My Top 10: #4 Wall-E

I'm kind of surprised this is the only animated film in my top 10, but you can't argue with the numbers.  Wall*E's environmental message definitely speaks to me, but it's really how amazing the character of Wall*E is with his love for Eve that melts my heart every time I watch him save humanity.

Wall*E is left behind on Earth after the humans have destroyed it and left it covered in garbage and gone off in a space shit for 700 years.  Wall*E has been dutifully attempting to clean it up.  In all his garbage stacking, he finds a lot of treasures - a videotape of Hello, Dolly, Twinkies, lightbulbs, christmas lights, lighters, a bra, and finally a plant.

Eve has been sent back to check out Earth to see if it can sustain life yet.  Wall*E of course is overjoyed that he has someone to show his treasures to and hang out with - his only friend before was a cockroach.  However, when Wall*E shows Eve his plant, she shuts down awaiting her ship to come back to confirm Earth can sustain life.  This brings about some of the best moments of the film - Wall*E takes care of Eve, trying to get her to wake up, but always staying by her side.  Even after Eve is taken back to the humans' ship, Wall*E comes after her, reintroducing that spark of optimism and hope to the machines of the ship.  Ultimately their relationship is what saves the day and the triumphant ending is terrific.

The other element of the movie that I don't like as well, but is an important balance to the love story is the fact that humans have gotten horribly fat and lazy - such that they can barely walk and have forgotten almost everything about how they were as people and what life was like on Earth.  It's also a little odd that all the people were taken from the US, probably not the best form of diversity.