WALL·E

“Caution: rogue robots.” One of my fondest memories of cinema from my childhood was going to the North Versailles Destinta Theatre (RIP - gone but never forgotten) to see WALL•E. My dad took me and my sister to see it. I was 11 years old and it shaped me into the person I am today. Even then, as a child, the open half hour of this movie blew my mind. It’s some of the best visual storytelling ever put to screen. We’re just under 17 years since its release and I still can’t believe that this children’s movie is essentially a silent film for over 30 minutes - it’s Pixar firing on all cylinders.  While the first third is my favorite part of the movie - and really might be my all-time favorite bit of filmmaking - what follows is of the utmost quality. The “define dancing” scene is so fucking beautiful. WALL•E and EVE’s intertwining trails flying between the Axiom’s thrusters while Thomas Newman’s gorgeous score plays is AB👏SO👏LUTE👏CIN👏E👏MA👏.  I wanna highlight Newman’s score as whole while I’m here. It’s incredible! Joyous, tense, quirky and inquisitive - all exactly when it needs to be. Something I probably didn’t appreciate when I was a kid was just how good WALL•E looks. This is the ultimate argument that animation is art. It’s a god damn beautiful movie. Stunning. And in today’s day and age, this is a genuinely important fucking movie. Going back to a point I made earlier, I saw this anti-capitalist, pro-environment piece of art at such a pivotal point in my life and I wholeheartedly believe that it helped make me the person I am today. This is a movie kids need to see. It’s a story that teaches compassion and environmental consciousness - two things that seem to be lacking in the modern world. I could go on and on about this movie. It’s a masterpiece. One of the best movies ever made and it deserves to be celebrated as such. Even in their stacked catalog, I firmly believe this is Pixar’s magnum opus and it’s not really close. One of my absolute favorites. Perfect, perfect, perfect film.