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Wall-E gets the respect it deserves
Gadget lovers and environmentalists alike can rejoice. Last night, Wall-E got the respect it deserves.
At the Academy Awards on Sunday night, Jack Black and Jennifer Anniston announced Wall-E as the best animation feature, which it richly deserved. Its contenders were Kung Fu Panda and Bolt.
I was surprised when Wall-E, a quiet movie about a noble, sincere being living on a planet ruined and deserted by humans, was not nominated for best picture (Beauty and the Beast was nominated in 1991). The first part of the movie, which takes place on a desecrated Earth, is especially brilliant because it involves minimal (human) dialogue and yet is able to convey its powerful, poignant message (more artfully than the second half of the movie, in which Wall-E follows Eve into space and humans enter into the picture). The film is not frivolous; those who pay attention leave the movie feeling a certain responsibility, a certain drive to be better stewards of the Earth and also kinder to one another.
In his acceptance speech, director Andrew Stanton said, “It’s such an inspiration to spend time with a character that so tenaciously struggles to find the beauty in everything that he sees.”
A beautiful message. And a magnificent picture.
For more info:Check out the other winners here. I must say I was pretty happy with the winners, for the most part. I thought Penn was excellent, although I just saw The Wrestler yesterday and Rourke also did a stunning job. I loved Vicky Christina Barcelona, but an Oscar? In that category, I think Davis and Tomei were robbed.
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