Classic Review #41: WALL-E

Available on Disney+

Andrew Stanton’s award-winning WALL-E, co-written with Jim Reardon, certainly remains one of the most curious Pixar films to date, largely due to the fact that it features minimal dialogue and incorporates a host of themes - chiefly consumerism and environmentalism - that would ordinarily be considered too polarising for an animated feature.

Indeed, Stanton’s picture is worthy of celebration because it is arguably demonstrative of the true scope of animation. In a similar vein to Inside Out and Up, WALL-E commentates on complex and emotive issues without defaulting on its primary function, which is to entertain. The love story that is at its heart, between the titular garbage-collecting robot and the technologically more advanced EVE, is rousing and strangely relatable, as it fundamentally appeals to our inner romantic.

There are also some excellently subtle references to influential genre bedfellows such as 2001 and Silent Running for keen-eyed viewers to enjoy, rounding this off as a thoroughly rewarding and pleasingly unconventional Pixar classic.