The trailers shown before "WALL-E" were a cold reminder of just how hard it is to make a decent family film these days. The many G-rated travesties soon playing in theaters everywhere will include a pointless sequel to "Madagascar" and something called "Beverly Hills Chihuahua." It truly was a blessed sigh of relief when the familiar Pixar lamp once again hopped its way across the screen, even though it was introducing a most unfamiliar movie.
"WALL-E" is unlike any family film in recent years. The geniuses at Pixar have crafted a dark satire, a rousing sci-fi comedy and a love story - all resting on the boxy shoulders of an adorable little robot.
It's the little throwaway moments that give "WALL-E" unexpected gravitas, like when a ship bursts through a solid layer of dead satellites as it leaves Earth's atmosphere. The film aims higher and digs deeper than any previous Pixar production. Yet even forgetting about the technical aspects, there are some sequences that are simply virtuoso filmmaking. (No surprise that director Andrew Stanton also co-directed the excellent "Finding Nemo.") The brilliant opening scene, for example, hauntingly underscores images of Earth's desolation with perky music from "Hello, Dolly!" and produces a feeling of wonder that never fades for the length of the film.