Radar love: Surprisingly, 'Wall-E'--a movie about a robot that doesn't speak--is one of the nicest films in ages, says our reviewer. Pixar does it again! Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

'Wall-e' Warms The Heart

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Date published: 7/3/2008

'WALL-E' (G) HHH STARRING: VOICES OF JEFF GARLIN, JOHN RATZENBERGER, KATHY NAJIMY, FRED WILLARD, SIGOURNEY WEAVER

RUNNING TIME: 119 MIN.

Pixar has made perhaps the first cartoon that parents may well like more than their youngsters.

With nothing more to work with than a garbage-gathering robot, a cockroach and a planet that's a waste dump, the studio known for bringing a new look to animation has created the sweetest tale on the big screen in quite a while.

That's saying something, because the main character, known as Wall-E, can't do much more than whistle, squelch and emit an occasional high-pitched word or two.

But with articulating eyes, a body that moves like a front-end loader on steroids and a heart of heavyweight alloy gold, this character longs for company, feelings and--dare we say it?--romance.

That comes to pass when a survey robot lands one day, a white little wisp of a droid that can fly, blow holes in boulders, and is made with interesting eye shapes with two blue spots where her eyes should be.

She's Eve, or as Wall-E calls her, Eve-A.

It sounds a little strange, but it works onscreen.

Things take a more rapid turn when Wall-E and Eve-A head off to find the ship humans took when they abandoned Earth, which had filled up with trash from a greedy, stuff-obsessed society.

That point is more than made when we see what mankind has come to on its escape ship: fat, lazy people who don't do anything but consume.

The side point works, but even more fun are some rogue robots that link up with Wall-E as he tries to save mankind from itself.

Though a few big stars lend their voices or images to the project (Fred Willard, Sigourney Weaver), little-known stars bring the main characters to life in a way that makes this a true film treasure.

Rated G. 119 min. [RF, RA, M]

'WANTED' (R) HH STARRING: ANGELINA JOLIE, JAMES McAVOY, MORGAN FREEMAN

RUNNING TIME: 126 MIN.

I really wanted to like "Wanted."

But all the wanting in the world can't overcome this overdone mess of a movie.

The first hint should have been the four or five exploding heads--bullet goes in, big red splash comes out--that happen before we even have any idea who's doing all the shooting.

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Date published: 7/3/2008