WALL-E CAME OUT IN THEATERS
As I take up my pencil, I must admit that this is the first time I’ve really and officially defended a Pixar film against bad critics. But after seeing what they’ve had to say, I can’t ignore it anymore. I’m 100% one of the biggest Pixar fans you can bet your money on. Not just because of the films themselves, but the people and history and place that Pixar holds within itself. As a writer for children’s’ literature, I sort of know all the ins and outs of creating a good story and admiring one! Also, my experience as the oldest out of 7 siblings in a Catholic family, what I have to say is founded on the truest perception of a child and inner-parent.
The Pixar film that I am addressing in this letter is the company’s 9th feature film: WALL-E
The first claim people make against this film is that younger children from 2 to 6 get scared or bored of the film.
How can a parent, a good parent for that matter, expect their innocent child not to act their own age? As much as I love WALL-E, I would never let my younger sisters (who are1, 3, and 6) see the film.
It is the responsibility of the parent to decide what their child should see or not see and if they’re wonder if a film is appropriate, they should see it themselves before just taking their kids to the theater and “trying it out”. What a shame it is that some parents are so busy with their jobs that they thing going to a movie theater is the best “quality time” to spend with their kids. As if their young attention span means nothing.
Pixar’s intended audience is for older kids (around 10+). Don’t put blame on the film if your younger kids don’t like it!
And if kids around 10+ don’t like it themselves because it’s “boring”, that shows that they’ve obviously been entertained with films that promote violence, blood, sex, language, etc. Their innocence has been lost because of what they have been exposed to in schools and in their own homes!
People would rather take their kids to see such films than see innocent ones because they just feel like it (or that stupid media has told about all of the actors and actresses that play the voices of the characters).
As for adults being bored? Those who want to be entertained have lost the art of living. Ironic, isn’t it, when compared to the humans in the film?
A second comment is that people hate the film because of its lack of dialogue.
John Lasseter himself, the CEO of Pixar and the executive producer of all of the Pixar’s films, has said the following:
“The art of animation is about what the character does, not what it says. It all depends on how you tell the story, with a lot of dialogue or not.”
Anybody smart enough can sense how much WALL-E loves EVE, how EVE learns to love WALL-E, M-O’s frustration….it’s told all without words.
To get on a deeper side of the movie, some people have even ventured to say that WALL-E is a strictly environmental film with political statements flooding it.
Andrew Stanton, the director and writer of the film, has said the following:
“People made this connection with the environmental movement that I never saw coming and that’s not what I was trying to do. I was just using the circumstances of people abandoning earth to tell my story. The environmental causes are noble, but they’re not on my agenda.”
WALL-E is a story about love. Period.
Some people even want to attack THIS message by saying that WALL-E promotes and encourages same-sex relationships!
Did these people even regard the fact that EVE is a woman’s name? Did they even look at the credits and see that Elissa Knight played the character’s voice? Did he even acknowledge that all the filmmakers of the movie regard EVE a “her”? The Captain of the movie calls EVE a “her” about 5 times!
Some people don’t even want to look at the obvious.
If you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will.
If anybody wants a Christian reference to the film, here’s one: how close can this story get to Noah’s Ark? All the humans have left Earth because it was no longer safe to live on. The captain sends a “white dove” to Earth to bring back proof that it’s safe to return. And the “dove’s” name just happens to be EVE?
Critics can’t trust what they can’t explain. They miss the true message of life in films like these. Love can flourish and life can be preserved anywhere at any time.
Some critics who have given good reports of the film have remarked that the one element of the film that separates it from other science-fiction stories is its optimism.
Lots of people have said that they were so “disgusted” by the film that they never saw the ending. How in the heck can you accurately comment on a film until you’ve seen the whole thing?!
There’s an ironic message in this film about how it took a robot with a huge heart and love to change human beings who have actually succumbed to “robots”. They have let themselves become who they are.
WALL-E’s simple dream….only to be loved….is the most innocent and pure motive any human being or “robot” can have. WALL-E was filled with such great love that despite everything he underwent, he wanted to share it with everyone and everything he met. What is more, WALL-E was influenced by human love (the Hello, Dolly! Film) and then eventually gave love back to the humans!
It is said that “what greater love is there than one who dies for one’s friends?” WALL-E “died” for EVE and the sake of the humans.
He could’ve escaped the Axiom with EVE in one of the space pods and gone back to Earth. But WALL-E knew in his own little way that helping others is sometimes the surest way to help yourself.
Pixar Animation Studios has established itself as the greatest animation department for film and has been so successful due to its amazing and unbeatable way of story-telling. All of their films have touched not only my heart, but millions of others. When you combine an amazing animation department with talented story-tellers, it spells out one word: Pixar.
WALL-E, to me, is Pixar’s best shining star and example of the company’s goal and message: to love and to share that love in life.
Signed,
K.M.R.F.
