My 13-year-old cousin's visit this past weekend provided the perfect excuse to see a couple of animated features, "Ratatouille" on DVD and "WALL-E" in the theater. We missed "Ratatouille" in the theater because we had a baby and had to be selective about the movies we went to see because getting a babysitter can be such a major hassle. So we decided to wait on the movie about the rat chef.
"Ratatouille" was OK if you can get by the idea of a rat preparing a meal. The plot tended toward the predictable in places but the finale provided a surprising twist. There did seem to be a little too much gun play in the beginning for a rated G film including an old woman shooting a shot gun left and right and a lovers spat involving a hand-gun. The rendering of the rats was well done. Almost too well done in fact as the rats moving en masse looked disturbingly very real. It had a good amount of laughs, though some of the witty dialog was mired by the rapid, French-accented delivery of some of the characters. Subtle messages like Remy being slender because of his selective diet while the rest of his family gets fat eating garbage, and the idea that anyone can cook, but only an artist can be a chef, seem to be a little too subtle. But this is not a message movie. It's an animated comedy aimed at children. So I'll give it a pass.
"WALL-E" on the other hand, is far from subtle in showing the consequences of excess and neglect. The risks of being insulated from reality and work are driven home when we see what remains of humanity and how society has become non-existent. The perils of over-reliance on technology is also driven home though I found this point a to be a little ironic considering that the film wouldn't exist without computer technology. But the real focus in this film is on WALL-E and how his quest for love and companionship impacts everyone he encounters.
WALL-E's character is easy to relate to. His sense of whimsy and his loneliness is very poignant and well established at the onset of the film. EVE, who becomes his object of affection is quickly established as an independent-minded, but dedicated worker. Other robots add comic relief like the dirt obsessed cleaning robot, or the over-enthusiastic massage robot.
Ultimately, it is WALL-E's empathetic and self-sacrificing nature that finally prods humanity to step up and take control of their own destiny and take responsibility for the damage done to the Earth. One hopes that we can avoid needing that kind of prodding. As for the end, it works out as one would expect. The villain is foiled, EVE finds her heart and WALL-E finds happiness. But what else did you expect from a G-rated movie? Nihilism?
With both films, Pixar attains new heights in computer animation. The rats look life-like. The garbage blowing around the polluted Earth flutters by like real garbage. But I'm finding that I don't like this style of animation so much any more. Animation is not supposed to be life-like. The point of animation is that you can make things happen that may not be possible in reality. You're not re-creating reality, you're only representing it. Pixar has gotten caught up is being to detailed. Too real. Their films are good fun. But for visual appeal, I still prefer Anime.
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