Iron Man and Wall-E

June 29, 2008

Originally published in the WSJ

Written by Joe Morgenstern

Edited by Jeffrey Taylor for content

With two bountiful exceptions, the first half of the summer movie season has yielded all the joy of a crop failure. Those exceptions are, of course, Pixar's glorious "WALL-E" and Marvel's exhilarating "Iron Man."

One marvels at the disparity between these grand entertainments and the dispirited studio schlock produced by the studios. (Note : "WALL-E" and "Iron Man" were independently produced and distributed by Disney and  Paramount, respectively)

It's easy to lament the vanishing of great movies and studios. Where, in today's entertainment business, can you find any counterpart to the cornucopia of "Singin' in the Rain," a movie whose every scene offered -- continues to offer -- marvelous performances, scintillating dialogue and ravishing colors, not to mention the pleasures of a classic score?

"Iron Man" bears little resemblance to "Singin' in the Rain" except it, too, deploys excellence as a secret weapon. And, "WALL-E," which isn't a musical, is a copious production highlighting one wonder after another.

(Note from Jeffrey : Major studios are falling into a mechanical distribution trap and may never return to underwriting creative Hollywood productions. Although it is sad, independent productions are thriving and no less than 350 films are in production now. All they need to do is get Hollywood's attention and distribution agreements.)