An interesting hit job on WALL*E by the New Republic‘s Ben Crair, dated 7.14. The slant is indicated in this graph: “WALL-E‘s conservative critics are right to identify a problem with its message. Unfortunately, they’ve misdiagnosed it. There’s nothing wrong with the film’s anti-corporatism, which is just a variation of the anti-totalitarianism that’s requisite to the genre. More troublesome is the film’s complicity in the commodified culture it ostensibly critiques. This isn’t about Disney, whose external merchandise and marketing are extraneous to the film’s artistic vision. Within the movie itself, WALL*E betrays its true corporate overlord, and it isn’t Mickey. It’s Apple.”
I’m not going to re-phrase or condense this article in any way. It’s too dense and well-sculpted for me to attempt that. Just read it.