But there was no real antagonist - Auto was following his directive and wasn't sentient evil, regardless of whether he looked like HAL or not.

I'm not sure why that's a problem. And if Auto isn't "evil", than neither was HAL, who was also following his directive, even if it was malfunctioning.

The anti-corporate message from a Disney movie, however, was a contradiction I can appreciate having problems with. However, I think this IS going to be remembered as one of Pixar's best, especially given how (wonderfully) unconventional the first half of the movie was compared to other films of this type. And I totally didn't get a Garden of Eden parable out of it. At all.

I'm with Frank (as with most things movie related). I don't think a story requires an antagonist so much as an obstacle. And there were plenty of obstacles.

I do concur that it was pretty hypocritical for Dixar/Buy N Large to be lecturing us.

I didn't really care or mind about the edenic parable in the least. That's just subtext, and it's as good a framework as any to hang on the movie.

I loved the animation - particularly the scenes on ruined Earth. It's a huge leap forward technically and aesthetically.

And I loved the non-snake-like Wall-E a lot. He was constant in the face of adversity. He risked much for what he wanted. He was kind and steadfast. It was like Sam Gamgee falling in love with Aeryn Sun.

Heh. When you type in "Sam Gamgee" Google helpfully offers "Sam Gamgee Potatoes."

I liked the commentary on people who always have a cellphone to their ear--or (ahem) talk to people primarily through a screen of some sort. Hi, everybody!

It was like Sam Gamgee falling in love with Aeryn Sun.

Yes! This! Perfect analogy, Hec.

I don't think Igor got much attention, but there were lots and lots of similarities between it and Wall-E. The main female is Eve (or Eva, I can't remember), and exposure to classic film is a key character development point. I wonder if the people who own the rights to Annie really understood how the song "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow" was going to be used.

EVE = Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator

I do concur that it was pretty hypocritical for Dixar/Buy N Large to be lecturing us.

I'm not sure what the solution is, though. Should Andrew Stanton simply have not given them the script until they agreed not to merchandise it? At the end of the day I'd rather have the movie than not.

It was like Sam Gamgee falling in love with Aeryn Sun.

If Sam Gamgee were a DRD.

Finding Nemo (my favorite Pixar until WALL-E came along - I'm a shameless Andrew Stanton fangirl) didn't have an antagonist either. Stanton doesn't really do villains. At their most basic, both movies are about tiny little nerds who goes to the ends of the earth and battle impossible odds to reconnect with their most-loved-ones. His movies make me happy.

I concur with Raq that Wall-E as a movie didn't work. Any movie where I am thinking, "How do they PEE?" is not working as a movie.

I LOVE the first 40 minutes, though (until they get to Axiom). And some of the animation was so good I got shivers.

I still have not seen WALL-E. Every time I check the video store, all copies are checked out. My sister and BiL hated it, I was surprised to find.

So, since I can't really comment on WALL-E, I'll comment on 2001 instead.

But there was no real antagonist - Auto was following his directive and wasn't sentient evil, regardless of whether he looked like HAL or not.

I'm not sure why that's a problem. And if Auto isn't "evil", than neither was HAL, who was also following his directive, even if it was malfunctioning.

I recently had this discussion with my BiL, who watched 2001 late one night, having been woken by one of his toddlers. He wrote a whole blog post about the Messages of 2001, and what made HAL one of the most chilling villains of all time.

I had to completely rebut him. HAL isn't the villain of 2001. He's arguably the hero. There aren't really any villains in 2001, except for human paranoia and short-sightedness. HAL was just trying to carry out his secret mission orders to the best of his ability, without violating any of the rest of his programming. He failed miserably.

HAL was just trying to carry out his secret mission orders to the best of his ability.

Is that shown in the movie, or are you relying on ACC's retcon in 2010?