WALL-E

Jul 18 2008 by The Journal

(1hr 43mins) Starring: Fred Willard and voices of Ben Burtt, Paul Jeff Garlin, Sigourney Weaver. Director: Andrew Stanton

THE technical wizards at Pixar (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles) dispel the myth that size matters in their latest computer animated fable.

As long as you’ve a big heart, anything is possible and in WALL-E that just happens to be the most magical love story, distinguished by amazingly detailed visuals.

Director Andrew Stanton has created a masterpiece that tugs the heartstrings and leaves us giddy with joy. As soon as it ends, you’ll be clamouring to watch it again.

Like all Pixar releases, it begins with an enchanting short to whet the appetite for the main feature.

This is set on a futuristic planet Earth ravaged by pollution.

The human race has evacuated this graveyard of detritus aboard spaceships, leaving behind solar-powered droids to clean up the mess.

The last of them, WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class), dutifully crushes all of the refuse into neat blocks, collecting any interesting artefacts of 20th Century life (Rubik’s Cube, fire extinguisher, bubble wrap) to add to his personal collection.

A chirpy cockroach is his only companion and the friends often sit together to view a worn out video of Hello, Dolly!, which fires the robot’s hopelessly romantic hard drive.

Then a mother ship touches down and spits out a sleek search-bot called EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator), programmed to seek out flora on the planet.

What she finds is an out-dated Load Lifter with a lust for life and a thirst for adventure. From the opening shots of satellite-encircled Earth and its dead continents, WALL-E is a feast for the senses, conjuring up unforgettable images.

Every frame is crafted with love and jaw-dropping attention to detail.

The eponymous hero is adorable and his romance gathers pace gently before a masterful denouement that will reduce grown men to tears. Sound designer Ben Burtt allows WALL-E to communicate through beeps and burps. Not since Short Circuit’s Number 5 has a robot seemed so human.

Stanton’s futuristic film shoots for the moon and exceeds the hype.

You’re unlikely to see a better picture this year.