André and Wally B. (1984) User Reviews

Andre the Giant

[southdavid · 6/10 · 22 April 2022]

This was the next short on Disney plus that I hadn't already reviewed. Certainly, one of the most significant on the app, it's desperately short and desperately dull - but it's all about it's history.

A humanoid character, Andre awakens in a forest and discovers that a bumblebee is in his eyeline. He convinces the Bee, Wally, to look the other way and then makes a run for it. Wally though has other ideas.

I mean, it's not fun. It's over in a couple of minutes and has very little in the way of anything really to entertain you, particularly in comparison to what computer animation is capable of today. But you have to divorce yourself from the present and consider the historical significance of the short. Directed by Alvy Ray Smith and animated by John Lasseter. They would produce the short under the name "The Graphics Group" which at the time was a small sub-division of Lucasfilm. Soon though these same people would form Pixar and become a company in their own right believing firmly in the principles of computer-generated animation and going on to create several beloved masterpieces.

You are effectively trying to review a tech demo, rather than something designed to be genuinely entertaining. You quite simply don't get to "Toy Story 3" without these small, crude looking steps taken decades earlier. It's hard though to recommend you watching it, beyond those interested in cinematic history.

The Adventures of André and Wally B. acts as conceptual art rather than entertainment.

[TheMovieDiorama · 4/10 · 4 August 2018]

It was proof that motion blur techniques and complex 3D objects could be used against a partially rendered background. This was the birth of the greatest animation studio currently working today. The seed that enabled The Graphics Group to form, what is now known as, Pixar. Therefore automatically assigning this animation short as an important part of animation history. A refreshing new method into filmmaking, especially back in 1984. Colourful 3D shapes conjoined together to create models. Unfortunately though, its conceptual proof does not make for an engaging story...or anything engaging for that matter. A man/creature/thing gets chased by a bee. Simple. Totalling at less than two minutes long, it contains no characterisation, interactivity or memorability. Nearly a third of the short itself is introductory and closing credits, consequently leaving approximately one minute to establish some sort of entertainment. Too bad it fell flat. The primary focus for innovation meant that its actual purpose as entertainment was lost. However I appreciate the technical prowess and astute innovation, acting as a stepping stone for the pinnacle company of animation that we know and love today.

Important but dull.

[Pjtaylor-96-138044 · 5/10 · 30 March 2020]

'André And Wally B. (1984)' is a pioneering 3D animation from the people who would go onto become Pixar. It represents a myriad of firsts for the technique and is generally considered to be the first 3D animation with a plot. Needless to say, it's an important movie. However, it isn't really entertaining. The environments all looks surprisingly good but the characters can't match it. Their actual animation is stiff and dull, too. The plot itself is so basic that it's difficult to call it a story, really. Still, these elements can be forgiven if one views the piece in its proper context. It's basically just an experiment. I know that it's brilliant for what it is but it simply doesn't hold up. 5/10

Before Pixar...

[RainDogJr · 16 August 2008]

From 1984, this short film was the first work that John Lasseter, Eben Ostby and Bill Reeves made as a team but it was made when they still were part of Lucasfilm. Basically is just the beginning of all so everything is quite limited. With only one and half minute this short film can't be more than just the very important and fantastic beginning of something. Is great to hear the commentary of the Blu-ray and now is fun to hear the fact that Lasseter and pals could only made geometric designs with their program. Still the could create two nice characters that are the protagonist of a "one joke" story and with that they could not only show a project that was new in matters of technology but at the same time they could put to it soul, they made that their colleagues didn't care about the fact that when the short was showed, in a very known event by them, was not even finished. It was something new, something different.

This is the kind of stuff that if -TODAY- you are going to show to your girlfriend, for example, and she doesn't really know about it you really have to explain her everything behind it, make sure that she will not judge it just for how the animation looks or how funny was the story, make sure that she appreciate everything behind because and after all it is just a must-see important piece of work and for me it was absolutely great to finally watch it.

The deflowering of a legend

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 6 September 2013]

This is the very first Pixar short. The story is very basic in this one and certainly not the highlight. A strange creature named Andre wakes up in a forest and sees a bee. He'd rather not get stung, so he tries to distract the bee by pointing at something the bee should definitely pay his attention to. Wally, the bee, does and André quickly runs away, not without grinning to the audience though, feeling pretty safe. Maybe that was what cost him valuable seconds as the bee quickly realizes it got tricked and goes on the hunt for André who has created a little gap. And catches him quickly. Poor André.

However, the animation was done well, especially of the forest and all the plants therein surrounding the two characters and the music choice was a good one that elevates this short film at least to mediocrity. It's a long way ahead for Lasseter and co. to his best work, but you have to start somewhere.

The first step in Pixar's history

[emasterslake · 7/10 · 15 April 2005]

This is the first and earliest Pixar short. It's also the oldest CGI short I know so far. It's only about 2 minutes long and the theme is similar to a Chuck Jones or Looney Tunes short. Only has 2 characters one who is Andre a Greenish Runner and Wally B. a Bee with 4 feet.

The animation is not bad for a CGI short from 1984. And this is made way before Pixar became well known. The 2 main and only characters are somewhat cartoony but very memorable. It's only 2 minutes long, but it's worth watching. You're able to see it at Pixar's official web page.

After you see I bet you just wish they made more shorts about Andre and Wally B.

Every Animation studio has it's own start and this is Pixar's start to fame and glory.

i give this one 7/10. Very good for a 2 minute short.

Not the bee's knees of 3D animation...

[soymilk · 5/10 · 4 June 2004]

'Andre and Wally B' isn't strictly a true Pixar film (since it was produced mainly at Lucasfilms), but John Lassester was amongst the creative team behind it, and it can still be found on their official Pixar site. A very early venture in making short animated films from CGI, this definitely doesn't rank up there as one of their coolest, perhaps because the limitations are all too obvious. The 3D animation isn't really all that great – the characters look basic and chunky, like they were taken straight from some sort of video game – while the storyline (if you can call it that) is too firmly-welded in the style of classic Walt Disney shorts. This may be done in computer animation, but otherwise it's just the same cartoony mayhem you've seen countless times before, involving a strange character named Andre (you know, I'm not really sure what kind of animal he's meant to be), being chased by a malicious bee. To be fair, I do actually enjoy a lot of the older Walt Disney cartoons, but the traditional 2D animation there had a greater fluidity that the more primitive CGI in this short film, which feels far too awkward and bulky to pull the same style off successfully.

I'm guessing they didn't really have the capacity back then to put together a CGI film with a great deal happening in, so all things considered this isn't bad. It just can't compare to the sort of thing Pixar since went onto achieve, having adopted their own unique style and approach to this medium – their studio's first short, 'Luxo Jr' was an absolute classic.

Grade: C

Not bad, just not a great deal here.

[llltdesq · 7/10 · 17 March 2002]

This is a short from Pixar, their first, I believe. It looks it, too. The animation is good, but there's not much here to speak of and it looks more like test footage than a full, coherent cartoon-a dry run, if you will. They did much better work with later efforts. Not bad, but nothing special here either. Worth seeing.

Probably One Of Pixar's Few Poorly Written Shorts. ♦ 30%

[nairtejas · 3/10 · 26 December 2013]

There is no story at all, and if you were to extract one, you would end up with an inconclusive bag of poorly written lines.

What the story talks about is the pursuit of a bee to sting its prey, who seems to be a clever guy. Then a chase begins only to make the audience disappointed at the end. The one minute short makes no sense at all and after that last frame, I was still expecting some inference.

Talking about the animation, I would say it is a lousy one and taking in account the year of release, it works fine. But with a shallow story and no message, kids might take a gander and give out a wry smile. Poor!

Humble Beginnings

[CubsandCulture · 7/10 · 28 December 2020]

This is the first short made by the set of people who went on to be Pixar's founders and the company's core creative people. It is much more of proof of concept experimental work than a true story. Indeed, the storyline-such as it is-is a basic scenario and largely exists to allow the filmmakers to test various animation techniques, i.e. 3d models, point blur etc. To that end the film is enjoyable as a piece of history. On its own the short is rather dull and simple-the animation is *exceedingly* dated.

I do like that the short still has the distinctiveness of Pixar.

This Short Exists

[kobenpfau · 5/10 · 16 December 2022]

This is a pretty meh short. Considering this was a pioneering and revolutionary short by the team that would go on to be Pixar, this is pretty dull. It's only a minute long with with a bee named Wally B. Bugging (see, I did a funny there) a guy named André. There's no narrative, no character moments, no voices. There's just classical music and André doing a Donald Duck laugh. Don't get me wrong, this is a groundbreaking animation from 19 freakin' 84 which is why this rating is as high as it is, but it terms of criticism, I can't really criticize it. The reason I can't is because there is literally only one minute of film to criticize.

5 Bees out of 10 Fezzes (becuase fezes are cool)

A historic achievement

[voxhumana · 10/10 · 20 June 2010]

This is an extraordinary and historic film, however viewers should not assess this film by the standards of current animation, but rather in its (truly ground-breaking) historical context.

This film is the CG animation equivalent of the first flight of the Wright Brothers (which lasted only 12 seconds). Much like that famous first flight in 1903, this 1984 film paved the way for all that has followed.

It is not the first CG animation ever made, but it is the first to feature a plot, characterization and expression, motion blur, and deformations (eg stretching, squashing). When it was demonstrated at the 1984 SIGGRAPH there was a crowd response bordering on hysteria, as nothing even close to this had ever been done before.

So watch this film with appropriate awe and reverence, for it is the birthing of an entire new art form which we completely take for granted now.

Original

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 6/10 · 6 July 2023]

An android and a bee in Conflict.

It is worth noting that this was very important when it was first released. By the standards of the time it is impressive. I'd like to call attention to the opening which imitates a crane shot and pan, highly cinematic in its own right, and something that hadn't really been seen before this in animation, at least not looking so convincing.

Of course by today's standards it is very dated. It doesn't feel fair or particularly useful to criticize 3D that is literally just shy of 40 years old. So I will not be doing that. However, it isn't particularly fun or engaging, something absolutely not true of other works of the time, and much further back, including ones not live action. Of course I'm not expecting something profound in 90 seconds not counting in credits. And I do appreciate that this was legitimately just something John Lasseter and others made for his kids. I'll just say that I'm really glad that Pixar has gone above and beyond improving that they have a lot to offer since making this. This, along with a lot of its ilk, is currently available at no additional fee on Disney plus.

I recommend this to completists. 6/10.

Too simple story. It's boring.

[MK_Movie_Reviews · 2/10 · 24 August 2021]

It's enough to watch it just one time. This is running only 2 min so they need more working to make it better.

Amazing in its proper context

[planktonrules · 10/10 · 12 February 2008]

I gotta admit that if you watch this film today and don't understand the context for it, then you will most likely not be particularly impressed. It's such a very simple animated short and one that seems amazingly ordinary--something you could easily make today given the right rendering software and a home computer. However, think back to 1984. People rarely had home computers and those who did had systems that had major compatibility issues--with not much more power than a modern calculator (less in some cases). There were no hard drives--those that did exist were minuscule. Macintosh computers were yet to come and IBM compatible computers used primitive versions of DOS and many were using Commodore and other simple computers. And, most importantly, most games were either text only or had very, very rudimentary graphics. In this context, ANDRE AND WALLY B is absolutely amazing and breathtaking. The Pixar folks were not yet a big company but just a few individuals doing work on huge computers and they had to design all the software themselves!! And, in spite of all this, the graphics were lovely and the story of a cute bee quite watchable--even though it was really more an experimental film than anything else. Oddly, while this film is not terribly exciting today, I still prefer it to a couple of the later Pixar films (such as RED'S DREAM). A great start.

The beginning.

[ofpsmith · 8/10 · 26 June 2019]

The Adventures of André and Wally B was the first film that Pixar, then known as the Graphics Group ever produced, 11 years before Toy Story. The "adventures" involve André, an animal of in-determined species (probably related to Gonzo) who is one day sitting by himself in a forest. Suddenly Wally B, a bumblebee, flies up to him. Startled André points in another direction to distract Wally B then quickly runs away. Annoyed that someone would prank him like this, Wally chases him down, and comes to sting him. Wally flies away, satisfied, until André throws his fez at him in retaliation. And that's really it. The story really isn't the main point or even appeal. Keep in mind that this was the first thing they ever produced. They were still part of Lucasfilm and this was before they even were a separate company. The big appeal of The Adventures of André and Wally B is to see where they started. And...yeah, it definitely has that quality to it. It's pretty rudimentary animation of course but that's a given. Coincidentally there's a video I caught a glimpse of on Twitter that showcased Pixar's improvement in Toy Story and Toy Story 4. So it just goes to show that you can never stop improving. As for this film...well it's only 2 minutes long so there's really no reason not to watch it.

Awesome!!!!

[ccarrizales-81301 · 10/10 · 22 July 2019]

I love this short! Starting with an android named Andre who wakes up in the forest to find a giant bee. Andre points the other way to shoo Wally away, but then he decides to run for it. Wally follows Andre, and Andre gets stung. Wally then comes back with a broken stinger, and Andre throws his hat at him. The only weak spot is the story, but it's my favorite Pixar short, and when John Lasseter, George Lucas and the rest of the crew made this, it was groundbreaking for its time. I'll rate it a 10 out of 10!

The shortest of all Pixar shorts has decent graphics for its time

[Stompgal_87 · 8/10 · 1 October 2013]

I first heard of this short in my 'Pixarpedia' book that gives me information on Pixar's feature-length films from 'Toy Story' to 'Up' plus its shorts. It is shorter than I thought it would be but I guess this is forgivable due to it being an early work of CGI.

I liked the brief electronic version of 'Largo Al Factotum' from 'The Barber of Seville' at the beginning as well as the subsequent scored while the forest was beautifully rendered and impressive for 1984. Andre and Wally B were modelled around basic shapes and subtly coloured, which is as forgivable as its running time. The story is very straightforward if rushed but I liked the idea of Andre being stung off screen despite my fear of bees and wasps as well as Andre throwing his hat at Wally B to get his own back on him.

Overall this is a worthy first effort of a Pixar short albeit debates surrounding its production companies (Lucasfilm or Pixar). 8/10.

Beautiful , beautiful...

[RosanaBotafogo · 8/10 · 12 March 2023]

Dawn, from the forest. Andre is waking up. Soon, Wally is taunting him. André points the other way and, with Wally temporarily distracted, runs away. Wally quickly catches and chases André; camera, we hear a scream, and Wally flies back with a bent stinger. The story takes place in a forest and involves a funny character named André who, upon waking up, is faced with a bumblebee named Wally B.

A short is so short, which is less than the mini short, how cute, so cute, it deserves something longer, which expresses my fear of bees like André, such beautiful and productive little animals, but with such a painful sting... Beautiful , beautiful...