There’s something incredibly charming about two robots trying to hold hands – and with new release WALL-E, Pixar shows once again that whether it’s talking toys, fish, monsters or bugs, this studio is still the champion when it comes to endearing, adult-friendly animated films.



This sci-fi romantic adventure (try shortening that to something like ‘romcom’) isn’t your typical Pixar film; there’s no dialogue in the first half-hour, and the scenery – a polluted, uninhabitable Earth circa 2700 – is stark and bleak. Those among Pixar’s core audience of five-to eight-year-olds who are unfamiliar with Castaway might not get it (exhibit A: the little boy sitting to my left who repeatedly asked: ‘What’s going on?’). But then there was the little girl in the row behind me who laughed non-stop for roughly 80 minutes (the film is 97 minutes long), proving once again that Pixar still has what it takes to tell a story – a thoughtful, witty, heartwarming tale of two robots who fall in love while helping the humans (relocated to outer space) rediscover their humanity.

In this movie, much like Toy Story, the detail is exquisite: the opening scenes feature robot WALL-E, a lone ranger of waste removal, blipping and beeping as he works his nine-to-five job compacting trash. With doe-ish eyes (yes, on a robot) and an affectionate curiosity about all things human, WALL-E the packrat picks up abandoned trinkets during his rounds – a Rubik’s cube, a VCR that only plays Hello, Dolly! One of the biggest laughs comes when he tries to categorise his latest find: a spork (does it go with the forks? The spoons? Sigh). Aside from his one friend, a cockroach, WALL-E’s existence is lonely until robot EVE is dropped on Earth looking for signs of life. A whirlwind romance takes them to the far reaches of the galaxy, where humans have settled until their planet is tidied up.

The commentary in this film isn’t subtle; it’s Pixar’s foray into the global warming debate, plus it suggests that humans need to get off the couch and exercise to save themselves. But that’s what we like about it – it offers a little something for Mum and Dad to chew on as their kids inhale popcorn. And in the end, it’s still a love story – one with a heart the size of a gigabyte.