WALL-E

"Wall-E" (Credit: Disney/Pixar)

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It’s been 700 years since humans abandoned the Earth, leaving behind mountains of garbage and one little robot, WALL-E. The dutiful bot lives a lonely existence of trash compacting and knickknack collecting, until the arrival of an extra-terrestrial vegetation evaluator, EVE. When she heads back to space lovestruck WALL-E follows, beginning an interstellar adventure that has major ramifications for mankind.

Big question: Can Pixar deliver again after the spectacular “Ratatouille” and can director Andrew Stanton deliver again after his debut smash, “Finding Nemo” (recently named one of the 10 best animated films of all time by AFI)?

Catch it: As if a movie about a rat who wants to be a gourmet chef wasn’t audacious enough, Pixar pushes the animation envelope yet again with a sci-fi adventure built around robots who never speak more than a few words (the handful that are heard mostly come courtesy of sound designer Ben Burtt, who also conceived the “voice” of R2-D2). Inspiration seems to be in short supply in Hollywood, but not at Pixar, where “WALL-E” is just the latest shining example of the studio’s creative risks and high standards. Don’t be foolish enough to miss something this good when you have the chance.

Skip it: If you’re too skittish to understand why WALL-E’s best friend is a cockroach. There just aren’t that many options when you’re the last robot on Earth.

Bottom line: As a character, WALL-E is heartbreakingly human—his robot courtship is as romantic as film relationships get. But “WALL-E,” the movie, impresses thanks to the endless displays of imagination, invention and reinvention (a little “2001: A Space Odyssey” here, perhaps a bit of “Idiocracy” there) from Stanton and his team. It’s visual filmmaking at its finest and enough to restore your sense of wonder not only in movies, but in the universe as well.

Bonus: Listen up for Sigourney Weaver as the voice of a starship computer. And yes it’s an intentional homage to Ripley’s struggles with the ship computer, Mother, in “Alien.”

Video: Watch a review of 'WALL-E'

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