Ever feel like you’re trapped in an unending loop of self-gratification that blinds us to the irreversible damage done to the planet by our self-serving desires? If the answer is yes, maybe it’s time to check out Criterion Collection’s recent addition of Wall-E; their first-ever Pixar film, as well as their first Disney addition. Some have argued this is an outrageous omission by Criterion while film maniacs claim that Disney’s idea of animation does not belong among the restored and preserved canon of Criterion’s shelves. But after say, the last seven consecutive years of American – and even global, politics, the inclusion of Andrew Stanton’s Wall-E feels natural and maybe even obvious.

It was nearly fifteen years ago when Wall-E had a box office opening weekend that made Pixar a respectable, though not box office breaking, $63,087,526. This is in comparison to DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda which made $60,239,130 on its domestic opening B.O. weekend. While three million is no number to snuff at, it proved that DreamWorks was finally catching up to the ingenuity and market appeal that Pixar had long hoarded. The Steve Jobs-led animation company had been honored as the gatekeeper for this style of animation. It also made some Pixar true believers flinch. These were not record-shattering numbers, and a few of the Pixar films up to this point and after (namely Ratatouille and Up respectively) did about the same. Had Pixar lost its edge? Were they, dare it to be said, trying too hard to preach?

The film is beautifully rejuvenated while bringing back the many features from the initial home video release that feel as much like a love letter to Pixar’s visually-delicious animation style as they are to director Andrew Stanton’s radical vision and idealist hope for all life on our planet. Most importantly, it’s a love letter to love itself. The new program Criterion included about Stanton’s cinematic influences and production designer Ralph Eggleston’s un-animated, color scripts, clearly depict a fascination for a love story that transcends time, space, and biology with a clear line stemming from the influences that grapple with these themes.

To newcomers in Criterion’s decision-making, this may seem like an odd choice to include before, say, Pixar’s Toy Story or Disney’s Snow White & The Seven Dwarves (both their respective firsts in full feature animation). Looking back, the movie’s lead-up to release seems fraught as Wall-E was somehow roundly marketed, as a boy’s movie. But that’s not the story Stanton is telling. His story is important and contemporary critics (and general online thinkers, much like myself) argue against the body-shaming of space humans. There is undoubtedly some shaming occurring in this movie but it is not about any supposed ideas of junk being put into one’s body but instead, about the junk we are poisoning our planet with. The argument that Stanton and the animators make a visual metaphor of this with overweight characters is valid, but the film also poignantly states that the “changes” in body shape occurred due to 700 years of being in space.

When Wall-E discovers the last, and seemingly only, the vestige of a green earth, he immediately recognizes it as special. The browns, coppers, and trashy dumpster-truck-yellows of the first act of the film immediately feel even worse. It’s one thing if garbage piles up on a dead planet, but what if there’s a chance for life? Stanton intentionally removed the color green from any part of the start of his film and from Wall-E’s world; an intentional ploy to play at the subconscious of the audience that nothing on Earth is natural anymore, all of it is man-made trash. And then Eve comes in. Eve is to the sleek and striking futurism of Star Trek as Wall-E is to the hodgepodge, “hunk-of-junk” that is Star Wars. One emulates human progress and forethought while the other is human ingenuity and scrappiness. Though the two are not destined lovers at the first meeting, Wall-E is certainly in love at first sight. In hindsight, it’s easy to see why the American audiences may have felt duped by Walt Disney on this one.

Once Wall-E is accidentally snatched up to the spaceship to follow Eve on her directive to unite humans with their potentially reborn planet, the real shenanigans kick in. Stanton’s determination to include comedy, from visual gags to dry situational humor, all stems from his inspirations mentioned in the new Criterion feature. Using the comedy and grief cycle of storytelling, Stanton’s movie about a lonely little robot left on a garbage planet to waste away is one of the most human, and thus relatable, stories Pixar has told. The true spirit of the film is that it’s a rom-com. You can acknowledge the glaringly obvious lessons in global warming and pollution, or applaud the resilience of humanity and their space adventure to save. But when boiled down, the film is quite simply a rom-com for the whole family. The film has legs because it’s about how human greed and convenience are ruining the =Earth and that only love and humor will save us all.

 While it’s truly an honor to have your film included in the Criterion Collection, it’s probably an even higher honor for the first animated Disney production. Yet it wasn’t Criterion who approached Stanton. According to his interview with SYFY Wire’s Tara Bennett, he got cleared by Walt Disney Studios’ president Alan Bergman to float the idea over to Criterion himself.

This is where the features included with this addition to the collection show and why the special 4k Edition loses some of its marks. In the interview, Stanton even admits that most of the coverage of what Criterion would be interested in for a special release was already done by Pixar at the movie’s initial home video release. When flipping to the back cover this is made clear with the only “new” content, besides a particularly heart-warming essay by author Sam Wasson and the added bonus of 4K UHD disc, is a brief, albeit intriguing, breakdown of influences going into Stanton’s pitch for the film to the then-Pixar owner, the late Steve Jobs. While the cinephile of Stanton really pours out in this interview, it doesn’t prove to be celebratory enough to encourage a Criterion release and serves as little more than Stanton rattling off his comp list.

If you’re hoping to blow away your family with the Wall-E Criterion Collection edition, be prepared for a lot of repeated content from your potentially already purchased DVD/Blu-Ray of the film. If you don’t own it and are as avid a collector of film’s history as any Criterion patron, then this could be of benefit to you as the only real way to catch Wall-E these days is via streaming on Disney+ since Disney has essentially strong-armed Pixar into putting their films into The Vault. The features are comprehensive and exciting for process junkies and storyboard enthusiasts. Enjoy the film this Thanksgiving with the family and then when the kids pass out from the Turducken and your partner is passed out from too much Turkey Day cocktail, pop on the commentary with Stanton and enjoy a walkthrough by a masterclass storyteller in animation breakdown one of the most important, if not influential, pieces of Pixar’s collection.

Wall-E: Criterion Collection: Director Approved 4K UHD + BLU-RAY Combo Edition

Dir. Andrew Stanton

2008

98 Mins. Color

Dolby Atmos

English

2:39:1 Aspect Ratio

Dolby HDR & HDR10+

Rated G