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Pixar's Masterpiece? Wall-E Really IS That Amazing!

by Alex Billington
June 26, 2008

Although Ken's glowing review of Wall-E is due out in a few hours, I thought I'd take this moment to feature a number of other incredible reviews popping up around the internet that highlight just how phenomenal Wall-E is. Calling it one of Pixar's masterpieces is not an understatement - everyone is loving the movie and already referring to it as one of Pixar's best films in their 22 year history. Not only do Jeffrey Wells, Todd McCarthy, and Roger Ebert all praise the film, but Wall-E currently sits at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the best reviewed films of the year. As more reviews begin to pour in, let's hope it stays that way - it deserves to be recognized for its utterly inspiring brilliance.

I've put together just a few of my favorite glowing reviews from incredibly respected critics. First up is the legendary Roger Ebert, who gives the film 3 and 1/2 stars (out of 4). Here is a brief excerpt:

"Pixar's WALL•E succeeds at being three things at once: an enthralling animated film, a visual wonderment and a decent science-fiction story. After Kung Fu Panda, I thought I had just about exhausted my emergency supply of childlike credulity, but here is a film, like Finding Nemo, that you can enjoy even if you've grown up... The movie draws on a tradition going back to the earliest days of Walt Disney, who reduced human expressions to their broadest components and found ways to translate them to animals, birds, bees, flowers, trains and everything else."

Next up is Hollywood Elsewhere's Jeffrey Wells, who seemed to be captivated by the film more than he normally is watching anything animated. Here is a brief excerpt from Wells' review:

"A sweet, amusing and reasonably profound save-the-earth parable, WALL*E's reliance on 85% visual, mostly dialogue-free storytelling (which makes it a kind of silent film) recalls the artistry of Charles Chaplin, Harry Langdon, Jacques Tati and other others whose style of performance art has been dormant for so many decades. It lives again. WALL*E is a masterpiece of its type. It's going to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar."

Lastly, although I don't like his writing style or his reviews, Variety's head critic Todd McCarthy chimes in with another positive review. Here is a brief excerpt from McCarthy's review of Wall-E:

Pixar's ninth consecutive wonder of the animated world is a simple yet deeply imagined piece of speculative fiction. Despite the decade-plus since its inception, WALL-E is a film very much of its moment, although in a cheeky, uninsistent way; it has plenty to say, but does so in a light, insouciant manner that allows you to take the message or leave it on the table.

To put it simply, Wall-E is already Pixar's next beloved masterpiece that many moviegoers will find so much joy from watching this weekend. While not every last person loves it (there are two negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes from Arizona Daily Star and BrianOrndorf.com), it's a film that most have walked away from and enjoyed more than they were expecting when they went in. This should be enough encouragement by now to cause everyone to go out and see Wall-E this weekend, so watch out for crowed theaters. However, I'm certain the experience will be enhanced further when hundreds of moviegoers are reveling in its brilliance all together. I hope everyone enjoys Wall-E this weekend!

Filed under Discuss, Hype, Movie News

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