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Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the single greatest movie trailer ever created.

NPR has a nice, long audio interview with Director Andrew Stanton. About half way through the interview he speaks on the brilliant use of the song Put On Your Sunday Clothes as the introduction to WALL-E. He also mentions that his original concept for the humans of the future was that we would have essentially evolved into giant green blobs of Jell-O. Now THAT would have been awesome!

I promise I will post with my thoughts on the film in the next day or so. Thanks again Josh!

This post contains possible spoiler information for the film WALL-E.

Alrighty, I just learned that Pixar apparently hates fat people.

Here is the problem people seem to be having with the film:

The difference I see between a movie like Idiocracy (or classics like Player Piano, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, and 1984) is that these stories are grounded in very real and tangible conflicts, like class conflicts, rapidly advancing technology, the distribution of power, and/or threats to the social and cultural orders. No one group of people are made to blame - it’s a collective human downfall.

But WALL-E specifically singles out and targets obese people as the primary cause of mankind’s demise, further perpetuating the stereotype of the gluttonous, slothful fat person. Furthermore, the film suggests that, in their exaggerated laziness, obese people disregard not only personal health, but also that of the planets, and are held up as the cause for the destruction of the environmental landscape -Rachel Richardson

I don’t see the film as a damnation of obese people so much as a warning of what our future will be like if our society continues down the path of rampant consumerism and instant gratification. “Fatties” are the end result of a very real problem and not the initial cause of it.

Whether or not any of these sweaty, angry people are willing to admit it or not, our society is facing some very serious issues right now. I have seen my local Walmart increase their motorized cart fleet from four to sixteen in only a few short years to keep up with demand. And judging from the groceries I see people loading these carts up with, It’s not people with non-preventable medical conditions wheeling themselves around the store, leaving long trails of candy bar wrappers behind them.

For the most part, I think that this extreme reaction to WALL-E proves that most movies are not forcing people to think very deeply about themselves and their core values these days, which is sad. When Pixar holds a mirror up to its audience and says: “This is what we are beginning to do to ourselves.” People are surprised by such blatant social commentary. Their initial reaction is one of anger…and also probably hunger.

But I challenge everyone who gazes into that mirror to look past their own reflection and realize that we as a society have the power to change our lifestyle and prevent this grim future from ever happening.

And in the spirit of total transparency; I write this post as I struggle to finish off two McChickens and a Double Cheeseburger…

-Matt
(by the way, anyone else think that there is a very good reason why the 3 Walmarts in my area do not have WALL-E toys?)

Despite my best efforts, I am starting to go green. Recycling, carpooling, CF bulbs, etc. I have concerns about carbon emissions, and ground water contamination. But most importantly, I am concerned with the effects of deforestation.

We only have so much land on this earth, and we are quickly using it all up. Wooded areas that I used to play in and fish in as a child are now gone. Houses now stand where my secret tree fort once did.

The Totoro Forrest Project is “an international charity effort to preserve Sayama Forest, also known as Totoro Forest. This endangered sanctuary on the outskirts of Tokyo is where director Hayao Miyazaki got the inspiration for his much loved character “Totoro.” Over 200 top international artists from animation, illustration, and comics are donating artwork especially created for this cause.”

According to Drawn.ca, Pixar Animation Studios is hosting an auction on September 6th with all proceeds going to the Totoro Forrest Project.

The above image is by Edward Li and is entitled: “Fishing for Mr Echo” Check out the full gallery of images here. For more information on the project visit Enrico Casarosa’s blog.

Now where is my checkbook…

Josh Burton points us to a fantastic video with Glen Keane. Glen is an amazing artist who supervised animation on classic films such as Aladdin, Tarzan, and Beauty and the Beast. He also contributed to The Little Mermaid, The Great Mouse Detective, and The Fox and the Hound (To name a few).

In this video, Glen talks about the brilliant work of the late Ollie Johnston and shows off some of Ollie’s original drawings.

Another great interview with Glen Keane can be found on the Animation Podcast.

Anyone sick and tired of posts about WALL-E yet? Good, ’cause neither am I.

CGSociety has an excellent article detailing the techniques used to model and rig the little yellow guy. The complexity of the model is surprising. I doubt many of us paid much attention to WALL-E’s treads, but there was a lot going on down there. The tread was designed with little coils to allow it to stretch much like a metal watch band. Additionally, complex proprietary collision detection and very specific controls were used to keep those treads locked to whatever terrain they were traversing.

For those who say that Pixar isn’t pushing the envelope anymore, (I know you are out there. I hear it with every film they produce.) Just read the article.

Andrew Stanton talks with Christianity Today about the religious themes that can be found in Wall•E.

Stanton: They tell you that as a storyteller, it’s vital to just stick with and be honest with your values system. The last thing I want to do is go to a movie and feel like I’m being preached to or being told how to be, and I think it’s more honest—and you’re going to have more effect—to be truthful with the values of your characters, working off of your own values. That was the case with WALL•E. The greatest commandment is to love one another, and to me, that’s the ultimate purpose of living. So that was the perfect goal for the loneliest robot on earth, to learn the greatest commandment, to learn to love…

…Just because you’re strong in your faith doesn’t mean that you suddenly have to be dumb and pander to a certain audience. When did that become a rule? I think you were given a brain to use it, and I think you were given talents to use it. And so the same intoxicating, seducing talents and cleverness and wisdom that you see in what may be considered “secular” entertainment, there’s no reason that those things should be held back for anything else, I like to think.

Regardless of your beliefs, It’s great to know that Pixar is thinking about their films on such a deep and personal level. As storytellers, they are remaining true to themselves, and so their films speak to us with a certain amount of genuine human truth.

via: Cartoon Brew

As I started writing this post I was preparing to scream out HOAX! I mean, come on, the picture depicts an elephant “painting” a very serviceable picture of another elephant complete with a blanket on its back and everything. Yeah sure. Some dude painted that and they stuck the elephant in the shot occasionally to give the impression the elephant was doing it. Come on now.

And then… and then… I saw this video:

I have not been so severely shocked by anything in a long time.

Beyond the fact that its a picture of an elephant, it is a picture with form, dimension, and movement. The elephant starts with the basic structure, and then fills in the details. The elephant uses line weight to give the animal some dimension. The elephant paints the far legs BEHIND the body of the animal. (Something which early man couldn’t figure out how to do.) It drew the ground below the animal to help cement it into the scene, give it some weight, and keep it from looking as if its floating in space. (Something I can’t get my students to do half the time.) For god sakes, it drew the elephant holding a damn flower in it’s trunk!

I am completely in shock right now…

So my little dog Annabelle has engaged in a little side project. Apparently she enjoys buying and selling real estate in the Seattle area. Who knew?

Some guy took one of my older concept sketches off of my blog a while back and stuck it on his site. I did ask for the image to be removed, but it seems that Annabelle is still there… Still working the real estate game…