Wall-E (DVD)

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---

Elissa Knight gives limited voice to EVE (short for Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) the love of Wall-E's life, while Jeff Garlin ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") is the Captain, Pixar good-luck charm John Ratzenberger has a cameo as one of the fatties, and Sigourney Weaver is the voice of the computer. Just as there are two animated worlds, there are two worlds of humans in this film, one a cartoon version and the other the world of the past that comes to Wall-E and others through videotapes, involving real humans from "Hello, Dolly!" and BnL (Big and Large) CEO Shelby Forthright (played by Fred Willard) in a PSA. It's another curious aspect that makes "Wall-E" the successful risk that it is. Message-laden or not, "Wall-E" is an artistic triumph which raises the bar yet again for animators who will follow.

Video:
When I saw "Wall-E" on Blu-ray, I thought, Wow. But while this DVD looks really good, I didn't have the same reaction. Even in the second half of the film when we're aboard the Axiom there are moments when you notice that the details aren't as precise, or when the colors seem just a little off. So for those who have Blu-ray players, this is one title where you can see a noticeable difference. I talked about how the apocalyptic terrain had a strange warmth in the Blu-ray, but you lose some of that warmth in standard definition. How, I can't explain, but it's different. Still, if you compare "Wall-E" to other DVDs, it comes out looking pretty good. There are also a number of scenes where the level of detail approaches Hi-Def, and the colors do pop out at you with their brilliance. "Wall-E" is presented in the original theatrical aspect of 2.35:1.

Audio:
The featured audio is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX, with 2.0 Surround another option. Again, this DVD suffers by comparison to the Blu-ray, but comes out on top if you compare it with another DVD. In fact, some might even prefer the 2.0 option because it offers a stronger center-speaker presence with more dynamics, and so some might actually prefer that mix. There are subtitles for the hearing impaired.

Extras:
This is the three-disc set, which includes first and foremost a third disc that's a digital copy. The other two discs contain probably as many bonus features as the most recent offering from Pixar, "Ratatouille."

My kids loved the animated shorts. "Burn-E" is shot as if we were getting a fourth-camera alternate version of what happens to a minor robot character in the film when the action moves away from him. It's an ingenious concept to begin with, and very funny-though not as hilarious as a second cartoon, "Presto," which opened for "Wall-E" in the theaters. This one was a hoot, shot visually in styles that were reminiscent of both old Disney cartoons from the Fifties but with action and gags that recall Warner Brothers cartoons from the Forties.

Pixar commentary tracks have always been wonderful to listen to, and this one is no exception. Stanton does a good job of sustaining a believable energy and interest level through what must be a difficult task, these commentaries.

Disc one also features "Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds from the Sound Up," and interesting 19-minute that zeroes in on the ways in which sound helped to make those robots seem almost human. Then there's a 50-second preview for the "Wall-E's Tour of the Universe" video game.

On Disc two, the big bonus feature for Pixar fans is "The Pixar Story," a 2007 documentary that tells you everything you need to know about this upstart studio, with plenty of recollections from actors like Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, along with appearances from players like George Lucas and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner. And it's all in the family, too, produced by the granddaughter of legendary Disney animator Ub Iwerks.

Fans of deleted scenes will find roughly 20 minutes of them here, in various states of completion, playable with optional introductions by Andrew Stanton. There's another visual commentary option that teams character supervisor Bill Wise with story artist Derek Thompson and lead animator Angus McClain, with producer Lindsay Wallace also weighing in. This track isn't as serious as Stanton's, but there's still a lot of information--very little of it overlapping.

The Blu-ray had a four-pack of games, which is another reason why I'd recommend buying it over the DVD. This one has only a build-a-bot game that's built into the robot storybook, and it's for the tiniest of tots. Then there's a brief montage of Wall-E and his treasures.

Film fans get a production design feature on "The Imperfect Lens: Creating the Look of Wall-E" (14 minutes), "Life of a Shot: Deconstructing the Pixar Process" (5 minutes), "Robo Everything" (6 minutes) in which Stanton and his crew talk about the concept, another snippet on the creation of "Wall-E and EVE" (7 minutes) mixing clips with talking heads, a 10-minute "Notes on a Score," and "Captain's Log," an 8-minute feature that has Stanton and the others talking about that character.

I have to say, though, that I absolutely HATE the packaging. It's a double pull-out cardboard case that's similar to the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" packaging, only without the plastic inserts to hold the discs. The three discs are simply tucked inside the cardboard, with two of them overlapping. The pockets for the second and third discs are really tight, too. It might be convenient to have the flaps on each side (which you lift to expose the discs) tell exactly what's on them, but it's cheap and doesn't speak to the care that most people who collect take with their DVDs. I know from experience that discs simply slipped into a cardboard sleeve run a greater risk of being scratched. Each year, OFCS members get current films sent to them for awards screening, and those discs are only good for two or three plays before some of them start messing up because of those sleeves and the scratches the discs invariably get. What's surprising is that Disney would try this packaging with a big title. I understand that the 100 percent recyclable cardboard container is supposed to be in keeping with the movie's theme, but I don't think this is the best for longterm play of the discs. Collectors deserve better. If saving resources were really a concern, then why not omit all the unnecessary cardboard sleeves that cover many of the DVDs and Blu-rays these days?

Bottom Line:
"Wall-E" cleverly offers three things in one: a robot love story, a cautionary fable, and another Pixar demonstration in how to create a richly detailed and textured world that surpasses everything previously done. And if Wall-E isn't the cutest Disney animated hero in the longest time, he's certainly one of them. Somewhere in the "Cars" town of Radiator Springs, I suspect Lightning McQueen is getting jealous! But real fans will gravitate toward the Blu-ray. There's more goodies, and the packaging isn't as chintzy.

---

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---