The mixture is vital. "On the one hand, it has to have enough machine that you believe it was created by technology. But there has to be enough of the human element so you detect the character has a full range of emotions and intelligence, in a sense, has a soul you care about."
And we do. Love-struck WALL-E's whirrs and ahs are as recognizable emotionally as our own sighs and harrumphs. When sleek, ultra-tech robot EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) arrives on the scene, WALL-E is smitten. So much so, he follows her into space, where her hefty human programmers have lived on cruise-style spaceships for centuries.
Stanton admits the little machine who takes his love pangs to infinity and beyond had been clanking around Pixar for years. But he says they weren't sure they were up to the challenge.
"Honestly, I have said this and it's true: I'm glad it didn't get made till now."
The technology is much improved. And Pixar's finest - John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Pete Docter among them - have gotten better too. And, adds Stanton, the ninth employee and second animator hired by a fledgling company that became one of the most successful enterprises in moviedom, "There's the trust we compounded in the bank with the audience."
On a personal level, Finding Nemo was a turning point, says the filmmaker. "I remember being so blown away by the response ... As an artist it made me start to trust the little voice in me that battled obstacles to get certain things made in that film. It made me want to listen to that voice."
What did it say?
"'I want to try that weird little robot movie.'"
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