WALL*E

A Conveyance of Story Through MusicBy Becky Love

WALL*E Introduction• An American, computer

animated, sci-fi film.• Released Nov 27, 2008 by Pixar

and directed by Andrew Stanton, with score by Thomas Newman.

• Set in 2805, a single robot, WALL-E, is left on Earth (abandoned 700 years ago by humans) consumed by garbage. Change comes when the discovery of a plant brings the robot EVE to Earth and launches WALL-E on an space wide adventure.

“What if mankind had to leave Earth and somebody forgot to turn off the last robot?” Director Andrew Stanton’s question that eventually led to WALL*E

Overview

Most of the characters in Pixar’s WALL*E are robots. Humans have smaller parts and don’t feature until the second half of the film.

Thus, WALL*E is a film of little dialogue, but with much sounds, imagery and most of all…

…Music.

Standing against emotionless-robotic voices and sounds, it is music that helps convey the story, as well as the emotion that swells along with it.

Original opening?

• Director Andrew Stanton originally wanted WALL*E to open to 30s French swing music.

• But then The Triplets of Belleville came out, which also has 30s French swing and not a lot of dialogue. Stanton didn’t want to be accused of copying/stealing.

• So Stanton finally settled with “Put On Your Sunday Clothes” from Hello Dolly!

No Dialogue• “In real life, when characters can’t speak—a baby, a pet—people tend to

infer their own emotional beliefs onto them: ‘I think it’s sad. She likes me.’ It’s very engaging for an audience.” Andrew Stanton

• Audience members do this with such robot characters as WALL*E and EVE. The animators also paid attention to the shape of the characters eyes and their movements to express emotion. Look at the various pictures. What do you think they feel?

And music!

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&v=aX5zflBuN30&NR=1

• This film clip showcases several different emotions. The build up of danger, the relief of survival, the excitement of discovery, the gentleness of love, the swelling of dancing with someone you love…

The following scene from WALL*E is a prime example of the film’s music and telling ( or furthering) a story through it.

Disney’s Fantasia

Walt Disney worked on a similar idea of music and story in his Fantasia film. Pieces of music were chosen and artists created stories to them. Fantasia features three types of music-stories:- Definite Story: http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdvR2cBq1-4&feature=BFa&list=PL5E22BB4DEEF23EFD

- No Plot, but Paints Pictures: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojdHiWNwa_M&feature=relmfu

- Music for it’s own Sake: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br6W8iLRua0&feature=relmfu

Fantasia Master of Ceremonies Deems Taylor introduces the film and its concept http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW1S1WGSARo&feature=BFa&list=PL5E22BB4DEEF23EFD

Templeton’s Peter and the Wolf

• Suzie Templeton’s Peter and the Wolf goes even further. It includes no dialogue, relying completely on music and action to tell the story. This differs from the original by Prokofiev, which was live music and narration.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdJBK1dRq38

Questions

• Would WALL*E have had a different impact if it was fully dialogued, with all robot characters having a voice?

• Are robot characters more sympathetic when given eyes and movements like a human?

• Disney is known for its song filled movies, compared with, say, Studi Ghibil’s music only (Princess Mononoke and Tales From Earthsea an exception with a single song). Which type do you prefer in an animated movie?

• Some English translators would create/replace the soundtrack in foreign animations or anime (example: Gandahar and History of Trunks). Do you think this is allright, or should the original music be left alone?

Sources• All images from Google• Desowitz, Bill. “Stanton Powers Up WALL-E”. Animation World

Network.com. Animation World Magazine, 7 April 2008. Web. 5 Aug. 2012. http://www.awn.com/articles/stanton-powers-iwall-ei/page/3%2C1

• Fantasia. Pro. Walt Disney. Walt Disney Productions, 1940. DVD• Fritz, Steve. “How Director Andrew Stanton & Pixard Created WALL-E –

Part 1”. Newsarama.com. 1 July 2008. Web. 5 Aug. 2012. http://www.newsarama.com/film/080701-wall-e-lasseter.html AND “How Director Andrew Stanton & Pixar Created WALL-E – Part 2”. Newsarama.com. 4 July 2008. Web. 5 Aug. 2012. http://www.newsarama.com/film/080704-wall-e-stanton-2.html

• Peter and the Wolf. Dir. Suzie Templeton. BreakThru Films, 2006. DVD• WALL-E. Dir. Andrew Stanton. Pixar, 2008. DVD. • Willman, Chris. “WALL-E Meets ‘Dolly!’”. EW.com. Entertainment Weekly,

14 July 2008. Web. 5 Aug. 2012. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20211943,00.html