Tuesday 5 August 2008

WALL.E - Review by Robert Duffin


Director: Andrew Stanton
Screenwriter: Andrew Stanton
Running Time: 98 mins
Certificate: U
Released: 18 July


The following review was originally published in the print edition of Montage at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2008.


Some have split hairs over the inclusion of a film like WALL.E in the programme of a 'festival of discovery'; after all Pixar are hardly desperate for a distribution deal. However even the staunchest critic cannot fail to have their heart melted by the adventures of Earth's last robot. Abandoned on the planet that has seen the effects Al Gore warned us about, WALL.E is an exquisite comedy of manners, accented by dazzling visuals that reach a new level in the history of the craft. A robot protagonist, who communicates only in the blips and bleeps of legendary sound designer Ben Burtt, could have been a patience tester. Yet WALL.E is constructed with the nuts and bolts of humanity, a desire for companionship battling with Woody Allen-esque social dysfunction. Director Andrew Stanton and his team of animators have achieved that rare feat; a film that perfectly balances stunning visuals with a heartbreakingly intimate relationship at its core.

1 comment:

elsara said...

in this movie, which one is more human: WALL.E or human themselves? :)