Go here.

Watch "A Space Journey In Sound."

Put down what you are doing and go see this movie.

I loved it.

How sad is it? I'm afraid to go see it, because I don't feel like crying.

It has sad moments, but it's no sadder (ending-wise or otherwise) than any other Pixar movie you've seen.

my favorite movie in a while.

I was engaged from the title to the beginning of the real credits after the hand drawn stuff ended.

I'm not going to try to critique it. I just loved it.

It was pretty good, and a couple of times it could have

My only gripe is that it's going to give environmental fruitcakes all over the place a movie to rally behind.

Corporal Hicks wrote:It was pretty good, and a couple of times it could have

My only gripe is that it's going to give environmental fruitcakes all over the place a movie to rally behind.

The heavy marketing and toy sales surrounding it should cancel a lot of that out.

And we *are* ripping Earth to shreds, but most people already know as much.

If humanity could truly be made to care, more would have been done about it, already.

And, yes, America is the leaps and bounds above the rest of the world when it comes to creating and improperly disposing of waste.

Again, pretty much everybody knows these things. For those who don't--for those who get their news from a trip to the movies--there's the occasional environmental message worked into a summer blockbuster.

So some kid will go home, will remember to recycle a soda can and will feel good about himself for a microsecond. Later that night, right before going to bed, he will forget all about the environment and leave the water running for three minutes while he brushes his teeth. (Though what kid spends more than thirty seconds brushing his teeth?)

But I don't feel like talking politics. So I won't.

I really thought this movie was phenomenal. The characterization of WALL-E is really what it centers around, and he was extraodinarily realized. I loved his mannerisms, from collecting a hubcap to use as a hat as he dances along with the characters of Hello, Dolly!, to his pensive tendancy of tapping his fingers together in consternation, and also his amusing habit of hiding in box-form, or digging into the ground to avoid landing/departing space ships. The robot-driven societey aboard the space barge was pretty cool, too, and reminded me of some science fiction books I'd read when I was younger. Good stuff.

Thurston McQ wrote:

Corporal Hicks wrote:It was pretty good, and a couple of times it could have

My only gripe is that it's going to give environmental fruitcakes all over the place a movie to rally behind.

The heavy marketing and toy sales surrounding it should cancel a lot of that out.

And we *are* ripping Earth to shreds, but most people already know as much.

If humanity could truly be made to care, more would have been done about it, already.

And, yes, America is the leaps and bounds above the rest of the world when it comes to creating and improperly disposing of waste.

Again, pretty much everybody knows these things. For those who don't--for those who get their news from a trip to the movies--there's the occasional environmental message worked into a summer blockbuster.

So some kid will go home, will remember to recycle a soda can and will feel good about himself for a microsecond. Later that night, right before going to bed, he will forget all about the environment and leave the water running for three minutes while he brushes his teeth. (Though what kid spends more than thirty seconds brushing his teeth?)

But I don't feel like talking politics. So I won't.

I'm your Huckleberry.

We're not destroying the world, we're only destroying ourselves. But since that is a natural human characteristic, we're doing just fine.

"George Carlin's "The Planet Is Fine"

We're so self-important. So self-important. Everybody's going to save something now. "Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails." And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet. What? Are these f***ing people kidding me? Save the planet, we don't even know how to take care of ourselves yet. We haven't learned how to care for one another, we're gonna save the f***ing planet?

I'm getting tired of that s***. Tired of that s***. I'm tired of f***ing Earth Day, I'm tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is there aren't enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world safe for their Volvos. Besides, environmentalists don't give a s*** about the planet. They don't care about the planet. Not in the abstract they don't. Not in the abstract they don't. You know what they're interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They're worried that some day in the future, they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn't impress me.

Besides, there is nothing wrong with the planet. Nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine. The PEOPLE are f***ed. Difference. Difference. The planet is fine. Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. Been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We've been here, what, a hundred thousand? Maybe two hundred thousand? And we've only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over two hundred years. Two hundred years versus four and a half billion. And we have the CONCEIT to think that somehow we're a threat? That somehow we're gonna put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that's just a-floatin' around the sun?

The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles...hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages...And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet...the planet...the planet isn't going anywhere. WE ARE!

We're going away. Pack your s***, folks. We're going away. And we won't leave much of a trace, either. Thank God for that. Maybe a little styrofoam. Maybe. A little styrofoam. The planet'll be here and we'll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet'll shake us off like a bad case of fleas. A surface nuisance.

You wanna know how the planet's doing? Ask those people at Pompeii, who are frozen into position from volcanic ash, how the planet's doing. You wanna know if the planet's all right, ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble, if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. Or how about those people in Kilowaia, Hawaii, who built their homes right next to an active volcano, and then wonder why they have lava in the living room.

The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we're gone, and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself, 'cause that's what it does. It's a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if it's true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new pardigm: the earth plus plastic. The earth doesn't share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the earth. The earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place. It wanted plastic for itself. Didn't know how to make it. Needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old egocentric philosophical question, "Why are we here?" Plastic...a******.

So, the plastic is here, our job is done, we can be phased out now. And I think that's begun. Don't you think that's already started? I think, to be fair, the planet sees us as a mild threat. Something to be dealt with. And the planet can defend itself in an organized, collective way, the way a beehive or an ant colony can. A collective defense mechanism. The planet will think of something. What would you do if you were the planet? How would you defend yourself against this troublesome, pesky species? Let's see... Viruses. Viruses might be good. They seem vulnerable to viruses. And, uh...viruses are tricky, always mutating and forming new strains whenever a vaccine is developed. Perhaps, this first virus could be one that compromises the immune system of these creatures. Perhaps a human immunodeficiency virus, making them vulnerable to all sorts of other diseases and infections that might come along. And maybe it could be spread sexually, making them a little reluctant to engage in the act of reproduction.

Well, that's a poetic note. And it's a start. And I can dream, can't I? See I don't worry about the little things: bees, trees, whales, snails. I think we're part of a greater wisdom than we will ever understand. A higher order. Call it what you want. Know what I call it? The Big Electron. The Big Electron...whoooa. Whoooa. Whoooa. It doesn't punish, it doesn't reward, it doesn't judge at all. It just is. And so are we. For a little while."

Jack's Sorrow wrote:I really thought this movie was phenomenal. The characterization of WALL-E is really what it centers around, and he was extraodinarily realized. I loved his mannerisms, from collecting a hubcap to use as a hat as he dances along with the characters of Hello, Dolly!, to his pensive tendancy of tapping his fingers together in consternation, and also his amusing habit of hiding in box-form, or digging into the ground to avoid landing/departing space ships. The robot-driven societey aboard the space barge was pretty cool, too, and reminded me of some science fiction books I'd read when I was younger. Good stuff.

That's what I thought it might be like. I'll have to try to see it next weekend.

Jack's Sorrow wrote:The characterization of WALL-E is really what it centers around, and he was extraodinarily realized.

It's proof that Ben Burtt still has *it*.

Corporal Hicks wrote:

Jack's Sorrow wrote:The characterization of WALL-E is really what it centers around, and he was extraodinarily realized.

It's proof that Ben Burtt still has *it*.

I just wish that he did not look like an exact cross between E.T. and Johnny #5.

Still, that character looks amazing, and is what turned me on to the movie.

Darth Snoopy wrote:I just wish that he did not look like an exact cross between E.T. and Johnny #5.

Still, that character looks amazing, and is what turned me on to the movie.

The first 30 minutes (or so, I wasn't really timing it), when it's just Wall-E onscreen, are easily the best of the film.

On a a semi-unrelated note, the theatre full of kids (the ones I saw it with anyway) had zero zilch response to the Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Madagascar 2 trailers.

Probably not a good thing when your target audience, who by their very nature love everything, have no response.

I did hear a middle aged woman laugh at the Chihuahua trailer. I hate her.

Corporal Hicks wrote:On a a semi-unrelated note, the theatre full of kids (the ones I saw it with anyway) had zero zilch response to the Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Madagascar 2 trailers.

Probably not a good thing when your target audience, who by their very nature love everything, have no response.

I did hear a middle aged woman laugh at the Chihuahua trailer. I hate her.

So you did take your mom, huh?

That Carlin routine on the environment is gold: I can hear this voice when I read it, and that makes it so much better. Carlin's words alone weren't nearly as funny as his delivery.

Thurston McQ wrote:
And, yes, America is the leaps and bounds above the rest of the world when it comes to creating and improperly disposing of waste.

Well, we better be; we produce most of it.

I'm seeing the film this weekend. I wanted to watch it for the first time with my family over the holiday, so I held off on watching it this past Friday (though I certainly wanted to).

My family and I watched the movie on July 4th and absolutely loved it. Burtt truly is a genius (as if that was in doubt), and him working with Pixar is a marriage made in movie heaven. Their ability to evoke a myriad of emotions using just two words -- "Eeeeevv-AH!" and "Wallll-E!" -- is remarkable, and it was a joy to watch Eve and Wall-E interact.

The animated short that played before the film was terrific, as well. Very inventive and hilarious.

Eve is also capable of saying "plant," "directive," and "no."

I think Wall-E is capable of saying "directive," if not "plant."

Not that anyone is keeping count.

Thurston McQ wrote:Eve is also capable of saying "plant," "directive," and "no."

I think Wall-E is capable of saying "directive," if not "plant."

Not that anyone is keeping count.

I know that. But they were capable of saying so many things with different inflections of "Eve" and "Wall-E."

I know you know that.

I just wanted you to know that I knew that, too.

I have an image to maintain, after all.

Thurston McQ wrote:I know you know that.

I just wanted you to know that I knew that, too.

I have an image to maintain, after all.

You do?

To Thursty's credit, he didn't say what kind of image...

Ipsilon wrote:To Thursty's credit, he didn't say what kind of image...

That's true.

Kung Fu Panda Sweeps Annies

What the fuck?!

Granted, Kung Fu Panda was pretty darned good. It generated its own comedy (other than going the usual CG cartoon route of swimming in soon-to-be-dated pop culture re[v/f]erence/mockery) and made its action as engaging as any live-action movie's action. In short, it was pressed more from the Pixar mold than from its own studio's mold (it didn't Shrek out).

I'd say it was more watchable (and rewatchable) than any American-made feature-length cartoon--American or otherwise--released as far back as three or four years before it (including Pixar's Cars and Ratatouille)--to me, of course. But the first half of Wall-E is a fucking beast. It's a fucking beast that gobbles up all the CG features released since CG features began to be released, chews them up into a watery mush, and swallows them in a single gulp.

All right. Wall-E's not the blood and body of the Lamb, but I thought it was something more than run-of-the-mill good--more of a more, even, than Kung Fu Panda, which is also more.

(I'm making this my first cross-post for here and CA. If you want me to keep from mixing my poisons, I will.)