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Gruber nails it

Talking about WALL-E not being up for Best Picture:

That WALL-E is for children does not mean it is only for children. It is a precise, painstakingly detailed, evocative work of art that rewards multiple viewings. It is both thoughtful and thought-provoking.

The second half of the film is less ambitious than the first, yes, but, given that the major Oscars ultimately went to Slumdog Millionaire, there’s clearly no institutional bias against tidy endings wherein the loyal, steadfast, determined underdog beats the odds and gets the girl.

I think that any picture nominated for best picture has to, at least once have a scene that transcends the rest of the picture. It has to have one scene that you can show someone and have them completely understand what that picture is about, and why it matters. One scene that takes it from merely good to possibly the "best picture" of the year.

For me it is the scene that happens immediately after EVE has rebuilt WALL-E, and the fact that his...soul didn't survive, even if his body did hits her. That scene, where she is looking into his eyes, desperately hoping to see "him" in there, and just seeing an empty shell. Where she tries to hold his hand, and pleads with him to come back, and in as superb a bit of directing as you'll see in any "real" movie, she gives up, and starts to turn away, only to have him not let go. That moment where, without some great expression, you see WALL-E "come back" from the dead, all because his true love begged him to...

I can show anyone that part, and they will, without having seen the rest of the movie, indeed, without even understanding English...they will know everything about that movie that matters, all in that one scene. It is rare to get that kind of performance and directing from humans. Not even the best in the business can create a scene like that. Yet, the Pixar folks did it with nothing more than 3-D animation, and one phrase: "WALL-E". No facial animation outside of EVE's LED display and WALL-E's photoreceptor motors. I defy anyone to watch that scene, on its own, or as a part of a fantastic movie, and not feel something.

If a movie that can do that is rejected from consideration just because it's animated, well, then the nomination process is broken, and it wasn't a proper contest to begin with.

Categories: Other

Posted by John C. Welch at 16:30 | Permalink

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Talking about WALL-E not being up for Best Picture:\n

That WALL-E is for children does not mean it is only for children. It is a precise, painstakingly detailed, evocative work of art that rewards multiple viewings. It is both thoughtful and thought-provoking.\n\nThe second half of the film is less ambitious than the first, yes, but, given that the major Oscars ultimately went to Slumdog Millionaire, there’s clearly no institutional bias against tidy endings wherein the loyal, steadfast, determined underdog beats the odds and gets the girl.

\n\nI think that any picture nominated for best picture has to, at least once have a scene that transcends the rest of the picture. It has to have one scene that you can show someone and have them completely understand what that picture is about, and why it matters. One scene that takes it from merely good to possibly the \"best picture\" of the year.\n\nFor me it is the scene that happens immediately after EVE has rebuilt WALL-E, and the fact that his...soul didn't survive, even if his body did hits her. That scene, where she is looking into his eyes, desperately hoping to see \"him\" in there, and just seeing an empty shell. Where she tries to hold his hand, and pleads with him to come back, and in as superb a bit of directing as you'll see in any \"real\" movie, she gives up, and starts to turn away, only to have him not let go. That moment where, without some great expression, you see WALL-E \"come back\" from the dead, all because his true love begged him to...\n\nI can show anyone that part, and they will, without having seen the rest of the movie, indeed, without even understanding English...they will know everything about that movie that matters, all in that one scene. It is rare to get that kind of performance and directing from humans. Not even the best in the business can create a scene like that. Yet, the Pixar folks did it with nothing more than 3-D animation, and one phrase: \"WALL-E\". No facial animation outside of EVE's LED display and WALL-E's photoreceptor motors. I defy anyone to watch that scene, on its own, or as a part of a fantastic movie, and not feel something.\n\nIf a movie that can do that is rejected from consideration just because it's animated, well, then the nomination process is broken, and it wasn't a proper contest to begin with.