The Great Family Film Poll: Wall-E

There's an affecting romance at the heart of the whimsical crowd-pleaser Wall-E. Photo / Supplied

The Herald and Flicks.co.nz are on the hunt to discover New Zealand's favourite family film. Today TV presenter Matt Gibb tells us why he loves Wall-E.

I might seem an odd choice to write about the best family movie of all time, given I don't have a family of my own. But while I may be childless, I still reckon I qualify given I'm blessed with a fiancee who refuses to watch any film aimed at anyone aged over 14.

To be fair, Ruth's excuses stack up. As a journalist, she can spend most of her day buried in the big issues, so a movie night offers a chance for some light relief. Who needs to watch a political thriller when you've spent your day covering the thrills and spills of Tony Abbott and his mates?

Luckily for me, there's Pixar, and luckily for planet earth - there's Wall-E. Wall-E trundled on to the screens in 2007, looking like a cross between Johnny 5 from Short Circuit, and a filing cabinet. He's got more personality in one eyelid than an entire season of NZ's Got Talent. He's the cutest robot in cinema, and if you don't fall in love with him in the first few minutes then your heart is colder than the outdoor loo at my old Dunedin flat in winter.

Wall-E is a robot tasked with the job of cleaning the immense mess left behind by us lazy humans after we've abandoned earth for a sloth-like existence in space. He whirrs around with a cockroach as his best mate (as you do), investigating all the discarded relics and ferrying the best bits back to his shed to keep as treasures. For a small robot, it's a lonely life so the arrival of a flying, futuristic female-sounding robot sends Wall-E into a spin.

The first 20 or so minutes of Wall-E is where Pixar really flex their story-telling muscles. It's basically a silent film, with a fantastically whimsical soundtrack that shows us Wall-E is a hopeless romantic in waiting. Even without the dialogue at the start the kids won't get bored, the silent action draws you in.

Wall-E is a romantic, environmentally conscious comedy that packs all of the usual Pixar good stuff into its lead character who's essentially a glorified dust-pan. It's one of those films that you can chuck on no matter who's in the room, and everyone will love. Even hard-hitting journalists.