Stars: The voices of: Ben Burtt, Sigourney Weaver, John Ratzenberger, Elissa Knight
Directed bu: Andrew Stanton,
Reviewed by: Adam Mast, Zboneman.com
Grade: A-

Finally, a 2008 summer film that lives up to the hype. Iron Man and Kung Fu Panda are winners to be sure, but Wall-E is in an entirely different league. This is a breathtaking, charming, and expertly crafted display of visual storytelling, and it only could have been delivered by the geniuses at Pixar. Is this their best film to date? That's a tough one to call, because every one of Pixar's films, even the overly long but extremely entertaining "Cars", had something unique to offer. Having said that, I'd put this one near the top of this list.

As Wall-E opens, we're introduced to the title character, a solar powered android, who spends his days doing what he was programmed to do – load lifting. Even though he is merely a machine, this mundane, repetitious routine eventually causes boredom to set in, and eventually, Wall-E discovers that it isn't easy being the last life form on the planet. Well, that's not all together true. A cockroach also managed to survive the end of civilization, and this tiny insect sort of plays as the pet pooch in Wall-E's lonely world.

When Wall-E isn't performing the tasks he was designed to carry out, he's out collecting strange items that he finds amusing. Items like Rubik's cubes and jewelry boxes. During the evenings, he passes the time by acting out scenes from a warn down copy of Hello Dolly. It seems Wall-E has evolved through the years. What was once a mechanical object of service is now a curiously mischievous soul who'd love nothing more than to find companionship.

Little Wall-E's existence takes on new meaning when a massive spacecraft drops off a modern search droid called Eve. Almost immediately, our cute hero takes a liking to the sleek and technologically advanced robot, but she hardly notices Wall-E at all. Through a charming little courtship with Eve, Wall-E soon finds himself plunged into an engaging adventure that takes him to the far reaches of space where he finds himself mingling with a pack of misfit droids and a ship full of lazy humans.

While many might be quick to point out that Wall-E looks to be inspired by Number 5 from Short Circuit (it's true, there is an uncanny resemblance), the character design is actually an ode to a pair of binoculars that director Andrew Stanton came across when he was young. As far as character traits and plot, Wall-E certainly owes more to Star Wars and Silent Running than it does to John Badham's virtually forgotten 80's charmer (Short Circuit may be dated, but it's still a lot of fun to watch).

What's most astonishing about Wall-E - that is aside from the breathtaking computer generated animation and it's undeniably irresistible charm and spirit - is its makers' courage to tell the majority of the story through visuals. The first thirty five minutes of this picture is pure visual splendor. No dialogue at all save for the occasional robotic bleep - bleeps created by master sound effects engineer Ben Burtt.

Adding to the overall majestic beauty of this stunning movie is a truly sensational closing song by Peter Gabriel - his first tune in years. If this experience weren't already perfect enough, we get yet another amazing bonus in the form of the delightfully energetic "Presto," a wonderful Pixar short that precedes the main attraction.

It's difficult to determine whether or not young children will accept the surprisingly edgy elements of Wall-E with it's dark themes involving the end of the world and such. One thing is certain however. Young ones will be every bit as enchanted by this film's lead character as their parents. Wall-E himself ranks right alongside R2D2 and E.T. as one of the most beguiling, warm and adorably curious characters the silver screen has seen in quite some time and while this film's second half doesn't quite measure up to its first half, it's virtually impossible to deny the heartfelt nature and beauty of this tale of love, friendship, and humanity as seen through the eyes of a most unlikely soul.