Sidewalks On The Corner

Pixar and Disney released their latest collaboration on June 27th with their animated feature film, WALL*E. Ticket Sales after its debut weekend totaled more than $62 million taking the #1 spot. The WALL*E opening weekend was the fourth-biggest ever for the Emeryville-based studio with 2004's "The Incredibles" had a $70.5 million debut, followed by the $70.3 million for 2003's "Finding Nemo" and a $62.6 million for 2001's "Monsters, Inc."

Follow up:

WALL•E
Rating: G
Voice Cast: Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin, Sigourney Weaver, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy
Director: Andrew Stanton
Producer: Jim Morris
Co-Producer: Lindsey Collins
Executive Producer: John Lasseter
Sound Design & Specialty Voices: Ben Burtt
Composer: Thomas Newman, with an Original Song Performed by Peter Gabriel

CINDY's TAKE
WALL*E is the story of a rickety old “Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class” robot who was left behind on earth to clean up the polluted mess left by the humans. WALL*E goes about his solitary days performing his garbage man duties with only the company of a pet cockroach to ward off the loneliness, but longing to find the kind of love he sees in an old VHS tape of ‘Hello Dolly’ that he plays over and over again. He soon meets a sleek and modern female robot named EVE “Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator” and together, along with a heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots, discovers a secret that can help save the World for humanity.

Written and Directed by Andrew Stanton (“Toy Story”, “Monsters, Inc”, “Ratatouille”), the film is another classic in the making. The voice cast includes Pixar veteran John Ratzenberger (“Cheers,” “Ratatouille,” “Toy Story”), Jeff Garlin (“Curb your Enthusiasm”), award-winning actress Kathy Najimy (“Sister Act,” ”King of the Hill”), stage and film star Sigourney Weaver (“Alien,” “Gorillas In the Mist,” “Baby Mama”), and acclaimed four-time Oscar-winning sound designer Ben Burtt (“Star Wars,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”). Comedian Fred Willard (“Best in Show,” “Back to You”) also appears in the film.

As I settled back into my comfortable seat in the darkened theater with my box of popcorn, I wondered what kind of treat was in store for me with the latest Disney/Pixar release. I had high expectations given the success of ‘Ratatouille,’ ‘Finding Nemo’ and the like. I have to say, they did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and laughed out loud as did the others sitting around me. I would be remiss if I did not say that I was a little worried when in the first 20 minutes, there was very little traditional dialogue. But not to fear, those 20 minutes were important to set up the story of what was to come.

The love story told between WALL*E and EVE was a great example of just how good these animators really are. Andrew Stanton says, “Holding hands is the thing that WALL*E’s wanted to do the entire movie cause it’s what he’s learned from watching ‘Hello Dolly,’ it’s the way you show affection in that movie. We wanted the audience to believe they were witnessing a machine that has come to life. The more they believe it’s a machine, the more appealing the story becomes.”

What I found most surprising was how much emotion these characters were able to portray, considering they are – well – robots (think R2-D2). It was not surprising then to learn that the man who created the sounds for the lovable Star Wars robot, was the same one to create the WALL*E magic, quite literally. Oscar winning sound director, Ben Burtt used his voice to animate the character for WALL*E and a female Pixar employee was used to animate the character of EVE. One of the biggest challenges facing the animators was the need to communicate emotions and actions clearly without being able to rely on traditional dialogue

The look and feel of the film was very important to Stanton and he says he was heavily influenced by the sci-fi films of the 1970s. “Films like ‘2001,’ ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Alien,’ ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Close Encounters’ – they all had a look and feel to them that really transported me to another place and I really believed that those worlds were out there,” he explains. “I haven’t seen a movie since then that made me feel that same way when we went out to space, so I wanted to recapture that feeling.” He goes on to say that the software improvements allowed the cameras to act more like the old Panavision 70mm cameras used back in the 70’s to complete the experience.

The talented team of animators have continued to raise the bar challenging themselves to create the best with each new film project. From toys to ants, fish to monsters and superheroes to culinary rats, they’ve created memorable characters that have become icons the world over.

If you are looking to entertain the whole family this summer, take them out to see Wall*E. You won’t be disappointed.