Wall•E surprised me. Not because I had little faith in Pixar to release a visually stunning, humorous, and heartwarming film (someone already made me a believer). It was more because I had no idea Disney would release such a poignant critique of its own audience. It is quite odd, really. Have environmentalism and critique of mass consumption become so fashionable that a corporation dependent on consumption would undercut its own profit for, well... profit? Does anyone even care?

Or perhaps this is a macro version of all those penises, topless photos, and subliminal messages that found their way into Disney films of the 80s. I doubt this.

Or maybe Disney really does care, and the very same energy that went into the "art" of Wall•E went into a positive message for a complacent mass. It is probably not quite this either.

Director Andrew Stanton denies any purposeful commentary, citing the film as a mere quest for love. A few liberals have championed the film as an environmental statement, and a few conservatives have panned the film as anti-American, "leftist propaganda about the evils of mankind."

As usual, they are all missing the point. I'll go with the director and say that it is a film about finding love and companionship in a seemingly "empty" world. We've all felt like the last robot on earth at one time or the other.

Says Stanton, "If you get other truths out of it, great!"