"Define dancing"

It only takes a moment to fall in love with Wall.E. Finding a picture to accompany this post had me wriggling all over, shouting "He's so cute, I'm gonna die!" — in my head, of course. I watched Wall.E again last weekend — no, this isn't the first and won't be my last viewing of this remarkable film. I can't get enough of it. The soundtrack (mainly, "The Axiom" and "Define Dancing") is playing in the background of my Mac as I write this, and next I will probably move on to a compilation of Wall.E saying "Ev-aah" (God bless Youtube!).

When I first saw Wall.E in theaters (almost 4 years ago), I was surprised to find myself so entranced so quickly — it took very little to convince me that this little robot was someone I could learn to love and whose fate mattered immensely. The movie opened with sweeping shots of a starry CG milky-way, set to Hello Dolly's "Put on your Sunday clothes." Watching Wall.E go about his daily business, humming the delightful tune, endeared him to me immediately — and when "It only takes a moment" played as a soothing lullaby and our little fella rocked himself to sleep on a swinging shelf, my heart was his. Those eyes! That voice! And he's just a robot — but Wall.E goes to show that, to borrow from Galadriel, even the smallest robot can change the course of the future.

Other favorite scenes include "Define dancing" and Wall.E and Eve's first date — but for me, it's the subtle moments that make Wall.E so special: Wall.E pointing out the beauty of Earth from space, his practicing how best to approach Eve and tell her how he feels about her, and the way he melts when Eve first says his name. I could go on forever about this movie — the characters, the music, the message — it's all just right. Pixar at its finest. So unexpected. So unforgettable. So utterly lovable — and it only took a moment.