DVD Report

Jason Katzman

The question for Pixar, the animation company responsible for Toy Story, The Incredibles, Cars and most recently, Wall-E, isn't about whether or not one of its movies will be successful, but just how successful. It's not just that Pixar's movies have been consistently good. They've never had anything less than total success. All the films have been both box-office successes and critical successes. There have been no failures. Nothing has even been mediocre. It's been an amazing run. It’s like a basketball player making every shot or a quarterback whose every pass is a touchdown.

Not only have Pixar's films been successful, but they’ve also perfected a form of filmmaking that allows both adults and children to attend the same movie and enjoy it both equally and differently. It recalls the classic days of Disney. Their stories are always compelling. Their execution is always flawless.

Every Pixar movie is ingrained with a sense of humor that appeals to both adults and children, and every movie has themes that appeal to both adults and children. Films like Finding Nemo and The Incredibles are obvious in their appeal as they have stories that have both perspectives. Other films deal with themes that are universally appealing as characters search for guidance to live life well. Wall-E is about finding love. What sets Wall-E apart and what makes it so obviously challenging, is that there's not a single word of dialogue for a large part of the film. The story follows the little garbage compacting robot as he meets another robot and travels off our devastated planet to find the humans who left it.

Like the movies themselves, the DVDs that house the Pixar films come with loads of stuff that appeal to both adult and child. Wall-E is a wonderful film. The extras cover most facets of making the film, from the tremendous effort that goes into every shot, to the history of Pixar studio, to how the score and sound effects are created. Each little short film is entertaining, to the point, and informative.

As any parent knows, Pixar films are the best babysitters in the world. Set a child down in front of Cars or A Bug's Life, and a couple of hours of rapt attention follow. What's more amazing is that opening up a DVD and giving it to an adult is also followed by hours of rapt attention. Wall-E is just as amazing as previous Pixar films.