In a day or two, WALL¬∑E will overtake Kung Fu Panda as the 5th biggest hit of the summer. While all eyes have been transfixed on the rise of the Batman, tireless little WALL¬∑E has been diligently chugging away, scooping up a million a day and stacking compressed bricks of bucks in neat piles for Pixar. Maybe now’s a good time to back up a few days to something Peter Bart wrote on his blog, August 3, expressing his surprise that WALL¬∑E would ever have the legs traction.
It’s a message movie. It has an absurd title. Compared with the big animated hits of the past, “WALL-E” is neither that funny nor that entertaining. There’s no real heavy and hence no jeopardy.
You would think the kids would text-message each other that “WALL-E” is too preachy and that it’s even a bit of a downer. All those fat people stuck on a space ship. That’s no fun.
Somebody remind me again why this guy’s considered such an expert? (The producer who thought Fun With Dick and Jane was such a great title he re-made the same movie twice — with diminishing results). In related news, Larry King had as his guest a few nights ago the brilliant visionary T. Boone Pickens. And Larry repeated referred to him as T-Bone Pickens. *sigh*