A first-time viewer could be forgiven for not grasping the consistentvision of WALL-E's subtext on a first viewing, primarily because thelook of the film is so detailed and accomplished that you can beawestruck just admiring the visual, and aural, craftsmanship. Hiringace cinematographer Roger Deakins as a "consultant" paid off like awinning lottery ticket. The opening passages of the film — on an Earthpopulated by nothing but a robot, a cockroach, and lots of garbage –have a realism that trumps everything Pixar has done to this point.Oftentimes you forget you're watching an animated movie because of thefluid, realistic camera work. Director Andrew Stanton succeeds grandlynot because he's showing off with these nearly dialogue-free sequences,but because he understands how viewers respond to particular lenses andcamera maneuvers. He's applying film theory in order to build up anaudience's sympathies for his main character, and he does somasterfully. Don't let the phrase "dialogue-free" throw you — this isfar from a silent movie. The flawless and varied sound design — whoknew a robot's voice could have so many different inflections whensaying the same few words — is as much a treat for the ears as thevisuals are for the eyes.

Like Stanton's previous film, Finding Nemo, WALL-E manages to work atthe level of fable by communicating grand themes through the actions ofsympathetic characters. This film works as a simple adventure story,and as a love story, but it also works as a rather brilliant comment onthe inherent dangers of mass commercialism and the ramifications ofhumans becoming slothful and lazy because of technology. In this movie,the people of the future look like enormous, babyish blobs — a deviceStanton exploits to great comedic and thematic effect. The entireproduction has been so brilliantly conceived and executed that it feelsas much like an extended Pixar short as it does a feature. Unlike itshumans of the future, the movie itself doesn't have an ounce of fat onit. The men and women at Pixar are master jewelers, cutting andpolishing their wares to perfection before the world gets to enjoythem. WALL-E is another gem.

A lot here was very good. The animation was brilliant. WALL-Eespecially seemed almost real rather than animated. The relationshipbetween WALL-E and Eva was developed nicely, and I felt a great deal ofempathy for WALL-E as he battled his loneliness. The writers alsomanaged the difficult task of telling us a story with very littledialogue (neither WALL-E nor Eva talk, except to stammer out eachother's name.) There's a rather obvious political message in this,warning us about the environmental damage we're causing to the planet.On the down side, the story was rather predictable, and I'm not toosure that this movie would get a great reception among children, sincethe lack of dialogue and somewhat complex storyline might make itdifficult especially for younger ones to follow. As its ratingsuggests, this animated feature might have more impact on adults thanon children.

On balance, I liked it, although I'm not inclined to add it to acollection so I could watch it over and over. 6/10