WALL-E

It's a strange pitch for an animated movie aimed at a family audience - we'll set it on a futurstic earth that has been totally trashed, we'll have no cute furry animals or even humans for the first half of the movie and the lead characters will be practically incapable of speech. It's a bold movie for Pixar and one which does them credit as a studio never content to rest on the laurels or do the reliably successful. It may turn out not to be one of their most successful commercially, but its certainly among their best.

WALL-E is the last remaining robot left with the task of cleaning up the earth after humanity fled to their refuge in the stars. For a creation with no words and minimal facial features he's endowed with a remarkable amount of personality, especially a childlike curiosity and deep loneliness. In what would be an excessive amount of time if it weren't so well done, we are shown him going about his business, cleaning up our junk and investigating it at the same time. Its full of wonderfully amusing little touches and beautiful flourishes.

Then WALL-E's world is turned upside down by the arrival of EVE - another robot sent to scout for signs of life. There is something both highly comic and simultaneously heartbreaking about WAll-E's attempts to get EVE's attention, especially when she has entered shut-down mode.

The film then blasts off into space, a sequence which includes some of the most beautiful animation in the film (or in many other films) and we meet what remains of humanity, whose desire for instant gratification has reduced them to a toddler like state of existence. It's telling that the robots seem so much more human than the humans. There are some lovely moments where WALL-E disturbs their cushioned existence and enables them to start seeing things again, to develop a curiosity and appreciation of life.

Like Pixar's best, this is beautifully animated - look at the space dance sequence, for example , - full of humour, but also genuinely moving. It references other sci-fi giants, especially Star Trek and 2001 (watch out for the clever use of music from Kubrick's film at key moments), is just bursting with clever little touches.

Overall - 5/5 It's a wonderful film from the masters in the field that easily stands up to their very best. Plenty for children and adults alike. WALL-E may be one of the most unlikely heroes of the year, but he's one of the most engaging.