I loved it, Heidi didn’t. I’ll let her explain why she didn’t like it in her own words, but the gist of it was that the main characters were robots, which she doesn’t like, and that there is little dialog for the first half of the film.

Of course, those two things are why I loved it. The detail and emotion conveyed by all the little details in each characters movements, gestures, and sounds were fascinating and engaging to me. The quality of the animation is also better than I’ve seen in a Pixar movie for a long time. The rust on WALL•E was just one example of the touches that really stood out to me. This is also the first Pixar movie I can think of that includes live action sequences with real actors. They’re worked in well, though the final effect wasn’t as strong as I thought it might be (animated people still look… animated).

The story was simple and fun (it’s a kids movie at some level, after all). While the overall arc was predicable (boy gets girl, er, robot), there were enough details and new aspects to the plot that made it interesting. Elements of the plot reminded me of Idiocracy, without the anti-intellectualism. These citizens are more disengaged than ignorant. And, like many Pixar films, it touches on and relies on universal themes throughout — the power of music to connect and bind, the importance of touch and physical closeness, and the basic need in all of us to love.

Definitely worth seeing. All those 9.0 reviews got this one right.

Update: I apologize for the crappy writing… too tired to fix it…