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Hello, WALL-E? |
Feature/June 2009 |
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Disney's animated feature "WALL-E" begins
its television cable run on Starz this week. In this
delightful comedy, soundtrack selections (along with some
non-Streisand footage) from the film "Hello, Dolly!" are used to underscore the
film's central theme. |
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"WALL-E" and
"Dolly!" - Holy Cabooses!
June 8, 2009
You know
you're in for an interesting ride when the animated
film "WALL-E" opens with Michael Crawford's familiar
rendition of "Put On Your Sunday Clothes," taken
directly from the 1969 soundtrack of "Hello, Dolly!"
In fact, the film score from "Hello Dolly!" is used
frequently throughout this Disney Pixar feature as a
unique device to underscore the film's romantic theme.
"WALL-E" is an improbable tale of two robots who, yes,
fall in love. The action takes place in the far
future, long after mankind has rendered the Earth unfit
for human habitation. Forced to
colonize space stations for the last 700 years in
order to survive, humans have assigned robots like
WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load
Lifter Earth Class) the task of cleaning up the planet. Another
robot named EVE (Extraterrestrial
Vegetation Evaluator) is sent back to Earth to check on the
status of the planet's clean-up. When WALL-E and EVE
meet, their mechanical romance begins.
 Being
alone on Earth for so long, WALL-E's only companions
are his cockroach friend named Hal (a reference to the
film, "2001: A Space Odyssey") and a long discarded
VHS tape of the movie "Hello, Dolly!" In fact, WALL-E
loves "Dolly!" so much, he
plays his two favorite scenes over and over again
("Put On Your Sunday Clothes" and "It Only Takes A
Moment"). WALL-E learns all about love when he watches
the Cornelius-Irene romance unfold on screen (poor
fellow).
Though
Barbra Streisand isn't actually seen in "WALL-E," the
film's use of various audio and video clips from
"Hello, Dolly!" is interesting and creative. And if you listen
carefully, you'll will indeed hear Barbra's
unmistakable vocals during the chorus of "Put On Your
Sunday Clothes."
So, if
you're a "Dolly" fan, be sure to catch "WALL-E" this month on
cable. Then, of course, dig out your own "Dolly" video and
rediscover, just like WALL-E, the timeless joy of this wonderful
musical.
Why Dolly?
The Director Explains
Director
Andrew Stanton discussed his choice to use
"Hello, Dolly!" in "WALL-E" during a 2008
interview with
MoviesOnline.
"Well,
there’re so many old fashioned songs. What do I pick?
... So I got to Hello Dolly and I played the beginning
of 'Put on Your Sunday Clothes,' and when that phrase
'out there' came on, just viscerally ... I thought
'Wow! That just kicks in. That just works.' ... and
then I finally realized why. I realized it’s because
the song's about two nerdy guys that have never left
their small town and they just want to go out to the
big city for one night, feel what life’s all about,
and kiss a girl. And I said, 'That’s my main
character.' So then my co-writer, Jim Reardon, said
'You know, he should just find the movie and that’s
what’ll explain why he knows this.' And so we looked
at the movie and when I found that second song and I
saw the two lovers holding hands, it’s like this light
bulb went off ... That’s exactly how he can
express the phrase ‘I love you’ without being able to
say it. And when you get that kind of gift falling on
your lap when you’re doing your research, you don’t
run away from it, you just embrace it. So I embraced
the odd choice and just said “I think this is meant to
be.”
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