WALL-E, Pixar’s 2008 masterpiece, is being added to the Criterion Collection, a curated list of movies that are deemed to be “important classic and contemporary films.” Its induction means that the movie is getting a special-edition 4K Blu-ray release, which comes with a bunch of extras.
It’s not the first time the film’s been available in 4K, but — and I’m sorry for being this person — the box art for the Criterion version is just so much better than the standard 4K Blu-ray’s, in my opinion. It may also have a slightly better HDR master (it comes with Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10 Plus versions, vs standard HDR10 for the regular release), and its three-disc set includes things like a student film made by director Andrew Stanton, a documentary on Pixar, script notes, and production artwork.
As Polygon’s Tasha Robinson points out, WALL-E is the first Disney / Pixar movie introduced to the collection, and is one of only a few animated movies that Criterion has selected. Personally, it’s hard to think of a Pixar movie that’s more deserving; despite being extremely short on dialogue, it’s able to capture the attention of kids and adults alike (though for different reasons — I first saw it when I was nine and loved the adorable robots; nowadays I watch it more as a cautionary tale mixed with the most wholesome love story ever).
WALL-E will become available from Criterion on November 22nd, alongside a 4K restoration of Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, which is another excellent — but very different — movie.