WALL-E (G, 2008)

WALL-E begins on an Earth centuries in the future. It's a bleak, garbage-strewn place whose only citizen seems to be WALL-E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class), a sanitation robot who's improbably enamored of the musical Hello, Dolly! Then, one day, a spaceship drops in for a pit stop and leaves behind an egg-shaped robot. Her name is EVE, and she's sleek, speedy, and stunning -- WALL-E is immediately smitten. But before the two can make beautiful musicals together, an unexpected discovery hurtles her back to mankind's current home: a giant spaceship called Axiom, where humans float on personal hover crafts, interact with others via screen phones, and have grown so obese and sedentary that they've forgotten how to walk. Determined not to lose his new companion, WALL-E follows EVE to the ship -- and sets in motion a chain of events that just might put people back on a healthier path.

Who would've expected an animated feature with stretches of near-silence, a deeply intellectual and ecological bent, and a robot with relatively few bells and whistles to be profoundly moving and thought-provoking, yet still entertaining? WALL-E hits those marks, and how. Much of the credit is due to Andrew Stanton, who directed and co-wrote (with Jim Reardon) the movie, which takes Pixar's success in turning out animated hits to the next level. Gorgeously detailed and, more important, ambitiously challenging, WALL-E is cinematic art -- especially early on, when WALL-E, alone on Earth, plays with his trusty cockroach sidekick, or, later, courts a reluctant EVE. They interact as if in an intricately choreographed silent movie, or, yes, a musical: She's aloof, he's smitten; she's distant, he's bowled over. (Kudos to Ben Burtt for adding such emotion to WALL-E's squeaks and bleeps.)

Early scenes in which WALL-E wonders at the detritus of human life -- a velvet box holding a diamond, a rubber duckie, a spork -- are especially poignant, particularly when juxtaposed against the massive pile of waste he's meant to tame. The movie's pro-planet message is hardly subtle, but it feels refreshing to see an animated film take a stand about a political and social issue. The virtually dialogue-free first act may stretch a bit too long for younger audiences -- even though they'll benefit from being given a green lesson in such a lively, fun package -- but they'll get the animated action-adventure they crave soon enough. By the end, WALL-E feels less artsy and more like the typical Pixar film -- not that there's anything wrong with that.

Studio: Pixar Animation Studios
Director: Andrew Stanton
Cast: Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin, Sigourney Weaver
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 103 minutes
Theatrical release: June 27, 2008
DVD release: November 17, 2008
MPAA Rating: G