Fore-note: It should be universally known on this thread that WALL•E was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on November 18, 2008. What should also be known is that I waited this long to type up a review on the subject, and I say this in a very regretful tone, mind you. I should have commented on this beautiful film ages ago…
Secondly, this entire review is written directly to Andrew Stanton, because, hey, WALL•E is just that freakin’ awesome…
Good day to you, Mr. Stanton!
Many a film has been projected to an audience, and many a subject has been traversed, but there is, perhaps, no such production which has kissed the hands of charisma, affability, and beauty… than that of WALL•E. To say that it reached a level of eminence is a sheer understatement, and to proclaim that the creative minds behind the project gave it their all does not deviate from the truth. What you and your team have concocted is nothing more, and nothing less, than a masterpiece.
WALL•E DVD - Disc 1
Presentation: The manner in which this film is presented is magnificent. The picture is crisp, the sound is clear, and the story and characters as endearing as ever. To whomever pieced together this DVD: Lovely work!
Menu: With a clever menu and equally engaging bonus features, the first disc of WALL•E and its menu are appealing to the eye.
BURN•E: Angus MacLane, I loved it. The humor; the characters; the set design: All of it was equally engaging and charming. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I take it that you paid homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey near the end of the short – that’s my favorite section in the film. Great stuff.
Presto: It’s been quite some time since I’ve been transported back to the days of Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam, but this one did it. The ingenious and comedic timing is what makes this particular short film stand out from the rest of Pixar’s diminutive productions, so a round of applause goes to the director and the entire Presto team!
Deleted Scenes: Although I regret to say that I’ve neglected to remember correctly the titles of each of these two sequences, I enjoyed viewing each one regardless. The first centered around WALL•E attempting to propose to EVE, right? That was hilarious. I can see why it was cut, but, at the same time, I kind of wish it hadn’t, namely for the humorous aspect of it. The second was especially interesting to witness, taking into account the fact that WALL•E and EVE’s positions were switched at the time (in the “garbage compacting station”) and that the sequence itself was (practically) fully rendered. To be honest, I completely agree with you, Mr. Stanton, in that the end result (in which EVE rescues WALL•E instead of vice-versa) was much stronger and had more of an impact on the audience. Heh. I love how you guys at Pixar take risks like this; you’re willing to change a sequence at the last possible second so as to strengthen the story. Kudos to you. Two thumbs up.
Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds from the Sound Up: Astounding. Absolutely astounding. My sister is the aspiring sound editor in the family, so she was soaking up the information in this featurette like a sponge. That said, I enjoyed it just as much, particularly the archival footage from the early days of Disney Studios. (Ben Burtt, if you’re reading this, I just might attempt to replicate a lazer gun sound effect the next time I acquire a Slinky…)
Geek-O-Rama - Here’s living proof that Pixar is the one and only place to go if one wants to be among family. My sister and I are now rest assured that we’re heading in the right direction, for if we were devoid of the chance to celebrate geekdom with fellow fans then we wouldn’t be able to survive. (Your “Game over, man!” impression is awesome, Mr. Stanton.)
Audio Commentary - I saved the best for last. This is, in its entirety, the best Pixar audio commentary that I have heard so far. Curse me for harboring uncertainty before listening to it, Mr. Stanton. I wasn’t sure whether I’d be as interested listening to a one-man commentary but, darn it all, you proved me wrong. It was down-right entertaining. From such interesting tidbits as Peter Gabriel’s Secret World Tour… to that moment in the film where you had nothing to say at one point (which was hilarious), I remained captivated throughout. (By the way, I played Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head during the “Bad Date” sequence, and it worked pretty well with the moment!)
WALL•E DVD - Disc 2
“The Pixar Story” - I had seen and reviewed this documentary before, but I enjoyed it immensely the second time around. A most wonderful and historical compilation by Leslie Iwerks.
WALL•E & EVE - I believe this was the first of the behind-the-scenes featurettes that I watched, and it captivated me instantly. Amongst the hoard of information delivered, I particularly liked these sections of the video: How WALL•E is compared to Buster Keaton, whereas EVE is matched up with Sigourney Weaver; the WALL•E turn-a-round; the bomb-sniffing robot, and how its rumbling and jerky movements were applied to the character of WALL•E in certain instances; how Angus MacLane (a Directing Animator) referred to EVE’s flying/soaring motions/movements to that of a manatee or a narwhal; how Jay Shuster (a Production Artist) took to drawing every single nut and bolt on WALL•E (if that’s a geek then I don’t know what is; awesome stuff); and how one of the animator’s mentioned that certain “expressions” had to be omitted when animating the character of EVE – for example, “don’t have EVE’s eyes go to hearts” when she’s in love.
Captain’s Log - Yet another informative clip. I had no idea that the human characters in the film were originally blobs of jello.
Robo-Everything: Very cool. I liked how Angus MacLane created a modular “Lego” system for the robots, so that pieces of them could be used for various purposes. I also enjoyed the M-O animation tests.
Life of a Shot: Deconstructing the Pixar Process: Now this was cool. Engaging factoids of every size and shape were scattered throughout: 1500(+) shots in WALL•E; if one talented artist did all the work and all the shots, it would take them 442 years to complete the film; it takes hundreds of individuals to create, tweak, and finalize a shot; etc… One fact which I found to be particularly interesting was mentioned by Bob Whitehill, I believe. When he assisted in setting up the cinematography for a specific shot in WALL•E, he found that a 75 mil. lens for that particular shot made it feel compressed and uncomfortable, which, in turn, worked well for the tone of that sequence.
Notes on a Score: Music is something that I find to be of extreme importance in a production; if the score is unsuitable, the atmosphere and aura of the film as a whole deteriorates significantly. Quite naturally, however, Mr. Newman did not disappoint when he interpreted his vision of the intrinsic, yet captivating, melodies one hears in WALL•E. Both you and Mr. Newman developed something more than unique this time around. I have never been engulfed by such music…
The Imperfect Lens: Creating the Look of WALL•E: An extremely informative showcase. It detailed the inner workings of the film-making process, including camera studies, production design, set dressing, and consulting veterans in various fields (i.e., Roger Deakins, a Visual Consultant) without hesitation. I love how it was mentioned that the focus of the camera helps to set the mood of a scene, whether it be calm and collected, or constricted and uncomfortable. Which, by the way, brings me to mention one of my favorite uses of cinematography in WALL•E, and that would be the sequence in which the title character is chased by a stampede of shopping carts in an abandoned mall. Just the way the camera goes in and out of focus makes the film all the more tangible… as if it was filmed with a hand-held video camera at times. Now, see, I just love this stuff. I just love it. It’s deviating from the norm that distinguishes Pixar from the rest of the animation studios in existence today. Good on you for taking risks, Mr. Stanton, and that goes for the entire crew at Pixar.
BnL Shorts - “Captaining the Axiom” is my personal favorite, but I love the way that all of these campaigns are presented. Pixar would be great at advertising, in my opinion. Heheh.
Additional Deleted Scenes - In “Docking”, I like how WALL•E originally met M-O.
Bot Files - Gosh, I love these. I spent forever reading about each 'bot and its attributes. I love the fact that there are people dedicated enough to create profiles for such minute characters as these.
Last, but not least, I’d like to say one thing and one thing in particular before closing: Do you know who was on drugs when they hid those two easter eggs on the first disc of the WALL•E DVD?? My sister and I are expert “egg” hunters when it comes to DVDs; we leave no stone unturned and can find pretty much any egg in a matter of seconds. But this one…? It must have taken us half an hour at least to find those two eggs. Half an hour! I swear, we tried every trick of the trade. We were even pressing numbers and stuff on our remote. Well, in any case, whoever hid those eggs: Thanks for the challenge! It was well worth the effort.
To conclude on a brief, albeit geek-y, note: Your movie rocks, Mr. Stanton.
– Mitch