Nov 9, 2022

-Wall-E- is undergoing standard treatment, but Don-t is expecting more Disney movies anytime soon.

The upcoming physical media release of Pixar's 2008 contemporary classic Wall-E will mark the first collaboration of the Reference collection with Disney, but those hoping it might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship should hold their breath, according to film director Andrew Stanton. This is not the case.

When it was first announced, the inclusion of Wall-E in the Criterion collection was filled with varying degrees of joy and concern. Fans of the film were excited that it would get a high-quality physical media release, but fans of Criterion expressed concern that it would be another step towards the broader commercialization of the company's efforts, as it has partnered with the likes of Disney and Netflix.

Comments from a recent Indiewire interview with Stanton may make people on both sides of the debate reevaluate their stance. When asked if Wall-E's addition to the Criterion collection was part of a larger partnership between Disney and Criterion, Stanton said, "Not at all. It was filmmaker-led. If it was anything, it was driven by the ego of my own filmmakers who wanted to be in the club."

Talking about the qualities he believed made Wall-E fit the criteria, and the process of making the special edition come true, Stanton explained.

It felt like I had the opportunity to be evaluated by the criteria because I was young. So I gave them an olive branch or a bat signal, and it was just before the pandemic. They said they were interested, it was exciting, but then the pandemic hit. We got serious about it last year. It was a real endorsement that they thought was there out there.

Pre-orders for Wall-E's 4k UHD and Blu-Ray Special editions began on May 9. It will be released on 11/22.