WALL-E (2008)

Even with its acquisition by monster company Disney a few years back, Pixar continues to be the hands-down best Hollywood studio in the business. Pixar's first major outing, "Toy Story" may well remain their high point and most-heartfelt work, but the new "Wall-E" comes thisclose to topping the 1995 hit for sheer awesome cinematic joy.

"Wall-E" truly is a first of its kind animated film from a major player -- its dialogue is sparse, almost non-existent except for a few pockets later in the film, there are no outwardly "cute" characters, its message is big, and its heart wide open. To boot, it eschews the slapstick spoof shenanigans and cynicism that pervades a lot of the animated fluff out that bore those older than five.

The character of Wall-E is a small, lonely and inquisitive box-like garbage compactor with binocular-like eyes and treads for feet. He lives more than 800 years in the future on a desolate abandoned Earth, its surface covered by empty skyscrapers and mounds of garbage that blot the sky, with old highways, rotting shipyards and supermarkets peppering the unsightly horizon. All humans long ago left the planet, having outworn its usefulness. Wall-E's only task: Collect the leftover trash and compact it into cubes, which he then uses to build those towering hulks of rusted waste. His only friend: A spry cockroach with an immeasurable lifespan and ability to survive every trauma. His only joy: Finding the occasional oddity amongst the garage: a bra, a box with a diamond ring inside it (he tosses the ring, and keeps the box), a miraculous small plant, and his few keepsake items, including a VCR tape of "Hello Dolly" that he plays repeatedly. Wall-E loves the film, with its lush music and ideas of old-fashioned romanticism where holding a girl's hand was considered first base.

It's no accident that Wall-E, with his chirping, mummering voice, looks like "E.T." He's basically alone, lost in a world he never left, looking for someone to understand him. Then robot Eve arrives on a massive, smoking spaceship. Whereas Wall-E is clunky, boxy, old and an awkward looking robot, Eve is slick, clean and beautiful slice of techno-marvel. Two simple blue dots against a black screen represent her face. Eve's only task: To scan Earth for signs of life. Her only friend: There is none. Her only joy: There is none. When she finds Wall-E's tiny plant, the only known source of life on Earth, the plot rockets into form. Quite literally.

This film is, no doubt, polarizing because of its content. I've heard the detractors smash "Wall-E" as nefarious Communist propaganda, that there is no environmental problem and there never will be, nor is there global warming, and that our natural resources our infinite if we just be good Christians and pray. Half-witted arguments from dullards. (If all God wanted us to do was sit on our ass and pray for Him to provide, He'd have made us into house plants.) This is a film for all, right and left. Its message warns against the dangers of frivolous living, wasteful spending and all-encompassing consumerism. We live in a world where Wal-Mart ads now promise "better living" if you shop at their stores, so imagine 200 years down the road what we'll be facing. We need this film now. The society of this film has replaced God with neon lights and TV phones. The world of Wall-E is as loveless and cold as "2001," and our hero robot is the stand-in for those gleaming black monoliths, the wake-up call to all humans.

What's not to like about that? I love "Wall-E" more so as a self-declared liberal because unlike the similar environmental-themed "The Happening," this film doesn't take joy in punishing the audience with a Catholic school nun beat-down lesson of "You deserve this" screaming. The message of "Wall-E" is simple and beautiful: Slow down, put away the cell phone, laptop and DVD player, and enjoy life. (The irony that Disney made this film has not been lost. I'm assuming the company board of directors didn't catch a pre-screening, hence the film print be burned. Stick it to the man, Pixar! Stick it to the Mouse!)

Director/co-wrier Andrew Stanton has surpassed all Pixar films in sheer joyful production -- the visual kick of alien binocular-like eyes focusing, or the revved up engine of an OCD robot who fears all dirt and germs, and the mass and scope of a continent or ship the size of a country, is realized in vivid detail. This film has love of art all over it. Even the closing credits, which use a history of art movements to continue the story, is a awe-inspiring.

But it's Wall-E that sells this film. Not since "E.T.," have I been so awed by a fictional character derived purely from VFX. The body language of Wall-E, the way he folds his hands inward, or cocks an eye socket, or hunkers down to the ground when he first spies Eve is mesmerizing and real. Every gesture speaks volumes of dialogue. He and this film are the pinnacle of imagination. A