RATED: G | NO SPOILERS
In what may turn out to be the most universal of critically acclaimed films of 2008, WALL·E, a dystopian science fiction cartoon made by Disney’s PIXAR studios shines.
Set 700 years in the future, it revolves around a little robot dealing with the aftermath of life on Earth long after humanity fled the plant due to it becoming uninhabitable from environmental short-sightedness.
In what sounds like a depressing and bleak story, critics agree that instead, this is an uplifting film about hope and love even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
Of critical response, the film was noted for maintaining the PIXAR tradition of being both child-friendly without being mind-numbingly boring for adults. In fact, most critics found the story very appealing because they were adults.
Also, the movie was noted as having some of the best special effects and storytelling of the year.
Following is a collection of reviews by some of the more prominent movie critics:
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- Special Effects
- Family Friendliness
- Doesn’t Insult Intelligence of Adults
- Good Story
- Appealing Characters
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- May be too slow or too scary for very small children
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{for="National Post – Canada" value="10"}
"An automatic classic that will stand the test of time and sear itself into the collective memory of a generation, WALL-E is so profoundly moving, so quietly eloquent and so purely magical, it may well be movie of the decade." – Katherine Monk
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{for="Hollywood Reporter" value="9"}
"This is getting to sound like a broken record: Pixar Animation Studios has just topped itself. Again." – Kirk Honeycutt
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{for="Los Angeles Times" value="9"}
"Part robot romance between two mismatched mechanized marvels, part science fiction saga with deliberate echoes of Stanley Kubrick's '2001,' this may be the first animated feature to pivot around novelist E.M. Forster's famous imperative, 'Only connect.'" – Kenneth Turan
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{for="Chicago Sun-Times" value="8"}
"I thought I had just about exhausted my emergency supply of childlike credulity, but here is a film, like “Finding Nemo,” that you can enjoy even if you’ve grown up. That it works largely without spoken dialogue is all the more astonishing; it can easily cross language barriers, which is all the better, considering that it tells a planetary story." – Roger Ebert
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{for="Washington Post Family Filmgoer – Kid Friendliness" value="9"}
"Although it is funny and exciting, with vivid characters, albeit robotic, some kids might fidget at times and be upset by some parts. Scary bits include roaring dust storms, explosive lasers and fiery spaceship landings. The movie is preceded by "Presto," a breathlessly funny animated short, also rated G, about a magician and his rabbit." – Jane Hortwitz
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{for="Associated Press" value="9"}
"Within the rumbling, stumbling hunk of junk that is WALL-E beats the sweetest, warmest heart – a robotic representation of humanity's highest potential." – Christy Lemire
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{for="Chicago Tribune" value="8"}
"All the elements fold into a unified creation. Stanton doesn't strain for a message or for his emotional effects. The story's core may be closer to "The Little Prince" than "The Little Mermaid," but this vision of an optimist surviving a pretty rough patch in his planet's history just plain works. Like Voltaire's "Candide," WALL-E learns to tend to the garden. While I may argue with the little guy's taste in musicals, it's remarkable to see any film, in any genre, blend honest sentiment with genuine wit and a visual landscape unlike any other." – Michael Phillips
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{for="USA Today" value="8"}
"WALL·E is at once futuristic, funny and fantastical. It’s an extraordinarily captivating adventure, laden with equal parts humor and heart and populated with memorable and endearing characters.” – Claudia Puig
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