Wall-E (the movie)

Quick follow-up:

I've seen Wall-E twice now. It didn't disappoint. While there are no obvious Keaton references, the movie still manages to connect to Buster Keaton in fascinating ways.

One thing Wall-E accomplishes is being a movie infused with the kind of treatment and spirit Buster Keaton hoped for with movies when sound was first introduced. Going back to a Keaton statement I've quoted before, "Don't give me puns. Don't give me jokes. No wisecracks....There can be two or three people in a room working at jobs--well, they work at them without talking. That's the way I want it. So you get those stretches in your picture of six, seven, eight, nine minutes where there isn't a word of dialogue. In those, we did our old routines. Then, when it was natural to talk, you talked. You didn't avoid it. But you laid out your material that way, and in many places it didn't call for dialogue...."

That is to say, Wall-E is a movie where dialog is present, but not necessary. It utilizes to maximum benefit the charm, story-telling, pathos and humor that comes through telling a story visually. In the end, the movie feels like those comfortable silences with someone you love where you simply are together, enjoying each other's company. I very much enjoyed Wall-E's company.