When you get your movie added to the Criterion Collection, it means you’ve truly made it. That prestige line of discs is for only the most serious of film buffs, for the collectors who wear cuff links and swirl their red wine while discussing stuffy novels written 300 years ago. The Criterion Collection is exclusively for timeless, flawless motion pictures like…..uh….erm….Armageddon? Okay, they’re not THAT selective.
Today Criterion announced Andrew Stanton’s Wall-E will be the next film in its lineup — the very first Pixar film to be added to the Collection. It’s a moment no one anticipated. It is only the fourth animated movie EVER to be given a Criterion release — Watership Down, Fantastic Mr. Fox and the French film Fantastic Planet are the other three.
In addition, Criterion doesn’t get to add Disney movies to its line very often, as the Mouse is notoriously protective of its library. They used to forbid other companies from licensing their own movies and shows to reprint, but they seem to be loosening those reins lately….Shout Factory was allowed to make a (darn fine) Blu-ray set for Gravity Falls, and now this.
The bonus features of the Criterion release for Wall-E are “director-approved” and will differ from the existing Blu-Ray set. The short “Presto” is missing from this version and we don’t see the BnL shorts listed either, but there are several new additions highlighted for your convenience in bold:
- 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 (note: this could be “Cine-Explore With Stanton” from the previous Blu-Ray, or it could be something new — we don’t know)
- 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
The Criterion Collection edition of Wall-E will be out November 22 at a price of $39.96.
