An interview with the creator of the wonderful end credits to “WALL·E”

Jim Capobianco’s end credits to Andrew Stanton’s “WALL·E” are essential; they are the actual ending of the film, a perfect and fantastically optimistic conclusion to a grand, if imperfect idea. Humanity’s past and future evolution viewed through unspooling schools of art. Frame after frame sinks in as you smile self-consciously. It isn’t supposed to be this good but there it is. This is art in its own right. Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman’s song, “Down to Earth” indulges you with some incredibly thoughtful lyrics and, from the Stone Age to the Impressionists to the wonderful 8-bit pixel sprites, you are in the midst of something special.

WALL·E end title sequence + Jim Capobianco & Alex Woo interview | The Art of the Title Sequence.

You can view the credits here.

“John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.”

“The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.”

“The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.”

It’s been almost two weeks since we arrived in Sao Paulo, and more than six months since this here weblog was last updated: time for an update. Here our some of our observations.

Chris

Here’s a an easy to read list of my Sao Paulo observations, just for your convenience:

• Traffic is insane, buses are inconvenient, and the metro system would be one of the best that I have experienced, were it not for all the people.

• The internet cafés people pointed out to us either a) had computers from the stone age (Windows 98 sighting!), b) were ludicrously expensive, c) were closed due to renovation or whatnot, or d) vanished from the earth. It’s like they’re actively encouraging me to read books or engage in conversation…

• Jack snores. Came dangerously close to hooking my left index finger through his left nostril, out his right, and yanking out the offending organ.

• Showers actually do produce hot water in this country, it’s just that the water temperature is inversely related to the strength of the stream. Previous assessment of populace’ brass-ball status should be re-evaluated.

• I fear for Jerome’s life if in the next twenty-four hours we don’t find something for him to catalogue, rearrange, or obsess over. A discussion where he defends some ridiculous religious belief would also work.

• Learn some English, pessoas! Even if just to make life easier for us turistas!

• Why does the English pub here serve ‘local Dutch beer’ that only drunks and homeless people would drink, and that sane Dutch people have never heard of?

• They have Lucky Strikes! Halelujah!

• Spent the night in a delightful local ‘motel’. Judging by the sounds emanating from the room next to ours (at regular intervals, broken up by the sound of the cleaning lady), Brazilians like to have loud, passionate sex that involves a lot of bum slapping. Apparently it’s because most hormonal youngsters here still live with their parents, and need a place to bump uglies. Who knew?

• Monty Python is just as funny here as it is in Holland.

Jack

Okay, where to start?? I’ve met so many wonderful people in the short time that I’ve been here! CouchSurfed really is the best way to travel. I’ve met a whole range of people with different backgrounds, from all parts of the city, and each with a different idea of what’s worth experiencing in the city. I’ve discussed Rainbow Gatherings, learned about the local biking ‘protest’ movement ([Critical Mass / Bicicletada][]), visited two local universities, had coconut juice, went juggling, learned about Arcosanti, an ‘experimental town’ in Arizona, and much more. I love this city and its people! Cavalo!

Jerome

(too tired to write. City very chaotic. Wish I had a map, phrasebook and a toilet bag that isn’t all sticky inside.)

And finally: here be some photos taken in the past weeks.

“When we hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes will topple like a house of cards. Checkmate!” - Zapp Brannigan, Futurama

“…spurns the contemptible sort of well-being dreamed of by shopkeepers, Christians, cows, women Englishmen and other democrats.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops. - Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse 5

In an attempt to earn my ‘movie connoisseur’ stripes, I’ve been watching a whole bunch of wonderfully old films lately. You know, the ones where women are expected to be weak and overly dependent on the male hero, and where love scenes don’t expose any wicked body parts. Films where the sets actually look like film sets, and plot twists are usually figured out well before they happen because, well, we’ve seen them rehashed for decades.

I can get used to most of these things. What I just can’t get used to, however, is the way in which many of these films have become unrealistic because of technological advances in the past year. It’s maddening to see how many problems that these black and white protagonist face could be solved easily with current technology.
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In an interesting follow-up to an earlier post here, “Social Sciences and the Art of War“, Wired has published an article on the trouble these ‘embedded’ teams of social scientists are having, and the criticism that they are facing.

Two things in the article stand out. First, the embedded teams don’t appear very professional. When I read the description of how one scientists was burned alive, I can’t help but wonder whether the victim might have missed or misinterpreted some important signals. Quite frankly, I’ve never in my life seen a ‘foreigner’ blend in with local culture in less than a few years time, if at all, and these scientist are throw into the war zone with minimal training. It’s almost as if their commanders want them to conform to the ‘bumbling scientist in peril’ stereotype. Imagesh of Indiana Jonesh’ oblivioush, lishping father come to mind…

The other interesting issue concerns the fact that many of these scientists wear army clothing. It reminded me of a discussion I had with a friend who described the many problems aid organizations are facing because of this. The line between aid organizations and the military is blurring. Because the military is often now involved with work that was traditionally that of aid organizations, those hostile to the military are increasingly becoming hostile toward these aid organizations. I can only imagine the frustration that anthropologists or other social scientists in Afghanistan are having with these ‘embedded’ scientists. The confusion won’t make them any safer.