WALL·E | 4K UHD+Blu-ray

Pixar has never again been as daring as they were with WALL·E. Large stretches of the film go by entirely without dialogue, depending entirely on the artistry of their character and world design. Even eighteen (at the time of writing) years later, the artistry of the film still holds up. Especially in a modern CGI boom that seems to largely favor dull, washed out backgrounds and lighting.

Of course, it’s more than artistic choices that make this film special. More than anything, WALL·E is notable for how clearly and unashamedly it views the ills of modern society through an environmental lens. Director/writer Andrew Stanton deserves a lot of credit for fearlessly displaying earth’s future as a blasted hellscape of trash, in which unchecked resource stripping has robbed our planet of everything that made it beautiful, or even habitable.

It seems all too relatable given current billionaire class dreams of space expansion, to imagine a future where the rich abandon earth to live a life of luxury in space, with no clear plan to create a society with meaningful goals or even the desire to pursue them. For what is ostensibly a family film, WALL·E paints a bleak portrait of humanity, what it has done, and where it is going. Something that only makes appreciating the film all the more necessary.

Special Features (via criterion.com)

• 4K digital master, approved by director Andrew Stanton, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
• One 4K UHD disc of the film, presented in both Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10+, and two Blu-rays with the film and special features
• Alternate 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio and stereo soundtracks
• Two audio commentaries: one featuring Stanton and the other, character supervisor Bill Wise, coproducer Lindsey Collins, story artist Derek Thompson, and lead animator Angus MacLane
• New programs on Stanton’s cinematic influences and production designer Ralph Eggleston’s color scripts
• Tour of the Pixar Living Archive with Stanton
• Behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, including segments from early animation reels
• The Pixar Story (2007), a documentary by Leslie Iwerks
• More than a dozen documentaries exploring the film’s production and robots
• Anatomy of a Scene: The Plant, a masterclass with Stanton
• “WALL•E”: A to Z, a new program featuring Stanton and coscreenwriter Jim Reardon
• Deleted scenes featuring commentary by Stanton
• A Story (1987), a student film by Stanton
• BURN•E (2008), a short film by MacLane
• Trailers
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• English descriptive audio
• PLUS: An essay by author Sam Wasson; selections from Stanton’s sketchbooks, script notes, and drawings; and artwork from the WALL•E team