WASTING TIME (MINE & YOURS)

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

In the minority

I am no expert when it comes to family-friendly movies. I have a sentimental fondness for movies that I enjoyed as a child, like The Neverending Story and The Princess Bride. As a film buff, I try to keep myself open and try to see all sorts of movies. Last week we got the Blu-Ray of the Pixar film Wall-E from our Netflix queue.
Am I the only person who thought that Wall-E was rather preachy and sort of contrived? I didn't think that it was terrible, per se. The animation was incredible, of course (Pixar has always been at the top of the 3-D game). I just thought it was so-so. After all of the glowing reviews, perhaps my expectations were too high. It just amazes me that this is favored to win the Oscar not only for Best Animated Feature but also may have a chance at the Best Picture award.
Perhaps I am missing something. It definitely sends a nice message to young children about taking care of the planet. However, I doubt that there's a chance that the message will reach already full-grown idiots that I see tossing their McDonald's wrappers out onto the highway.

4 comments:

iso.bot said...

i bought wall-e, but still have yet to watch it. you are the second person i've heard say it's too political/preachy.

Anonymous said...

It's a film for kids. Do you expect it to be subtle and austere? I agree though, definitely overrated. In response to my comment on your 'top 10' blog, I found it when trying to search for something else. Didn't mean to cause any offense. I thought that by asking others to respond that you were open to debate!

Misty Beethoven said...

No, I was not at all offended by the comment on my Top 10 list. I was a bit surprised by it, sure. I am still hoping to get your Top 10! I am absolutely open to and up for debate.
Oh, and I also thought Wall-E was a bit boring, too. It rather surprises me that kids can watch it again and again. Perhaps parents put it on to put the kids to sleep!

PunchBuggyBlues said...

I was less than thrilled with WALL-E the first time I saw it, but the second time through it seems less preachy and the relationship between WALL-E and EVE seemed more central. And now that Mathilda has watched it nearly every day for the past three weeks I've found that it actually manages to get better each time.

I still don't like it as much as The Incredibles or Ratatouille. But I do like that Tilda likes it.