Pixar’s WALL-E Just Became A Historic First
WALL-E has officially been accepted into the Criterion Collection.
Pixar is arguably the best studio when it comes to animated features. It used to be Disney alone, but the branch off of Pixar has truly taken off. The brilliant minds that work for Pixar often bring forth films that make everyone think about the beauty of life, empathy, and acceptance. One of the best films in Pixar’s storied lineup is 2008’s WALL-E. The film follows a lone robot on Earth, after it is destroyed and abandoned by humanity. The film now holds a special honor, as it has been accepted into the Criterion Collection. This special collection holds some of the biggest cinematic achievements in the history of filmmaking.
The Criterion Collection was founded in 1984 and attempts to highlight some of the most important films in cinematic history. Most of the films released via this collection are given a special Criterion Collection edition that comes with a ton of special features. Some of those features have previously been unreleased. WALL-E is now part of that collection, and the new Criterion Collection version is available for pre-order. The new special edition of the film will contain tons of behind-the-scenes features about how the movie came to life. To make this addition sound even more special, less than 1,200 films have been added to the collection. This will be Pixar’s first film that has been given the honor.
As previously mentioned, WALL-E follows a clean-up robot as he is seemingly the last “living” thing on Earth. While going through his usual trash-crushing and building existence, he meets a mysterious robot that he deems EVE. EVE returns to Earth for one reason, to find if there is sustainable life. That is accomplished when the robot finds a plant that is now growing. This leads to humans working their way towards returning to the planet. However, there is a protocol in place to keep this from happening. Through the help of WALL-E, EVE, and Captain McCrea, humans can now return to Earth for recolonization.
On top of the honor that WALL-E is now part of the Criterion Collection, the film was recently inducted into the Library of Congress in 2021. This special designation is for films that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” The film also won Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards in 2009. Pixar has made some amazing films, but it appears as if WALL-E should now be considered its best. We know Toy Story fans might get upset at that designation, but WALL-E is just that good. The film is one of the most heartwarming stories right alongside Up, Soul, and Inside Out.
WALL-E was released in 2008 and has since become one of the best films in the Pixar lineup. Being added to the Criterion Collection is huge. We hope to see further Pixar films added to that collection, but the studio can be proud to know they made at least one that has made it there. We can see the previously mentioned Up, Soul, and Inside Out making their way to the collection at some point too. Pixar has really established itself as a premiere studio, even though its films are all animated.
