Wall-E (2008) Dir: Andrew Stanton
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In 2008, Walt Disney and Pixar studios teamed up to produce one of the best animated films ever made. Directed by Andrew Stanton, this sci-fi adventure is one of my all-time favourite films, which I'm certain I'm not alone in.
At its heart, the film is a profound and beautiful love story between two unlikely protagonists. However, it is also one of the best mainstream critiques of the climate and pollution crisis' ever brought to the big screen. The film packs so much emotion and poignancy into its ninety-odd minute runtime, without it feeling cluttered or convoluted.
Despite its age, not too far from twenty years old already - crazy I know, the film has held up pretty well visually. The only real weaknesses I spotted surrounded some of the background scenery, which the film definitely gets away with. The rest is all pretty solid, particularly the space-related shots.
The narrative is an exciting and wholesome adventure, which explores the fascinating notion of life beyond earth, and what that would mean for humanity as a species, but still manages to have a true family feel, and, more importantly, a beautiful romance, that works wonderfully.
Ben Burtt, who voices two of the robotic characters, and Elissa Knight both provide surprisingly endearing and emotive voices for their characters, despite fairly minimal dialogue. It's easy to love these characters because of the combination of their body language, as well as the personality that the two actors manage to bring out with their voice acting.
Jeff Garlin is an accomplished comedy actor, who uses his comedic timing and voice intonation to provide a very funny, yet still heartfelt, vocal performance, which features some of the funniest lines of dialogue in the film - in no small part, thanks to Garlin's hilarious delivery.
Other noteworthy voice acting or, in the case of one, a brief on-screen appearance, performances come from the likes of Fred Willard, Sigourney Weaver, John Ratzenberger and Kathy Najimy.
Overall, I think this film has just about everything you'd want from a family adventure about two robots. It has laughter, it has space travel, it has romance, it has a strong moral message and it even has some explosions, for those who need it. It's just a wonderful, heartwarming and expansive story that works on many levels. It's a true modern classic.
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