WALL-E: The Rusty Little Robot That Could

WALL-E, the movie, is a computer-generated production about a couple of robots who fall in love - if 'falling in love' means holding hands. Warning! These lovable, lifelike cartoon figments are not human beings, a fact that is easy to forget while watching this show.

The two stars are girl and boy robots. They're adorable - if you can ignore the idea that the boy-bot, WALL-E, spends his days at the city dump. He grinds along the ground, scooping up stuff, then compacting it. The name of the girl-droid is Eve, as in Adam & Eve? She's sleek and smooth. He's rough and rectangular, a worker bot. He collects junk all day on his job. WALL-E is old fashioned and shy. She's cute and modern, fragile and dangerous, flying like a fairy through air, then blasting the hell out of anything that moves. From the moment he met Eve, WALL-E knew, he wanted to hold her hand.

The story takes place in the future, on a desolate, deserted planet Earth, where the only living creature is a cockroach - kind of like Jiminy Cricket without all the singing. But the point is, this movie has hidden messages. For instance: 'Earth is barren.' Do you see the message here? If we keep on polluting, that's what we'll get. The movie-makers are talking about Global Warming. Here's another example: ' The only living survivor is an insect.' What does that say about human vulnerability? The good news is: Human beings are not dead. Actually they live in luxury, a few miles off-planet, orbiting around the world in a space cruiser. These former inhabitants of Earth are pampered to the point of boredom. Their needs are all attended to by good robots - and bad robots.

The cast-away descendents are stranded in space - sort of like rich people on an ocean liner sailing in circles. The people have been doing next to nothing for decades, and the person-characters in the movie all appear to be a little overweight. Let's face it, they look like beach balls, but nobody uses the F-word, of course, and fat people should not be offended. Here's another subtle message: Eat right and exercise. Shuffleboard, anyone?

You should know. Love wins out in this film - if holding hands means love. Watch for the hidden meanings. This story is not for kids, alone. They must be accompanied by an adult, who must buy popcorn and soft drinks. Rating is G, and run time is 103 minutes, which seems mercifully short, but they add another half hour to your entertainment pleasure by playing trailers for movies not-yet-released. So, if you need to visit the rest room, do it during the previews so you won't miss a minute of WALL-E. You might want to leave your cell phone on. Have a friend call you about one-hour into the presentation - in case you fall asleep. You don't want to miss the ending, when the boy and girl cyborgs are finally able to touch. The intermingling of their mechanical fingers was exactly right climax to keep the movie's G-rating.

Actually, there is one more message. Here's a clue. It's green - and it grows in an old Army boot.