I could talk about a lot of things that happened over the past few days, but I'm going to focus on Pixar's latest creation, Wall E, but I'm not going to get to the movie quite yet. Another part of the Wall E experience is the video game that was released in time with the movie. Caitlin and I couldn't go and see the movie opening night, and on a whim I decided to rent the PS2 game, thinking that it would be the same thing. I know that video games based on movies can be very campy, very dumb, and the taste of the plot can be compared to a tepid, thin broth. I will thank my wife again for encouraging me to rent Happy Feet the game instead of buying it.
However, this can also be compared to reading the book before going to see the movie. With books, you have time to explore the surroundings, get to know the characters, and have a better idea of what the world is like, rather than witnessing a thoroughly wonderful story edited down to two or three hours. Wall E the game took me between five to six hours to complete, incredibly short for a game, but I didn't jump through all the hoops, per se. One very endearing feature of the game, which was not explored very much in the movie, was Wall E interacting with human artifacts. I can full well understand that there was not much more than was shown in the trailer (eg. bra, fire extinguisher, car remote) because it does not advance the plot. Plus, if you have seen the trailer, I could see some people thinking, "Ok, that's cute. GET ON WITH IT!" The plot of the game is also adjusted somewhat since **SPOILER ALERT** Wall E is damaged quite badly close to the end of the movie, and the other robots assist achieving the goal of returning the plant to the Holo emitter, as opposed to the game where Wall E places the plant himself. **End SPOILER ALERT** You play the role of Wall E and EVE, but EVE's controls are much more limited than Wall E's, and thus it's obvious Wall E would play a larger role in the game. In retrospect, playing the game was much like going through the special features on the DVD.
The game doesn't give away the entire movie, and I was very grateful for that. You did get a good run through of what the movie was about, but it was enough that the movie more than stands on its own.
I take that back, the movie doesn't stand on its own. It looms over the game and casts a shadow large enough to block out the sun, yet completes the game like a missing puzzle piece. Pixar has always strove to do themselves better, not only to prove to their audience that they know how to make good movies, but to show that they are passionate about what they do.
Wall E is part of a fleet of robots that were commissioned to clean up all the trash on the Earth, while everyone on earth shipped off on space cruise liners big enough to dwarf Super Star Destroyers and the Death Star. The clean up was supposed to only take five years, but seven centuries has passed and like most government projects, it wasn't completed yet. As for the fleet of units left behind to clean up, only one remains, and his only company is his pet cockroach. He's a big fan of "Hello Dolly!" and parallels the role of Cornelius Hackle, in which he dreams of seeing more than the wasteland that the world has become.
I was very excited for this movie, because I was looking forward to seeing how Pixar would do with a silent film. There are speaking roles, but the amount of dialogue is minimal compared to most animated films. Yet I dare say the animated robots emote more than some live action stars I've seen. For example, when you first see EVE, she's busy working away, like you would suspect a robot to do. However, immediately after the departure of the ship that dropped her off, she tears around like my daughter when I turn my back on her. Also Wall E's vocabulary is restricted to less than a dozen words, yet you really understand him and truly care for him. You also see his devotion for EVE, especially when he gets hit by lightning multiple times in an effort to keep her dry during a rainstorm.
Ever since I heard about this movie, I have had the highest hopes in terms of story, character, sets and backdrops. It excelled on every level I can think of, and then some. The game was a nice complement to the movie, especially the animatics when he finds artifacts, my favourite being the boomerang. It would have been nice to include his search for the other Wall E bot in the movie, but the movie was just as memorable without it. Pixar has made a name for itself in making very tight, very fun, and very moving pictures. Mark my words though, if the burnt out Luxo logo is not on the DVD, I will be buying the game.
No comments:
Post a Comment