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Man, I all-kinds-of loved it. I've been chewing on it since yesterday evening, but I'll go ahead and say it: I think it's the best movie love story since... man, I don't even know what "since" to use. When was the last time you saw a movie where you totally bought a love-at-first-sight, and watched it develop into something so deep and rich? (And was it ever animated?) Seriously: love is when you know your directive but you're more concerned about helping your beloved reach theirs. This is as universal a statement as they get.
Sure, the environmental message, the "stand up and make a difference" message, the "we're being lulled into complacency" message - they're all there. But as opposed to some who think that the message is too preachy, I actually buy what Stanton was saying about coming up with those secondarily to support the love story.
My favorite making-of tidbit is that Stanton made the team watch a silent movie at lunch, every day for a year. No wonder Wall-E is a goofy, unassuming little tramp. No wonder so much can be expressed without words. Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd - the masters - were doing it so long ago. And Pixar clearly understands that you must saturate yourself with good work in order to make good work.
In turn, now that I'm saturated with Wall-E, perhaps I can move forward past this little creative block I've been having. It was one of those movies that make you want to make movies.
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