New Pixar film 'an animator's movie'

Angus MacLane, directing animator of WALL-E, has revealed that Pixar's latest film gave the studio's animators a chance to show off their talent.

The CG-animated science fiction movie spends its first 40 minutes without any human dialogue as it follows the robot character WALL-E moving around a deserted Earth

MacLane told DS that the long stretches of silence proved an exciting challenge for his animation team.

He said: "It was pretty exciting. I don't think we ever worried saying, 'Oh, is it going to work?'. It was really an animator's movie. It's great that that part [the beginning] has been so well received because aside from sound effects, it's up to us to carry the film. I'm very proud of the animation and I think that the team did a wonderful job."

MacLane also noted that the design of the sleek robot Eve, WALL-E's love interest, was partly inspired by Apple's iPod line.

He said: "I think that there was inspiration from that design sensibility of having a streamlined outside that's designed aesthetically with swooping curves and a clean, simple interface but has a lot of technology inside."

> Read our full interview with Angus MacLane