WALL-E & 9 Other Heartwarming Sci-Fi Romances

Science fiction and romance are two surprisingly well-matched genres to combine into the same story. The speculative spectacle of science fiction pairs beautifully with the intimate stakes of romance stories to present love in a way that’s visually compelling and sometimes even thought-provoking. The lore and iconography of sci-fi stories allow writers to put a fresh spin on the familiar, well-worn tropes of Hollywood love stories.

Pixar’s WALL-E managed to get audiences to root for two robots who can barely communicate to end up together. WALL-E is a perfect example of a sci-fi romance, but it’s not the only one.

10 WALL-E (2008)

Andrew Stanton’s WALL-E is a thought-provoking sci-fi epic that acts as both a cautionary tale about the effects of climate change and a satirical look at humanity’s future on its current trajectory.

But this is all in the background of a heartwarming love story between a trash-organizing robot who’s been idly working for hundreds of years without realizing he doesn’t have to and the advanced female-coded android that arrives on Earth to check for signs of life.

9 The Abyss (1989)

On a filmography filled with blockbusters like Titanic and Aliens and Avatar, The Abyss stands out as James Cameron’s underappreciated gem. Set at the bottom of the ocean, it sees a submarine crew contending with water-dwelling alien forces.

The crux of the story isn’t the alien life surrounding the sub, though. Rather, it’s about the estranged married couple who can’t help but reconnect while they’re stuck onboard.

8 About Time (2013)

Domhnall Gleeson plays a man who discovers he has the ability to time travel in About Time, and his dad (Bill Nighy) informs him that all the men in their family can do it. Instead of using his power to become a superhero or a celebrity or something equally high-concept, he uses time travel in the mundane ways people actually would, like fixing social faux pas.

While Richard Curtis’ script eventually drops a lot of the interesting sci-fi concepts and settles into the writer’s default rom-com mode, About Time is more than emotionally engaging enough to get by.

7 Never Let Me Go (2010)

Adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel of the same name, Never Let Me Go takes place in an alternate history in which groups of people are bred purely to donate their organs and die an early death.

The story of this curious dystopia is told through a tragic love triangle shared by Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley, and Carey Mulligan.

6 Gattaca (1997)

Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, Gattaca takes place in a biopunk near-future society founded on eugenics in which children are specifically conceived based on the genetic qualities of their parents.

Ethan Hawke plays a man who’s determined to go to space and Uma Thurman co-stars as a woman he falls in love with along the way.

5 The Lobster (2015)

In the oddball dystopian future of Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster, any human who can’t find a permanent romantic partner is transformed into an animal.

After Colin Farrell’s wife has left him for another man, he travels to a resort to meet someone new. If he can’t find a new wife within 45 days, he’s chosen to be turned into a lobster.

4 Superman (1978)

Richard Donner’s Superman set the standard for all superhero movies to come. The movie covers Supes’ whole life, from the final days of Krypton to his childhood in Smallville to his double life as a Daily Planet reporter and a caped crimefighter, but the main focus is the love story between Clark Kent and Lois Lane.

Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder were perfectly matched in these roles. Clark’s love for Lois is what prompts him to fly around the world and reverse time in order to undo her gruesome death.

3 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)

On the surface, it might not seem like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is very heartwarming at all. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet play a couple who go through a terrible breakup, prompting the former to hire an experimental company to remove the latter from his memories. When the procedure goes wrong and he’s trapped in his own mind surrounded by vanishing recollections, he changes his mind and sees the value in holding onto painful memories.

But Eternal Sunshine is the ultimate breakup movie, and there’s a lot of merit in examining the positive sides of a breakup and how to move on as opposed to just blindly celebrating the beginnings of relationships like Hollywood usually does.

2 The Shape Of Water (2017)

Guillermo del Toro finally achieved the Oscar glory his filmmaking talent has always deserved when he graced the moviegoing public with The Shape of Water. Much like Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water uses a genre story as a prism to explore serious social issues.

Sally Hawkins stars as a mute custodian at a secret government laboratory during the Cold War who falls in love with a misunderstood Creature from the Black Lagoon-type sea monster being held at the facility.

1 Her (2013)

On paper, the premise of Her sounds like it could easily be a forgettable, bungled attempt to tap into the tech-obsessed zeitgeist. It’s a love story set in the near future in which a broken-hearted man played by Joaquin Phoenix falls in love with his Siri-like virtual assistant, voiced by Scarlett Johansson.

But, in the masterful hands of writer-director Spike Jonze, Her is a quintessentially human movie and one of the greatest and most unique love stories in recent memory.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
(3465 Articles Published)

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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