Meridian Parks & Rec offers Pixar’s “WALL•E” for 2022’s first free Outdoor Movie Night at the John A. Lomax Amphitheater March 12
By SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS
Bosque Film Society Founding Board Member
CLIFTON – Kicking off a 10-film schedule planned for 2022, the Meridian Parks & Rec invites everybody to its monthly FREE Outdoor Movie Night in the Park for the charming 2008 Pixar animated film, WALL•E on Saturday, March 12 at 6 p.m. at the John A. Lomax Amphitheater in Meridian Park.
Entering its second full year of offering free outdoor movies in the park, the Meridian Parks & Rec decided to plan the 2022 schedule with children and teenagers in mind — presenting five animated movies and two live-action family films, as well as a John Wayne western Cahill: United States Marshall, and the modern original Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downing, Jr.
“We decided we wanted to make it all about the kids,” Meridian Parks & Rec director of activities and events Brett Voss, who is also the founding president of the Bosque Film Society, the non-profit organization that serves as “friends of The Cliftex Theatre,” Texas’ longest continually operating movie house in Clifton. “We originally wanted to mix it up by playing to the kids, but also offering some classic films older adults might like to see. But now, we have decided to leave that to The Cliftex and cater entirely to the kids.”
Plan to bundle up as it might be a chilly evening – bring a blankie, hand warmers and your favorite outdoor chair. If the weather turns colder or rain develops in the forecast, the movie presentation will be moved inside across the street at the Meridian Civic Center.
Entertainment will begin at 5 p.m. with pre-movie music played over the state-of-the-art sound system, followed by a classic cartoon short and preview of upcoming movies prior to the featured film. As always, the Meridian Parks & Rec will be providing free hot dogs, popcorn, water and various other treats while supplies last.
From the Pixar humans who brought us The Incredibles, Cars, Finding Nemo and Ratatouille, WALL•E is a heartwarming love story, set in a dystopian world of Earth turned Trash Planet in the far distant future. After 700 years of managing what he was built and programmed to do, WALL•E discovers there’s more to existing that a job. The classic animated film becomes a charming love story between a metallic square robot and an exquisite oval, surrounding a satire on the excesses of consumer culture.
The essential concept behind the character of WALL·E is “what if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn off the last robot?”
Becoming the first Pixar film to be nominated for six Academy Awards, WALL•E won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year. In 2021, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Along with its first free film presentation of 2022, the Meridian Parks and Recreation announced its 11-film schedule: April 23 – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), May 21 – Cars (2006), June 25 – Cahill: US Marshall (1973), July 23 – The Incredibles (2004), Aug. 20 – Hook (1991), Sept. 24 – Beauty & The Beast (1991), Oct. 22 – Sherlock Holmes (2009), Nov. 19 – Toy Story (1995), and Dec. 17 – How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000).
