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Imagine, if you will, that Charlie Chaplin and Ingmar Bergman got together to
make an animated feature. What kind of film would those two have come up with?
Probably, it would be combination of the sweetness and charm of Charlie
Chaplin's Tramp character mixed in with a dash of the brooding darkness of
Bergman's The Seventh Seal.
The film might be brilliant and I have no doubt it
would be entertaining, but I also have the feeling that it would feel just a
little bit disjointed as though the two parts didn't quite fit together. And
that's just the feeling I walked away with from Disney/Pixar's latest film,
WALL•E. If the future of 700 years from now is anything at all what it's like
for humans in WALL•E, I'm mighty glad I won't be around to see it.
Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate the film, it was entertaining and I can
truthfully say I liked it, but .... I didn't, as I have with every Pixar film so
far, love it. The first twenty minutes or so of WALL•E are utterly and
completely charming. There isn't much in the way of dialogue, but there isn't
any needed. The scenes of the little Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class
going about his daily (for the last 700 years) business of compacting trash and
collecting the odd items he finds interesting, are every bit as brilliant as
anything Charlie Chaplin ever came up with. I just fell in love with that cute
little robot guy who cheerfully goes about his job and loves the musical Hello,
Dolly!
If only the rest of the film was as charming as that first part, I'd be gushing
praise. As it is, once WALL•E leaves Earth and lands on the spaceship housing
all the humans, the story becomes kind of a downer involving fat humans who are
so lazy (or is it disinterested) in life that they can't even be bothered to
chew their food (everything they consume is in liquid form), let alone get up
off their lounge chairs and, dare I say it, walk.
There is an assortment of robots on the human spaceship that could be engaging,
but mostly they aren't given much to do (except for a little guy named Mo who is
obsessed with cleaning). It's too bad those robots weren't given a little more
character development and a little more involvement with the story once it
boards that human spaceship. I think it would have made for a more interesting
film. I guess what I am saying here is ditch those fat, lazy, humans, who don't
seem to be capable of abstract thought, and give me more robots.
I'm digressing here. I've neglected to give you the basic plot synopsis. Let's
correct that.
WALL•E is a little, resourceful, robot who has lived alone on Earth for a mighty
long time. As the last robot standing, he's lonely, having only a cockroach for
a companion, but he still maintains a cheerful outlook as he faithfully goes
about his job of sorting (and compacting) the mountains of trash left behind
when humans ditched the Earth 700 years ago to wait it out while the WALL•Es of
the world cleaned the big mess up. Talk about the need for Clean House!
One day, a new robot shows up. She's a sleek, egg-shaped,beauty named Eve and
WALL•E, with thoughts of romance fueled by repeated viewings of Hello, Dolly!,
is instantly smitten. All he wants is to hold her hand. But Eve has a directive,
to find evidence of sustainable plant life on Earth. When she does, she is
whisked back to the human's spaceship with WALL•E tagging along for the ride to
be near his beloved Eve.
What happens after that, is where the film stops being a sweet and charming
story of two robots falling in love and becomes an action flick. To tell you
more would be too much of a spoiler so I'll leave it at that. Should you go see
WALL•E? Yes. Just don't go thinking it's the summer's sweet feel-good movie. It
isn't, although the first 20 minutes are.
Now, you know I always tell you to see the latest Disney film at the El Capitan
in Hollywood. It's a movie-house that's a fantastic place to see a film with
first-rate digital projection. So should you do that this time? Ummmm, my answer
would be a resounding, maybe.
For the price of admission you get the always
great Rob Richards' Mighty Wurlitzer music before the film, certainly a plus.
You get a nifty soda shop next door to indulge in the latest movie-themed treat
after the show (this time a WALL•E sundae - a base of brownie treads topped with
two scoops of vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate sauce, and all that
topped with a mold of WALL•E eyes), and you get the chance to plunk down some
hard-earned cash on a nice selection of WALL•E merchandise ... everything from
T-shirts, to Crocs, to plush, to a WALL•E-themed cooler/lunch box, to my
personal fave, the WALL•E Little Golden book (containing fantastic artwork and a
steal at $2.99).
As always, the El Capitan folks have decked out the place with
themed decor. This time there are space-themed exhibits courtesy of NASA, but
they aren't so fabulous that I'd recommend you rush to the El Capitan for that
aspect. And, lastly, before each showing of WALL•E there is a new stage show
entitled Disney's Flights of Fantasy (which consists of a bunch of Disney
characters dancing around in front of projected images of a bunch of Disney
films).
So, to sum it all up, first 20 minutes of WALL•E, fantastic, rest of the film,
good to okay ... If you want to see the film in a great old movie house, go to
the El Capitan, listen to some great organ music, eat some yummy ice cream, and
buy a souvenir or two. But ... don't make a special trip to Hollywood for the
stage show or the NASA stuff, they're simply not worth the cost of the gas it
will take to drive there.
The Details
Digitally Projected, WALL•E and the animated short Presto runs through
August 27th at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. The theater features
a NASA model exhibit, organist Rob Richards
performs before each screening on the Mighty Wurlitzer, and there is a live stage
show Flights of Fantasy (featuring the Disney characters) before the film starts.
Show times (subject to
change, of course) are:
10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 9:45pm
General Admission Prices are:
Adult $16 | Child (3-11) & Senior (60+) $14 |
Group (20+) $12
VIP Admission (includes popcorn, soft drink, reserved seat
and no waiting in line):
$26
Tickets may be purchased at the theater, via phone at 1-800-DISNEY6
(1-800-347-6396) or online at
www.elcapitantickets.com
with a service fee added for the latter two methods. (Groups of twenty
or more may purchase specially discounted tickets in advance, but
this may only be done by calling 1-818-845-3110 as these tickets are not
available at the box office.) Birthday parties are also welcomed at the
same phone number.
The El Capitan Theater is located in Hollywood California at
6838
Hollywood Boulevard. Theater lobby-validated $2 (first four
hours only) parking is available underground in the Hollywood &
Highland complex (adjacent to the Chinese Theater) across the street.
WALL•E is rated G;
for all audiences. Running time: 1 hour 43 minutes.
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