*WALL-E received numerous positive and negative reviews on the national stage, as it seemed every movie critic in the nation wished to convey their thoughts on the films. After reading most of the reviews, I have included what I thought to be a good representation of both the positive and negative reviews below. I also included links to the full-text review, if you are interested in reading the whole thing. Included as well at the end is a response by an American conservative in response to the reviews made by his fellow conservatives, which I feel should be taken more seriously than the vile conservative reviews mentioned below.

• "It's Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot mixed with Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and Terry Gilliam's Brazil, topped with the cherry of George Lucas' Star Wars and Steven Spielberg's E.T. , and wrapped up in a G-rated whipped-cream package" - Peter Travers, The Rolling Stone

• "I saw WALL-E with my five year old on Saturday night. It was like a 90-minute lecture on the dangers of over consumption, big corporations, and the destruction of the environment. All this from mega-company Disney, who wants us to buy WALL-E kitsch for our kids that are manufactured in China at environment-destroying factories and packed in plastic that will take hundreds of year to biodegrade in our landfills. Much to Disney's chagrin, I will do my part to avoid future environmental armageddon by boycotting any and all WALL-E merchandise and I hope others join my crusade." - Greg Pollowitz, The National Review

• "The plot of "WALL·E" may be about a steaming heap of garbage, but the film is a garden of unearthly delights...."WALL·E's" glance into our future prospects didn't do much for my bliss either, but the idea that a company in the business of mainstream entertainment would make something as creative, substantial and cautionary as this has to raise your hopes for humanity." - John Anderson, The Washington Post

• "Pixar’s “WALL•E” succeeds at being three things at once: an enthralling animated film, a visual wonderment and a decent science-fiction story." - Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun Times

• "WALL-E" gives us a hero who, by culling through the masses of junk that we so casually throw away, becomes a repository for human memories, a living (though not breathing) creature who has more feeling than actual humans do. Then it shows us actual humans -- lazy, fat, brainless ones who have squandered and abused their free will -- and asks us to forgive their foibles. The gloss of preachiness that washes over "WALL-E" overwhelms the haunting, delicate spirit of its first 30 minutes. This clearly isn't a movie made by a robot; the drag is that it ends up feeling so programmed." - Stephanie Zacharek, Salon Arts & Entertainment

• "The first 40 minutes or so of Wall-E -- in which barely any dialogue is spoken, and almost no human figures appear on screen -- is a cinematic poem of such wit and beauty that its darker implications may take a while to sink in." - A.O. Scott, The New York Times

• "From the first moment of the film, my kids were bombarded with leftist propaganda about the evils of mankind. It's a shame, too, because the robot had promise. The story was just awful, however. Nice to see that Disney and Pixar can make mega-millions off of telling us just how greedy, lazy, and destructive we all are. There's no hope for mankind. Hand over your wallet." - Shannen Coffin, The Corner on National Review

• "The real tragedy of these callous conservative critics is that they are missing the real lessons of the movie, ones I found immediately attractive to a traditional conservative. In the film, it becomes clear that mass consumerism is not just the product of big business, but of big business wedded with big government. In fact, the two are indistinguishable in WALL-E’s future. The government unilaterally provided it’s citizens with everything they needed, and this lack of variety led to Earth’s downfall. Another lesson missed is portrayed perfectly in Coffin’s claim that WALL-E points out the “evils of mankind.” The only evils of mankind portrayed are those that come about from losing touch with our own humanity. Staples of small-town conservative life such as the small farm, the “atomic family,” and old-fashioned and wholesome entertainment like “Hello, Dolly” are looked upon by the suddenly awakened humans as beautiful and desirable. By steering conservative families away from WALL-E, these commentators are doing their readers a great disservice." - Patrick J. Ford, The American Conservative

Created by Nathan Cummins, a student at DePauw University. If you have any questions, comments, or just want to gab, please email me

Created on December 2nd, 2008. Updated December 3rd, 2008.