Wall-E: The Movie: The Review

by Betsy

As we walked into the movie theater to see Wall-E, my husband remarked that we were undoubtedly seeing the movie for the first of many times. Such is life with a three-year-old, and such is the power of Disney-Pixar. I'm happy to report that this movie is so good that it will probably take hundreds of viewings until I'm sick and tired of it.

Pixar definitely sets the bar high, and Wall-E more than clears it. In fact, I'd say this movie surpasses modern classics like The Incredibles and Finding Nemo.

The year is 2700, and humans have covered the Earth in trash to the point that they've all left for an extended cruise in space while robots clear it up. Unfortunately, all of them have broken down, save one, our hero Wall-E.

Wall-E may be a robot - he barely even speaks throughout the entire movie - but his humanity shines through, immediately endearing him to me. He has a natural curiosity, seeking out interesting objects in the trash and bringing them home. And, he wants nothing more in the world than love. When EVE, another robot, lands on Earth, their unfolding romance is nothing short of beautiful.

Wall-E and EVE end up on the spaceship with all of the humans, and while Wall-E has human characteristics, the humans themselves are floating around space, robotically slurping down huge drinks, constantly plugged into computer monitors, fat, and disconnected with the world. How the rest of the movie unfolds, I'll leave to you to discover - I'd hate to do any more than I already have to keep this lovely movie from unfolding for you as it did for me.

Pixar has yet to make a bad movie; even its lesser offerings (A Bug's Life, for example) are better than most animated movies. What makes Wall-E stand above even such great animated movies is its broad appeal. Kids will love it (and my son did) because it's funny and charming. Adults will love it too - not because it's tolerable as kiddie movies go, and not because it makes pop culture jokes over kids' heads (I'm looking at you, Shrek. You too, Aladdin.) Instead, Wall-E is a movie that is true family entertainment, equally delightful for all ages, simply because of the strength of its story.

I have no doubt that I will end up watching Wall-E with my son many, many times. I also am confident that every single time, it will be with a smile on my face.

Rating: A+

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The Spectacular Spider-Man - A Review

by Chris

I grew up watching Spider-Man cartoons. I have vivid memories of watching reruns of the 1967 cartoon and of eagerly awaiting new installments of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends on Saturday mornings. Unfortunately, I didn't catch any of the series that aired on MTV a few years ago, but now have a Tivo set to record The Spectacular Spider-Man, which airs on WB Kids on Saturday mornings. My four year old daughter and I have been watching it for a couple of months now. Does it live up to the excitement of Spidey's other animated series?


My daughter Cassie and I have watched the first ten episodes so far, and the creators are not wasting any time introducing characters. As far as villains go, we've seen The Enforcers, Hammerhead, Lizard, Vulture, Dr. Octopus, Electro, Shocker, Sandman, Rhino, Tombstone, Green Goblin, Quentin Beck (who is not yet Mysterio), and Chameleon. Plus we've heard from John Jameson, who is on his way to becoming Man-Wolf, and Eddie Brock, a friend of Peter's. He's not anywhere close to becoming Venom yet, but we have seen the symbiote/black costume. Black Cat has made an appearance and was excellently played by Tricia Helfer of Battlestar Galactica fame.

Luckily for Spider-Man, the other characters aren't all villains. They nailed Mary Jane's first appearance, and I was grinning like an idiot fanboy when we were treated to that famous phrase when Peter opened the door. The expected supporting cast is there as well: Aunt May, Gwen and George Stacy, Harry and Norman Osborn, Flash Thompson, Glory Grant, Liz Allan, J. Jonah Jameson, Robbie Robertson, and Betty Brant. Jean DeWolff has even made an appearance.

There's also an investigative reporter named Ned Lee, who may just be an Asian version of Ned Leeds, but we'll see where they take him. Could he become the Hobgoblin?

The voice acting is very good all around, with each actor adding personality to the characters. The dialogue is well written, so the character interactions all ring true. The stories are interesting and the action scenes are, with a very few exceptions, well done and exciting. There's also an excellent sub-plot with Peter struggling to use his photography gig to pay the bills, balancing that with the need to be responsible to those who depend on him in other ways (he was let go from an internship at Dr. Connors' lab because he disappeared and took pictures of a fight with the Lizard, for example).

I do have a few complaints, though. Spidey's origin has not been told. In fact, when I was watching the first episode, it felt like the second. When we first see Peter Parker, he's been Spider-Man for an entire summer. I suppose the writers chose to skip over this since the show is kind of geared towards younger children and it might be too dark for them, but as an avid Spider-Man fan, I was disappointed. My other complaint is the changing of the villains' origins. Some of them have been a pretty drastic and the people involved were never there in the comics, but that's just me being nitpicky.

My daughter loves the show. "Daddy, who's that?" "Why is he fighting Spider-Man?" "Is Black Cat a good guy or a bad guy?" It's awesome! I think I'm enjoying the show more just because she likes it so much.

My two minor complaints above aside, I think the show is really well done. The animation style doesn't really do much for me, but it's starting to grow on me. As a long-time reader of the comic (though no longer due to the travesty that was Brand New Day), I look forward each week to see what new characters and storylines they introduce. I'm also curious to see if they add any significant stories to the mythos that haven't been covered in the comics. And I love spending the time with my daughter, indoctrinating her in the mythos of my favorite superhero.

Grade: A
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