Let's talk about how perfect animated movies share biblical truths

Volume 1: WALL-E

My daughter and I watch a lot of animated movies. She’s an aspiring animator, and we watch them as much for reference as for entertainment. Most are good, some are great, and every now and then, we find ourselves saying, “This is a perfect film.” These rare movies are flawless in every way: storytelling, characters, dialogue, setting, animation, soundscape, and music. You’re not just entertained, you feel changed by them. When we started compiling a list of Perfect Animated Movies, I noticed they all share one thing beyond those creative qualities: an overarching biblical theme. I’m not saying the filmmakers were necessarily driven by Christianity, but that these films are shaped by universal truths rooted in the Bible.

I’ve mentioned before that my two passions besides science and Christianity are movies and food. I can talk endlessly about both. So, I’m kicking off a series about these Perfect Animated Movies and their biblical themes, starting with Pixar’s WALL-E (2008), a poignant sci-fi gem that follows a lonely robot tasked with cleaning a trash-choked Earth. (Warning: spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen the movie.) On the surface, WALL-E seems like a charming environmental tale, but it’s far deeper. It’s a profound story about love, purpose, and our need for connection, and it’s filled with striking biblical parallels.

The hero, WALL-E, is the last functioning trash-bot on an abandoned and lifeless Earth, diligently arranging endless garbage into towering mountains. Somehow, for reasons blessedly unexplained, WALL-E is not only sentient, but a romantic. He loves the trappings of humankind and collects discarded treasures like lightbulbs, kitchen gadgets, Rubik’s Cubes, and Zippo lighters. His prized possession is a VHS of Hello, Dolly!, which he watches obsessively. In a heart-wrenching early scene, WALL-E gazes wistfully as the tender love song “It Only Takes a Moment” plays, the characters holding hands. Using only his expressive eyes, clever camera angles, and the soundtrack, the film conveys his aching need for that kind of love.

That ache is amplified because WALL-E is alone on Earth, a fact unexplained at first. From a storytelling perspective, there’s something compelling about the last being on Earth. WALL-E reminds me of I Am Legend’s Robert Neville, but without the horror. Like Neville, WALL-E’s only companion is a pet—a resilient cockroach. And like Neville, he’s desperate to connect with his own kind. Meanwhile, whether driven by programming, desperation, or a need for purpose, WALL-E diligently carries out his monotonous task, compacting garbage day after day.

Then two miracles happen. First, WALL-E finds a sprout amidst the trash and decay—organic life on a seemingly lifeless Earth. Genesis 1:11 comes to mind: ‘And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.”’ Life re-begins on Earth with plant life, just as it began in Genesis. WALL-E tenderly scoops the plant with some soil, places it in a boot, and adds it to his collection. Second, a rocketship descends, depositing a sleek, feminine probe named EVE. How long it’s been since WALL-E has seen another sentient being is unclear, but it feels like an eternity. He observes, cautious but captivated.

Once the rocketship leaves, EVE charmingly engages in play, revealing she’s a kindred spirit. WALL-E works hard but loves movies and collecting; EVE has a mission but delights in play. WALL-E watches, rapt, as she soars and pirouettes in the air. He’s fascinated, curious, and desperate for connection, yet fearful—EVE, though small and playful, can fiercely defend herself. Still, his courage is apparent as he approaches her, bringing her to his home to share his collection. She’s curious and amused, but when he timidly tries to hold her hand, she rebuffs him. The love story develops slowly throughout the movie, with EVE initially focused on her mission to find signs of life, brushing off WALL-E’s advances.

When WALL-E shows EVE the plant, it triggers her programming: she stores it inside herself, shuts down, and displays a flashing green symbol indicating she carries life. This is where WALL-E’s devotion shines through. He stays with the inert EVE, protecting her during storms and still trying to hold her hand.

When the rocketship returns to collect her, WALL-E desperately clings to its exterior, riding it into space to a luxury space cruise ship called the Axiom. The ship houses humanity’s descendants, exiled from a wasteland Earth centuries ago with a promise to return once it was cleaned and fit for life. WALL-E was part of that failed cleanup effort; EVE’s mission is to deliver the plant to the captain, triggering the ship’s return.

With minimal dialogue, WALL-E weaves a tender love story between WALL-E and EVE with gentle commentary on human purpose and the perils of material excess. The Axiom’s humans are the blobby descendants of those who fled Earth, each generation growing more accustomed to a luxurious life without purpose. With seeming limitless resources and attended to by an army of service robots, they’ve stopped walking, cooking, and talking face-to-face. They rely on floating chairs, consuming liquid food and communicating via screens—even when they’re next to each other. Released just a year after the iPhone debuted and five years before DoorDash, the film feels prescient. These humans, obese and with short, vestigial limbs, resemble helpless babies. Yet the movie treats them tenderly, with a hint of melancholy, not mockery. The subtle message: this is what happens when people succumb to ease and comfort.

The Axiom’s captain, McCrea, is also confined to a floating chair. He’s a conscientious man, but his position on the Axiom is largely ceremonial—he’s like the host of an endless vacation. When he learns of life on Earth, he’s fascinated. He calls up videos of what life was like in Earth’s past (featuring real-life actors, an interesting choice by Pixar’s animators), discovering that Earth was once green and beautiful and that life had meaning. He realizes they must return. But the villain of the movie, Auto, the ship’s autopilot, sabotages this. Auto, programmed by Earth’s last president to abandon the return plan, wants to keep the Axiom in space indefinitely. When EVE tries to deliver the plant to McCrea to trigger the return, Auto and his robots interfere. But McCrea, infused with a sense of purpose, and the dutiful WALL-E and EVE, fight to get the plant to the ship’s holo-detector.

WALL-E’s presence on the Axiom triggers change. While chasing EVE, who is subdued by Auto’s forces, WALL-E bumps into humans on their floating chairs, turning off their screens. This causes a woman to notice the ship’s spectacular view for the first time and connect face-to-face with the man beside her. WALL-E also inadvertently frees malfunctioning robots from a robot sanatorium, earning their loyalty and help. (I suspect this is subtle commentary about breaking the spell of conformity and the value of imperfect beings.) Through WALL-E’s dogged determination, principled devotion, and love for EVE, the plant reaches the holo-detector, and the Axiom returns to Earth. But in the process WALL-E is fatally wounded—nearly crushed, his circuits fried by an electric jolt from Auto, and his battery depleted.

Back on Earth, the humans disembark from the Axiom, disappointed by the barren landscape. McCrea laments, “Where’s all the blue skies and green fields?” Yet they’re determined to revive Earth. Once he overcomes his disappointment, McCrea plants the sprout brought by WALL-E and EVE, excitedly telling a child, “This is called farming! You kids are gonna grow all kinds of plants!”

EVE rushes to WALL-E’s collection, replacing his fried circuit board and crushed parts. But the resurrected WALL-E has lost his memory. Heartbroken, EVE gives him a farewell “kiss,” sparking an electrical surge that restores his memories. They reunite as “It Only Takes a Moment” from Hello, Dolly! plays, a song that has underscored key moments of the movie.

The juxtaposition of old-fashioned songs like “It Only Takes a Moment” and “La Vie En Rose” with WALL-E’s sci-fi imagery was a creative stroke of genius. It speaks to our timeless need for human connection, no matter how advanced we become. These songs, tender and nostalgic, contrast with the sterile Axiom and desolate Earth, reminding us that we will never transcend our need for love and purpose.

When I first watched WALL-E, I misread it as quasi-socialist propaganda against capitalism. This was just two years after my baptism into Christianity, and I still viewed the world mostly through a political lens. Years later, more mature in my faith, I saw it differently. The wreckage on Earth isn’t an indictment of capitalism but of using material wealth as a substitute for the joy of human love, connection, and purpose through difficulty.

That maturity in my faith also allowed me to recognize the profound biblical parallels in WALL-E. Life begins with vegetation sprouting on Earth. WALL-E, the lonely male on Earth, echoes Genesis 2:18: ‘The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”’ The Hebrew word translated as “helper” literally means ally. EVE, his ally in the struggle to return humans to Earth, arrives, and they share a new purpose. Humans overcome the temptation of ease and comfort to rebuild Earth through the sweat of their brows, becoming gardeners like Adam and Eve. The end credits, set to Peter Gabriel’s “Down to Earth,” soulfully depict this renewal through art styles mimicking history—from Stone Age cave paintings to Impressionism to 8-bit computer graphics—showing humanity’s subsequent journey to make Earth inhabitable again.

The heart of WALL-E as a Perfect Animated Movie lies in its biblical themes of love and purpose. Even Freud, who Peter Kreeft once described as someone who “occasionally comes up with nuggets of wisdom sandwiched between mountains of nonsense,” noted that humans need two things make life worth living: love and work. This universal message in WALL-E resonates all the more because the movie forsakes preachiness for truths woven organically into a relatable love story. As Tolkien scholar Ralph Wood notes in The Gospel According to Tolkien, stories infused with deep messages are most powerful when subtly delivered. And by eliciting deep emotions. WALL-E delivers its truths through a startlingly human robot love story and humanity’s rediscovery of purpose. The movie’s stunning visuals, genuine (mostly wordless) emotion, and gentle commentary elevate it from entertainment to an animated masterpiece.

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I hope you enjoyed this first entry in my series on Perfect Animated Movies. If it’s been a while since you’ve watched WALL-E, does this inspire you to watch it again? Can you guess what my other Perfect Animated Moviefs might be? Feel free to comment, and to tell me what yours are.

Related:

Finding light in a dark galaxy far, far away

Freedom, films, and faith

Art through adversity

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