I will admit that, even after reading all the amazing reviews of Wall-E, I went in still expecting not to like it. In every review I read, the words "subtle green message" kept appearing. Now don't get me wrong, I am all for taking care of our planet, but my mind kept returning to the Happy Feet disaster-of-a-movie* and I did not want to repeat that experience. However, after listening to my husband gushing over his Wall-e experience (and hearing his endless imitations of the robot), I consented to see the movie.
I am not going to say I was wrong in my initial thoughts. Not because I wasn't, but because I do not like to admit being wrong! But it was a wonderful movie. Wall-e himself was extremely likeable, even though he could not speak. And that's part of the magic right there: giving robots without speech a definite personality, that you either like or don't.
As my dad said, after seeing the movie, "It's basically just a love story." And he was right.
*I don't think I ever wrote a review on Happy Feet, but it's worth a separate post. Look for one in the days ahead.
Related: Grandparent Movie Review: Wall-E