The well-chronicled origins of Wall*E began at a lunch near the completion of the first Toy Story film. John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Joe Ranft, and Andrew Stanton discussed ideas that ultimately became A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and finally Wall*E.

Set some 700 years in the future on an Earth cluttered with the refuse of a consumerist culture gone wild, Wall*E, the last surviving garbage robot, dutifully cleans the planet, awaiting the return of the long-fled human race. During his centuries-long Sisyphean task, he develops emotions and a personality, befriending a seemingly indestructible cockroach.

Wall*E collects artifacts of our dead culture, even becoming enamored with musical romantic comedies, the Rubik's Cube, and other oddities. But with self awareness comes loneliness and a desire to be with his own kind. His reality changes when a mysterious ship leaves a female robot to investigate the planet.

Borrowing concepts from eco-Armageddon cinematic tales of the 1970s -- complete with desolate landscapes, bleak situations, and hot topic politics, veteran Pixar director and writer Stanton (Finding Nemo, A Bug's Life, both Toy Storys, and Monsters, Inc.) crafts a very smart script that never condescends. Despite the lack of dialog during the first third of the film, Stanton creatively employs sounds and body movements to express Wall*E's emotions and intents. Successfully incorporating the backgrounds and settings into the narrative, Stanton makes them characters unto themselves.

Much like the underwater sequences in Finding Nemo, the boundaries between “real” and animated blur, leaving the viewer to wonder if the were actually shot on some deserted piece of destruction or rendered in a studio.

Oddly, for a Disney-promoted film, Wall*E quite powerfully rails against the destructive nature of rampant consumerism. So much so that the concept of a Wall*E action figure should be anathema to the filmmakers. (But apparently, it was not to the Disney marketing department.)

Similar to last summer's excellent Ratatouille, Wall*E pushes the boundaries of what is often considered a child's medium. The most mature, philosophical Pixar production yet, the film ponders the nature of existence while questioning our own values, all wrapped within the most entertaining, breathtakingly beautiful movie of the summer. With Wall*E, Pixar has created yet another masterpiece.