WALL-E

Well, it's another wonderful showing for Pixar, really, not a lot more to say,
somehow. Two cute robots meet and fall in love against the backdrop of the
death and prospect of eventual rebirth of the planet. For a cute love affair
between a pair of binoculars and an iMac, it's pretty epic stuff.

The animation is, of course, excellent, whether you're talking about the way
that storms and dust clouds are rendered, or the way inanimate objects are
shown to have recognisable feelings. The film is very light on dialogue, with
the two leads saying very little but each others' names, and this essentially
puts all the acting talent on the animators. In the likes of Shrek, Mike Myers
and Eddie Murphy are providing the personalities, in WALL-E, it's all in the
animation. So even if you haven't a cute-appreciating bone in your body, this
is a film you could watch purely to enjoy the craftsmanship. If, however,
you're the kind of person who names their laptop, then this is doubly the movie
for you.

I would also like to take a moment to applaud the short at the start, "Presto",
another 3D animation, about a fight between a magician and his rabbit. It's
kind of Warner Brothers in style, and could easily sit amongst the great Looney
Tunes cartoons. I'd have paid my five quid for this alone.

If there's a criticism about this film at all, it's that it might possibly
start a little slow for some kids. Now me, I'll watch Sergio Leone movies, I
can watch dust blow around for hours. Kids sitting around me started to get a
bit fidgety. That's a tiny criticism, however, and not really one that affected
my enjoyment of the film at all.