It's an open secret that this writer is on anything Pixar-related like a fat man on a pulled pork and bacon sandwich (hey, any recipe can be enhanced with the proper application of pig product!). And when it's for a film as highly anticipated as WALL-E, then . . . let's just say the old salivary glands are sizzling right now.
Jadies and lentlemen, it's time for another taste of WALL-E, the upcoming film from Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo).
WALL-E's Third Trailer
Pixar is definitely firing on all cylinders with the promotions for this flick. Everything they've done so far has gotten Cyberland buzzing with anticipation, whether it was the postcards, the posters or the previous trailers.
Certainly WALL-E's basic design is a knock-out. The Emeryville studio has created quite possibly the most adorable robot since R2D2 let Princess Leia play with his dials in the original Star Wars. But don't take this writer's word for it; ask Dave Davis over at JoBlo, who commented about the little trashbot: "he's just sooo cuuuuuute! Ahem."
Several of the images will be familiar to anyone who has seen the previous trailers for this flick. The viewer sees WALL-E doing his thing, whether it's replacing a burned-out lightbulb on Pixar's old mascot, Luxo Jr., or nearly running over his pet cockroach.
But this time, there's more. After the onscreen title, "A robot, with a lot of time on his hands" flashes, the viewer is shown just how WALL-E spends that time (about 700 years, according to Pixar). Whether it's finding the remote door lock to an abandoned car, having a terrifying incident with a fire extinguisher (absolutely priceless!), or trying to figure out what a brassiere is meant for, it's obvious that this little guy has a hard time killing time.
But as the ad says, "Things are about to change." When WALL-E nearly gets incinerated by a landing spacecraft, he eventually hitches a ride on board. And that's presumably when this movie really kicks into gear.
Otherwise Stellar Animation Has a Few Flaws
Okay, so this trailer really brings the funny. But what about the animation? It's Pixar, people, what do you think? WALL-E features probably the most photo-realistic imagery ever committed to CGI. Techies at both DreamWorks Animation and Robert Zemeckis' Imageworks Digital imprint will be burning the midnight oil trying to figure out how Andrew Stanton and the Pixar gang managed to top themselves yet again. The on-Earth shots are unbelievable, seamlessly matching the titular robot to the dusty terrain. Nicely done.
However, there are problems with this spot. While the on-Earth images are nothing less than stunning, the outer space shot at the end of this trailer looks like something pulled from The Last Starfighter, a film that was made in 1984. Come on, guys, even if it's for a 30-second spot, you can do better animation than that! You're frakkin' Pixar, for frak's sake! Hopefully, the boys and girls from Emeryville can kick it up several notches when it comes time for WALL-E to hit theatres.
That's June 27, 2008 for those of you who are keeping score. You can check out the new WALL-E trailer by clicking this link.
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