The Criterion Collection previously announced a packed November lineup filled with modern classics and older favorites hitting 4K UHD and Blu-Ray, but they have just arrived with a new addition that proves to the be ultimate mic drop. The label has announced their first collaboration with Disney and Pixar: WALL•E, directed by Andrew Stanton, will be entering the Criterion Collection on 4K UHD on November 22, 2022!
This hotly-anticipated release will present the film on one 4K UHD disc with film presented in both Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10+, and two Blu-rays with the film and special features. The 4K digital master has been approved by director Andrew Stanton, which is complemented by both a Dolby Atmos soundtrack an alternate 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio and stereo soundtracks. The director-approved edition features two commentaries, a masterclass with Stanton, behind-the-scenes footage, more than a dozen documentaries, deleted scenes, a tour of the Pixar Living Archive, selections from Stanton’s sketchbook, and so much more!
Even if you are not excited to own the definitive version of one of the greatest animated films of our time, physical media fans have a reason to be excited about this announcement. With this collaboration between Disney and The Criterion Collection, the vice grip that the House of Mouse has on their licensing rights seems to have been loosened just a bit. Other studios like Universal, Paramount and Sony collaborate frequently with boutique labels such as Criterion, Kino Lorber, Arrow Video and so many more, but Disney has notoriously been protective of their assets, especially in the past half-decade or so, even being slow to release highly-desired titles themselves. While there is no guarantee this is nothing more than a one-off, this could be the first step to getting many terrific titles from Disney, Touchstone Pictures, 20th Century Studios and more on Blu-ray and 4K UHD. Excuse us while we dream about new releases of Ed Wood, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, and countless more…
Synopsis: A high-water mark of digital animation, this prescient vision of a dystopian future is packaged within a dazzling pop-science-fiction love story, making for an urgent fable for our troubled millennium. It’s the twenty-ninth century, and humans have long since fled Earth for outer space, leaving WALL•E, the last functioning trash-compacting robot, to go about the work of cleaning up a pollution-choked planet, one piece of garbage at a time. When he meets EVE, a fellow automaton sent to detect plant life, the pair are launched on an intergalactic quest to return humanity to Earth. Transporting us simultaneously back to cinema’s silent origins and forward light-years into the future, WALL•E is a soaring ode to the power of love and art to heal a dying world.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- 4K digital master, approved by director Andrew Stanton, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film, presented in both Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10+, and two Blu-rays with the film and special features
- Alternate 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio and stereo soundtracks
- Two audio commentaries: one featuring Stanton and the other, character supervisor Bill Wise, coproducer Lindsey Collins, story artist Derek Thompson, and lead animator Angus MacLane
- New programs on Stanton’s cinematic influences and production designer Ralph Eggleston’s color scripts
- Tour of the Pixar Living Archive with Stanton
- Behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, including segments from early animation reels
- The Pixar Story (2007), a documentary by Leslie Iwerks
- More than a dozen documentaries exploring the film’s production and robots
- Anatomy of a Scene: The Plant, a masterclass with Stanton
- “WALL•E”: A to Z, a new program featuring Stanton and coscreenwriter Jim Reardon
- Deleted scenes featuring commentary by Stanton
- A Story (1987), a student film by Stanton
- BURN•E (2008), a short film by MacLane
- Trailers
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- English descriptive audio
- PLUS: An essay by author Sam Wasson; selections from Stanton’s sketchbooks, script notes, and drawings; and artwork from the WALL•E team
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Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.