Is "Wall-E" Overrated?

Last night the 36th annual Annie Awards took place recognizing achievement in animation. There were a lot of great animated films this year, so choosing the winners was I'm sure was no easy task. Well, to some I suppose. If you had checked with the film critics of the world I think they would've chosen Pixar's "Wall-E" to take the top prize. The film appeared on 162 critics top ten films of the year lists according to Wikipedia. But last night at the Annie Awards the cute little robot got the Color Purple treatment and was completely shut out of awards. Who reigned supreme, you ask? Dreamworks' "Kung Fu Panda."

Now geekdoms king of the nerds Harry Knowles (of aintitcool.com) says he got several messages crying conspiracy. See Dreamworks Animation is a Gold sponsor of the Annie Awards whereas Disney and Pixar are only Silver sponsors. I don't buy that for a second, not even if Oliver Stone decided to make it the subject of his next film. Knowles theorises that "Wall-E" was not as "traditionally expressive" as the animation in "Kung Fu Panda," and there is something to be said for that. But I think there are some deeper issues with "Wall-E" that I felt from the moment I left the theater.

I was really looking forward to the release of "Wall-E." You can't go wrong with Pixar films, and this film is no exception. It is a wonderful movie, funny and brilliantly animated. I actually saw the film with both of my kids and every one of my nieces and nephews on my side of the family. Eight kids total. While they enjoyed themselves, they weren't bubbling over with excitement over what they had seen. They were much more excited about the big stand up advertisement for "High School Musical 3" we passed on the way out.

So what happened? I actually think that Roger Ebert sums it up pretty well in his brief review for his 20 best of the year list...

"Hugely entertaining, wonderfully well-drawn, and, if you think about it, merciless in its critique of a global consumer culture that obsesses on intake and disregards the consequences of output."

Perhaps the first time that the word "merciless" has been used to describe a Disney film. Is the problem that for the first time in it's illustrious history, Pixar put more effort into making a point than they did simply entertaining people. "Kung Fu Panda," on the other hand was one of the most entertaining films of the year. I was expecting a goofy gimmick of a movie. Jack Black as a portly panda in a film that sounded like it had a title before it had a script. It sounded dumb. But it turned out to be a fantastic surprise. It was funny, it had a message (though that wasn't the primary focus), and it was a creative and respectful salute to the martial arts movie genre. Call me shallow, but when I take my kids to the movies I have zero interest in them bearing witness to a "critique of global consumer culture." I think the makers of "Wall-E" may have forgotten the folks who made them the success story they are...the kids. Kids are smarter than we give them credit for sometimes. Could kids tell that they were being talked down to in "Wall-E?" I sure could, and I didn't like it. But...a Panda in a kung-fu battle with a leopard, now that I liked.

I still enjoyed "Wall-E" a lot. It is a great movie. But if I were an Academy Award voter where would my vote go? While right now I'm still picking "Wall-E" to win the award in the office Oscar contest, were I someone who's vote mattered, I think I'd go with the Panda.

Go Animate!

I just came across a new website where you can make your own animated films. Goanimate.com has backgrounds, effects, and characters to choose from. The characters have very actions they can do. It's pretty cool.

This test is just what I was able to put together from the stuff that was available on the site, including "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred. Hey I had to have something to work with...

The Gospel According to Droopy

A few weeks ago I was at a prayer meeting at 6:30 AM…that's worthy of a blog post for me right there. I don't do 6:30 in the morning without a little extra effort, brothers. At this meeting my associate pastor felt led to read a passage that was on his heart from the book of John. Chapter 10 verses 1 -4 says:

"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."

He continued reading through Chapter 10, on into verses 11-13, which says:

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep."

My pastor shared that what was on his heart was that too often we are the "hired hand." The wolf is coming and what do we do? We scatter, we care nothing for the sheep. Christ is the shepherd, and we are the sheep, but we are called to be more like Christ. We are striving to be like the shepherd. So when trouble, the wolf, comes, do we act as the shepherd would or do we act as the hired hand would.

Of course, in my deep theological mind this took me to images of a Droopy cartoon, 1958's "Sheep Wrecked." In this short, Droopy plays the shepherd as the Wolf (voiced by the great Daws Butler) is trying to get in and get himself a meal. That's really all there is to plot, it's just a set up for numerous gags where something blows up in the Wolf's face. But it is interesting to note that Droopy, like Bugs Bunny or the Road Runner, isn't just playing defense here. By the end of the movie, it's clear that he's the one playing offense as he turns all the wolf's plans back on himself. This reminds me a great passage from Mark Batterson's book "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day" in which he describes coaching his son's basketball team. These fourth-graders were still learning the fundamentals of the game, so at times they didn't know if they were on offense of defense. Batterson often found himself yelling from the sidelines, "You're on offense! You're on offense!" Batterson then writes, "Sometimes I wonder if the cloud of witnesses sitting in the celestial bleachers is yelling "You're on offense! You're on offense!"

I'm so glad we have a shepherd, not a hired hand, and that he's on offense.

You know...for kids!

There is an interesting quote in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly from Brad Bird, director of "The Incredibles" and Pixar's newest "Ratatouille." Speaking about animation he says:

"I can't think of one other art form that has its audience so narrowly defined. If you work in animation, people are like, Oh, it must be wonderful to entertain children. Yes, but that's 10 percent of the audience I'm going for."

Of course, I can think of one...puppetry.

Kids love animation, and many times it's good to use that art form with kids in mind. Same with puppets. But one of the things that is great about both art forms is that they can be used to create a type of entertainment (and education for that matter) which is appealing to both young and old. That's what Henson did and I believe Pixar is doing the same.

It's an interesting challenge when thinking about children's ministry. Most of the resources out there focus on how to communicate lessons to the kids, and rightfully so. But perhaps sometimes we should look for opportunities to minister in a way that reaches kids and parents at the same time.

One of our puppet builders at One Way Street recently attended the Orange conference put on by Northpoint Church. There he got to experience the family services they do. It's a part of the children's ministry, but it's a kids service that the kids experience with their parents. It seems to be a similar concept to what we've seen from the likes of Pixar and Muppets...creating a great experience for kids and parents together.