WALL·E

Year: 2008

Running time: 98 minutes

Certificate: U

Language: English

Screenplay: Jim Reardon

Director: Andrew Stanton

Starring (voices): Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy, Sigourney Weaver, Teddy Newton

Ready to start a new day.

I remember when news started to filter through about WALL·E. There was some doubt as to whether Pixar would be able to pull it off (I was quite confident in them myself). Set in a bleak but increasingly likely future (increasingly likely that is, except for the positive aspects), on an Earth long abandoned by humans, covered in garbage. Almost dialogue free for the first 40 minutes. It sounded less like a kids movie, and more like some sci-fi arthouse film.

As it turns out, the studio delivered their finest work to date (back then, since topped by, maybe, Inside Out), trumping even the bar-setting Toy Story. The title character is a little robot, seemingly the only one still functioning, spending his days compacting rubbish and stacking it in skyscraper-high piles. During his time spent doing this, WALL·E collects little trinkets and objects that he finds interesting. The little robot is imbued with such a remarkable sense of personality and childlike innocence that to see him is to love him utterly. Johnny 5, eat your metal heart out.

WALL·E's routine is broken by the arrival of a huge rocket from the heavens, out of which comes EVE (Elissa Knight). WALL·E is more than a little intrigued and follows EVE as she goes about her incomprehensible mission. This initial courtship proves almost fatal for WALL·E, as EVE turns out to be formidably weaponised. Undeterred, WALL·E continues to pursue EVE and eventually he makes her acquaintance without being blasted to pieces.

Desperate to impress his new friend, WALL·E shows off his collection to EVE, and when he shows her a plant growing in a boot he recently found, her programming kicks in and she takes it from him and shuts down, awaiting pick up. Pick up arrives in the shape of the aforementioned rocket and in an attempt to not be separated from his new companion, WALL·E hitches a ride into space, where he and we catch up with what became of humanity. In what must be a wet dream for Elon Musk, we managed to abandon our dying planet and retreat to the stars in a fully-functional miracle space ship (this is the positive aspect that is the unlikely part of this depiction of the future). The arrival of the plant kicks off a struggle of wills between the captain (Jeff Garlin) ('captain' in name only; in reality he's a figurehead and the ship is entirely run by the AI autopilot (Sigourney Weaver)) and the computer controlling the ship.

The wonder of space.

The state of humanity is played for tragi-comic effect - people live in floating chairs and don't walk, while generations in space has left everyone with no bone density and an inability to walk. It's funny to watch, but it's desperately sad because if you squint you can see it; what too many of us are, what we'll most likely become. Slaves to chairs, screens and advertising. Reminds me of Idiocracy a little. But Pixar is not Mike Judge and even though it can be depressing, it is clear that these humans have retained that sense of goodness at heart and they are inspired to help do the right thing when it matters. This in itself gives me hope, and if that hope is false I care not a jot.

This might all sound a little weird (but try to explain the plot of any Pixar movie and sound normal - you can't), but make no mistake; the sci-fi setting and artificial nature of the characters are mere set dressing. This is a romance at heart, and if you let it, it will bring you joy and wonder to make your heart sing.

The film is full of little moments of perfection, such as WALL·E’s courtship of Eve on Earth mentioned earlier, the mesmerising flight through space and the two robots dancing through the airless vacuum together. It's impeccable, it really is.

As you might imagine, the whole thing looks wondrous, but Pixar’s strength has always been to put the story first and the looks second, and WALL·E is no exception. The separate strands of comedy, romance, action and wonderful sense of adventure and discovery tie together beautifully with each other to create a truly complete and emotionally satisfying story.

Despite the rather bleak beginning, it ends on a positive note that will uplift you and make you feel good to be alive. Cinema's emotional effect is rarely this powerful, and this proves completely that those who still don’t take computer animation seriously as an art form are simply wrong.

WALL·E helps you rediscover your sense of wonder in a way that only the very best stories can.

Score: 9/10

It doesn't come as a surprise to me that everyone out there seems to love WALL·E; described as 'flawless' in this review from Larae at the Critical Movie Critics and brilliantly as 'Koyaanisqatsi directed by Chuck Jones' in this one from Seb at Den of Geek, who definitely preferred the first half.