The first 30 minutes into Wall-E and nk.t a word is uttered. All we hear are beeps and blips from a solitary robot, Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth Class (Wall-E), whose sole purpose is to compact trash in a lifeless dystopia.
But the lack of words and human dialogue go unnoticed as the filmmakers manage to convey bucket loads of emotion, sentiment and humour through Wall-E and his genial cockroach friend.
The film has been described as a cinematic feat by Pixar Animation Studios – makers of Finding Nemo, A Bug's Life and Monsters Inc – by pushing the limits of what can be achieved in a computer-generated cartoon.
Wasteland
Part romance, part science fiction but completely family friendly, Wall-E is set on earth 800 years into the future. The planet is a disaster of waste with towering skyscrapers of garbage covering the landscape.
Humans abandoned earth because it became so polluted with products sold by powerful multinational corporation Buy N Large.
Wall-E was left behind to clean up the mess. During his eight centuries of cleaning, he has developed many quirks that include collecting items such as old Rubik's Cubes, light bulbs and an actual living plant.
He is also obsessed with old films, in particular Hello Dolly in which people express their emotions by holding hands; the lonely entity longs for this type of contact.
Enter Eve
A spaceship then lands in Wall-E's area and leaves behind a white oval-shaped probe-droid named Eve, which stands for Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator. Wall-E is smitten and nervously follows Eve around as she packs a laser weapon that blasts things into smithereens.
Eve discovers Wall-E's plant and the next half of the film involves the robot's encounters with overweight humans who sent her. They have spent centuries living on Axiom, a cruise liner-type spaceship where their every whim is catered to.
The film is said to echo Stanley's Kubrick's 2001 as well as novelist E.M. Forster's famous Only Connect.
Wall-E may be a frightening reminder about what is likely to happen if we continue our consumerism obsessed lifestyle, but it is also a touching story about two entities finding love under the unlikeliest of circumstances.
