WALL•E

[KathieK]

http://www.buynlarge.com/NewsCenter.html?storyId=16 I love the Sloth Games! I could do really well at that!

[Madison]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=As7UQtKX00c&feature=related

...from this past weekend.

[Akash Rastogi]

MORT plans on taking a few of the robots to the premiere of WALL-E. We've done this for other movies but sadly missed out on Iron Man and Transformers.

Hope to get lots of young kids there to see the robots.

[dlavery]

I saw the pre-release screening of WALL•E last night, and it turned out to be just as much fun as I suspected it would. First off, it is a good story, without being sickeningly sweet. The story is engrossing enough that you are completely pulled into it. You are twenty minutes into the film before you realize that there has not been a single line of dialog - and yet the story and cinematography are good enough to carry that off without a problem.. And WALL•E is terminally cute (yes, I am already trying to figure out how to make one out of VEX parts...). As expected, the quality of the animation is stunning, although I will admit to being much more impressed by the scenes on Earth than on the spacecraft. The animators in the audience are going to just love it. Without giving away any of the story line, there are some fun things to look out for. You will catch a few subtle reminders that Pixar is still partially owned by Steve Jobs (just listen to WALL•E's reboot sound, etc.). I am still looking for the "Binford" tag that is hidden in there somewhere.

The special short up front, "Presto" by Doug Sweetland, is as good as we have come to expect from Pixar (probably my favorite since "For The Birds" led off "Monsters Inc.").

There is also a nice connection between this film and the FIRST community. Those of us that have been around long enough may remember Laura London (first at Autodesk, and later with FIRST). Her nephew, Brian London, is an assistant art director on the film.

-dave




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[Greg Needel]

Originally Posted by dlavery

(yes, I am already trying to figure out how to make one out of VEX parts...).

Looks like some people in TX already had a similar idea. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpokgwMJIKE

P.s. I am stoked for this movie....

[MrForbes]

I'm planning on trying to go to a mid day showing Friday, when my sons are busy with the last day of the vex camp they're putting on. So then I can go back that night with them, and watch it again.

[Madison]

Originally Posted by dlavery

I saw the pre-release screening of WALL•E last night, and it turned out to be just as much fun as I suspected it would. First off, it is a good story, without being sickeningly sweet. The story is engrossing enough that you are completely pulled into it. You are twenty minutes into the film before you realize that there has not been a single line of dialog - and yet the story and cinematography are good enough to carry that off without a problem.. And WALL•E is terminally cute (yes, I am already trying to figure out how to make one out of VEX parts...). As expected, the quality of the animation is stunning, although I will admit to being much more impressed by the scenes on Earth than on the spacecraft. The animators in the audience are going to just love it. Without giving away any of the story line, there are some fun things to look out for. You will catch a few subtle reminders that Pixar is still partially owned by Steve Jobs (just listen to WALL•E's reboot sound, etc.). I am still looking for the "Binford" tag that is hidden in there somewhere.

The special short up front, "Presto" by Doug Sweetland, is as good as we have come to expect from Pixar (probably my favorite since "For The Birds" led off "Monsters Inc.").

There is also a nice connection between this film and the FIRST community. Those of us that have been around long enough may remember Laura London (first at Autodesk, and later with FIRST). Her nephew, Brian London, is an assistant art director on the film.

-dave




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Okay, spill the beans -- are y'all consulting on John Carter of Mars?

[Andy Baker]

Originally Posted by M. Krass

Okay, spill the beans -- are y'all consulting on John Carter of Mars?

Yeah, what is this "pre-release" stuff?

Inquiring minds want to know.

AB

[Elgin Clock]

15 years old!!!
Wall-E is 15 years old, & has already showed up in 3 Pixar movies at least!!!!
(Toy Story, The Incredibles & Cars!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CUgo...eature=related

Wow.

[dlavery]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

Looks like some people in TX already had a similar idea. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpokgwMJIKE

P.s. I am stoked for this movie....

No offense intended to the builders of that little model, but it isn't even close. You may have to wait until you see the movie to appreciate it, but when you see the level of complexity that the designers put into the WALL•E model you will understand that building a physical representation of this creation is NOT going to be easy. I need to go back and look at the motions more closely, but I believe that I counted at least 42 discrete controlled degrees of freedom in the design, not including the passive motions (and if that number proves to be correct, I am tempted to think that it probably is not an accident; perhaps a nod to Douglas Adams?).

-dave



.

[Madison]

I don't care what the 2009 FRC game will be; we may just have to enter WALL•E no matter what.

Here's another video of WDI's WALL•E animatronic -- http://youtube.com/watch?v=tuy-3ty3MSs

[KathieK]

I called our local cinema a few weeks back to inquire about renting a cinema for a private showing for FIRSTers (we could only get it NEXT weekend, at 10am or something... ) and also asked if he'd like me to arrange for some real robot demonstrations on opening day. He replied something about needing Disney approval, etc. and he just didn't "get it" that a bunch of teenagers and adults have been waiting for this movie to come out for months!

So... if you're planning on going to see the movie please wear something with FIRST on it - I used to have buttons that said "Ask Me About FIRST Robotics" - and be prepared with your "elevator speech" in case someone asks you about FIRST!

[Kims Robot]

We emailed a bunch of the local teams here in Rochester... if you are in Rochester, meet at the Pittsford Cinema (students with ID get $1 off) for the Friday 9PM showing I cant wait to see it!!

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by KathieK

..and also asked if he'd like me to arrange for some real robot demonstrations on opening day.
So... if you're planning on going to see the movie please wear something with FIRST on it - I used to have buttons that said "Ask Me About FIRST Robotics" - and be prepared with your "elevator speech" in case someone asks you about FIRST!

hm, we've arranged for a demo outside one of the theaters with our robot(s). I think it will be a great deal of fun for everyone. Children will 'get it' and so will some, hopefully many - adults. Well, maybe the ones who are kids at heart... I think we may know a few of those. *cough*

[Ian Curtis]

Wowsers! That animatronic WALL•E is amazing! I don't know how the actual robots scales to people in the actual film, but it was a bit larger than I was expecting. But other than that, Imagineers have the greatest job on the planet. That thing is amazing. IFI's is cutesy, and pretty nifty, but as Dave says, absolutely pails in comparison to that thing.

And, I'm also really looking forward to this movie.