Quoth this NY Times Pixar article in reference to Wall-E:
“Wall Street, which closely monitors major animated movies because of
their huge cost, is not yet sold on the robot, which was been
criticized by some as looking too much like the star of the corny 1986
film ‘Short Circuit.’
‘I can see how it could work and be huge and I can see how it could not,’ said Richard Greenfield, an analyst at Pali Research.
By
contrast, the competing DreamWorks Animation has received applause for
its coming ‘Kung Fu Panda,’ featuring the vocal talents of Jack Black and Angelina Jolie.”
Oh come on. The word on Kung Fu Panda may be strong, and I’m looking forward to seeing it. But it’s operating in the standard anthropomorphic animal world that’s as old as animation itself. It may be a fine example of the form, but it doesn’t feel “special.”
On the other hand Wall-E is sending off hair-raising, goose bump-inducing “these people are operating on a different level” vibes that only get stronger with each bit of footage released. It has a sense of pure wonder about it that no animated film in recent memory can equal – not even Pixar’s own. And unless childhood has changed a lot in the past 25 years, hitting that “wonder” nerve will translate in into, um, boffo box office.
Little guy – you had me at, er… the bra thing. See you on the 27th.