WALL-E - "Say Anything"

WALL-E (2008)

H: I was intrigued by what I'd heard about this movie, namely that there were lots of silent parts. What drives me nuts about modern animations is that, because they're typically made for kids, there's nonstop jibber jabber. Sure enough, the part of the movie that takes place on Earth is very quiet, allowing us to enjoy what we see.

K: I like the minimal noise, because it allows for these mechanical objects to use other ways to communicate, like the hand and the eyes. The hands were really important – that's how they communicated. Plus they didn't have lips, so they couldn't kiss. They had to go "bzzzzz".

When they first met, they were trying to use words but couldn't understand one another because they couldn't form the words correctly. They had to keep repeating and refining what they were saying until the other robot (and we) understood.

H: This movie seems meant for those of us lucky enough to grow up in the 1980s, what with cassette tapes, Nintendo, Johnny 5 (from Short Circuit (1986)), and E.T. (1982).

K: You know how all those other Wall Es existed on earth but broke or were shut down and he's the last one? Do you think it's saying something about fate and destiny, that he's the last one to survive? The Wall E slogan says he was built for one reason, it took him 200 years to find that reason. Are they trying to make a statement? Do you think the makers of this film believe that? I didn't think that until I read the slogan. I thought he was just a robot, but maybe his fate was to save the earth.

H: As far as the filmmakers' intentions, I think it's fairly common for movies aimed at kids (or movies where kids are welcome) to have fate/destiny as one of the main themes, because it's a simple theme to understand. When people teach kids about existence, they tend to present an ordered universe, where everyone has a purpose and their purpose is something to contribute.

K: The second time I saw this, I noticed with the rogue robots, even though they're messed up or function properly, they end up helping. It doesn't feel like a regular kids movie because it doesn't feel like they're cramming it down your throat. In stories like the Ugly Duckling, it feels forced. Mulan (1998) and Pocahantas (1995) are other examples, where the unlikely girl accomplishes more than we thought she would.

H: In those female hero movies, it's still a man that helps them out. In this movie, Eve ended up saving Wall E as much or more.

K: They're both pretty equal characters. If we talk about this in terms of Romantic Comedy, she has an established goal and he comes along and changes her way of thinking. He also has an established goal at the beginning and she becomes this brand new directive for him.

H: This movie is about how outcasts can triumph, despite being out of touch with what's now. It still does the typical thing of showing the outcast/underdog succeed, albeit in an enjoyable and appropriate way. Someday, though, I'd like to watch an animated film where the unlikely hero fails, like Wernor Herzog's Woyzeck (1979). What is it about animation that makes it necessary for happy endings? Also, how did animation and children become intrinsically linked? It's not like once photography was invented, people stopped painting for adults and only painted for kids.

K: Maybe it's because the stories for children would be drab on film when acted out. Animation was colorful and cheery.

H: But I think that's only true of the type of animation I'm talking about, that meant for kids. There are lots of scary colors in the crayon box that don't get used.

K: Adults like Comic Books, so I don't know where the link between adults and animation breaks. Is it because it's drawings moving around? Now we adapt comic books to live action, rather than animating them.

H: And the few mainstream animated films just for adults end up being mostly raunchy. I may be framing Roger Rabbit here, but…

K: We did see Grave of the Fireflies (1988) and that was an adult story.

H: Maybe it's an economics thing, as in it's more expensive to animate a movie and the only thing that pays is kids movies.

K: What about animation is attractive to kids?

H: I think it's the color, as you mentioned, but also the ability to make animals talk.

K: The ending reminds me of It Happened One Night (1934) because BAM, they get to hook up and then it's over. You don't have to see that fairy tale ending.

H: The fairy tale ending gets converted into a trippy animated spectacular that walks us through art history, which is cool.

K: And I find it fitting that Peter Gabriel wrote a suitable song to guide us on that journey.

H: It was like the "In Your Eyes" moment of Say Anything (1989).