Stars Wowed By 'WALL·E'

For his latest big-screen adventure, actor John Ratzenberger says that there's nobody that he'd have rather taken the trip with than Pixar Animation Studios. The classy "Cheers" star has had a voice role in every one of the studio's films since he brought home the bacon as the lovable piggy bank, Hamm, in 1995's "Toy Story."

Ratzenberger has a special designation by the animation wizards -- he holds the mantle of being known as the company's "good luck charm" since all of the studio's films have been hits -- and he hopes the tradition continues with "WALL·E."

"It's a nice mantle, I'd rather be known as the good luck charm than the alternative," Ratzenberger cracked in a recent @ The Movies interview.

"WALL·E" reunites Ratzenberger with director Andrew Stanton, whom he previously worked with on "A Bug's Life" and "Finding Nemo." But from writing and voicing various characters, the filmmaker has had a hand in pretty much all of the Pixar films, as well as his counterparts John Lasseter and Pete Docter.

"Andrew is remarkable. There's no hubris with him or any of them, really," Ratzenberger said. "When you meet any of them in an elevator, you wouldn't know the difference between them and the guys that sell suits over on 4th Avenue. There's no aura of the talent or greatness they possess. There's a certain regular guy quality about them that they share."

In "WALL·E," Ratzenberger plays John, a human inhabitant of the spaceship Axiom, a monolithic refuge for people 700 years in the future. The planet has long since been a dumping ground of garbage that is not suited for life. But when an Earth-bound trash-compacting robot named WALL·E inadvertently gives something to an Axiom probe droid named Eve that holds hope for humankind, the opportunity for them to return to the planet finally comes due.

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It's only fitting that Ratzenberger's character be based on a ship in "WALL E" because it's the sort of secure vehicle he likens Pixar to.

"It's a very secure feeling working with them because you know that they know," Ratzenberger said. "You know that the man on the helm of this particular ship has already studied the charts, knows how to read the compass, knows what to do in an emergency -- basically he's built the ship. You don't really worry with them. You feel much more secure in their hands."

The great benefit, Ratzenberger added, is that as familiar and comfortable as the surroundings of a Pixar production are, he's continually blown away by the end result that he sees on the big screen.

"I get lost in the wonder of their films just as much as any audience member does," Ratzenberger said. "If you've ever spent any time in museums and if you've ever been fortunate enough to stand in front of a great work of art, you know there's a certain harmonic about it that touches you.

"It's the same feeling you get with 'WALL·E,'" Ratzenberger added. "If you had a chance to freeze a frame of the picture as you were watching it, you can see a great work of art wherever spot in the movie you are. It's something you can hang on your wall."

But like any other Pixar film, Ratzenberger knows "WALL·E" has a great deal of substance. Ultimately, he wants audience members to take away more than a sense of beauty. As a film that looks to restore faith in mankind, the actor wishes that audience members -- especially kids -- are enveloped in a feeling of hope for the future.

"It's got to be so tough growing up right now," Ratzenberger said. "The media just bombards you with this sense of hopelessness, with 'Ah, it's such a terrible world and that the Earth's falling apart, blah, blah,' but what you can take away from this is hope. Don't worry about it, kids. It's all right. Just go off and be a child, and we'll take care of the rest."

'WALL·E' Wins Over Willard

A master of improvisational comedy, Fred Willard is arguably one of the funniest persons on the planet, but what he does to the earth mother as the corporate behemoth Shelby Forthright in "WALL·E" is no laughing matter.

As the head of the monopolizing conglomerate Buy N Large in the film, Willard's Forthright is unique to a Pixar film because instead of his animated counterparts, we see him in regular human form.

Willard, of course, is a familiar face to film fans, especially those with a great affinity of such Christopher Guest comedy-style documentary romps as "Waiting for Guffman," "Best in Show" and "A Mighty Wind." And it would also be a crime not to mention his small but hilarious turn as a clueless lieutenant on an Air Force Base in classic mock rockumentary "This is Spinal Tap" (upon meeting the band, he asks, "Are you Spinal Tarp?").

But "WALL·E" is a decidedly different setting for Willard in that the film is that it doesn't set a stage for any improv.

"When I did my filming it was in the early stages of the movie so I had no idea where the movie was going," Willard recalled in a recent @ The Movies interview. "They were very secretive about the plot and they didn't ask me to improvise. They'd let me be a little loose with a line if I wanted to be and change it a little. But it was never a, 'Let's do it your way' situation.' I was glad to follow along with what they wanted."

Willard's character is also a departure because unlike the straightforward direction of his Guest film characters, Shelby is hardly forthright about the condition of the planet with his human consumers.

"He talks a lot of bull there and tries to smooth everything over and tell people that thing are better than it really is," Willard said.

But as an actor concerned about the environment, is being truthful about what he hopes kids eventually get out of "WALL·E."

"There's a realization that we need to preserve our world and our natural resources and keep our air as fresh as possible and be kind to animals," Willard said. "This may not be a message that they understand right away, but maybe subliminally it will sink in and will part of their brain as they grow up."