WALL-E

Movie Review #3: WALL-E

Directed by Andrew Stanton, Rated G, 1 hr., 38 minutes
Genre: Family, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Reviewer Rating: B+


This is a visually breathtaking Disney movie that the whole family will enjoy - if the kids can sit still long enough to get through the first half. The reason for this is that barely anything is said between the two main characters, WALL-E and EVE for what is probably the first forty-five minutes of the film. A good test for your kids? Were they able to sit still for at least half of March of the Penguins (2005)? If the answer is no, I'd be hesitant to put WALL-E in the DVD player or I'd at least have a back-up copy of Kung Fu Panda (2008) on hand.

This is a morality story for an ecologically aware planet, so even though it was met with rave reviews at theaters, it will probably take some years on DVD to really catch on, though as George Orwell's book, 1984, is now, it will probably be regarded in the future as "ahead of its time" (in my opinion, the filmmakers behind WALL-E probably believe that that future is not so far off).

You'll probably want to get to the movie store early for the first weekend in which this movie is released on DVD - it may be completely rented out the first two weeks - but I expect that The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian will beat out the number of WALL-E rentals when it is released on DVD on December 2nd and Horton Hears a Who! will do the same on December 9th. However, this movie will no doubt be under a lot of Christmas trees this holiday season, as in the long run, it is the best family feature of the year. (By the way, in my opinion Caspian should not be watched by anyone under the age of ten unless a parent has watched the film first, though this will no doubt happen all of the time).

I give this movie two thumbs up, but only four stars out of five, because the top of the Disney scale for me is Beauty and the Beast (1991) - the only Disney movie ever nominated for Best Picture - and The Lion King (1994). I think it more likely to draw in ratings with Ratatouille (2007).