Andrew Stanton (2008)

I expected to be detached because it’s an animated film.  In the event – and although I knew about WALL-E’s environmental responsibility themes from reading about it beforehand – I just couldn’t understand most of what was going on.  It was a truly alienating experience, watching the screen and being unable to process the visual information coming from it.    What usually seems like a blind spot for both sci-fi and animation felt on this occasion like a mental handicap.  I doubt there was any lack of clarity in the telling of the story:  Sally seemed to have followed it perfectly well (although she wondered if kids would have) – and was incredulous at how very basic my incomprehension was.  The frequently explosive moments – white light hurtling towards you from a predominantly dark image – added to my disorientation; I started feeling giddy in the second half.   The one element that made sense was the music.  I thought the score was Thomas Newman and was relieved to see that confirmed in the closing credits.  And the use of fragments from the 1969 film of Hello, Dolly! (although I’ve never seen it) took on an unexpected power.  They were the only reliably understandable component in the film:  they made me feel part of the ancient civilisation that they represent in WALL-E (and that I suppose they are to the kids in its audience).

21 July 2008