The first 45 minutes of WALL-E are told almost completely without dialogue and the effect is mesmerizing. Ben Burtt's sound design and the nearly photo-real animation marks a post-apocalypse so beautiful in its desolation that it's almost a shame WALL-E ever has to leave the planet Earth. That said, what comes next absolutely works in its own right and offers an unprecedented blend of Pixar animation and live-action segments. If you haven't already seen the film, I really can't recommend it enough.

THE EXTRAS:

WALL-E's extra features are spread across three discs housed in surprisingly fancy eco-friendly package made entirely of thin cardboard. In an unprecedented box design, the left and right side of the box slide open and fold out, revealing the discs and listing the features on attractive fold-out flaps. Like WALL-E's own collapsible body, the set is both classy and utilitarian.

DISC ONE:

"Presto" (5:14)

Pixar's amazing short film that originally screened theatrically with WALL-E. The story of a magician and his bunny rabbit partner, "Presto" is a clever nod to Looney Tunes-style hijinks and delivers on every level. It's simple, smart and the perfect length. I'd expect that it won't be long before we hear that "Presto" director Doug Sweetland will be trying his hand a full-length feature.

"BURN-E" (7:35)

Possibly the only front where Pixar has ever failed to impress has been on their DVD-release short films. It's not that they're bad but they've never really been anything special ever since their first, "Mike's New Car" on the "Monsters Inc." DVD. "BURN-E", however, is certainly an exception and is delightful addition to the feature film, featuring a "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead"-style tale that actually transpires in the background of the film itself. I watched this short before re-watching "WALL-E" and was very excited to see details from it hidden in the feature's background.

"Animation Sound Design" (18:43)

A featurette that delves in the amazing contributions of Sound Designer Ben Burtt, the man famous for his decades of contribution to sound in film, best known for his work on all of the "Star Wars" films. For a film with long periods with no human voices, it's easy to underestimate exactly how essential Burtt's sizeable talent is to the final product and it's great to see him not only getting his due but having it attached to the first disc so that -- regardless of which version of the DVD you buy -- you'll get a chance to see a master in action. And if you want to see something really cool on Ben Burtt, click here.

"Deleted Scenes" (9:30)

Director Andrew Stanton introduces two animatic scenes that didn't make the final cut. "Garbage Airlock" and "Dumped" both feature further adventures of WALL-E aboard the spaceship Axiom. Neither really adds much but it's definitely nice to have them collected here for posterity.

Andrew Stanton also has a full-length audio commentary on the first disc that filled with insight, particularly into some of the other directions that the film could have taken. He's never at a loss for words and comes off as a charismatic and amiable guy to listen to.

DISC TWO:

Disc Two gives you two separate options from the first screen. You can either choose "Humans" for the background side of things or "Robots" for more family-oriented features.

The Human Section gives us:

Behind the Scenes:

"The Imperfect Lens" (14:32)

This featurette talks about achieving the photo-real look of the film and how award-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins was brought in to help the Pixar team duplicate the look of celluloid inside the computer. Filled with interviews, the best bits have Deakins talking rather excitedly about how things that were once considered camera defects are now used by filmmakers to breathe humanity into their art.

"Captain's Log" (7:57)

Examining the humans in the film, this featurette goes into detail about some of the alternate plans for the look of the Axiom crew including a point in time when they were -- instead -- going to be jelly-based aliens that didn't speak any english.

"Notes on a Score" (10:39)

Featuring discussions with composer Tom Newman, this featurette looks at the different instruments used to bring all the non-diegetic sound elements of WALL-E to life.

"Life of a Shot" (5:00)

Breaking down the process involved in each shot,  Stanton tells the audience about how he has to supervise many of individual animators working on their own separate pieces.

"Robo-Everything" (5:48)

A look at the robot designs throughout the film, some of the behind-the-scenes footage includes a visit to California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to see the current state of real-world robots today.

"Wall-E and Eve" (7:08)

Sort of branching off "Robo-Everything", this featurette looks specifically at the WALL-E and EVE designs and shows a lot of the original sketches that helped to form the two leads.

BNL Shorts (9:30)

Five short films reveal the secret video files of the Axiom and include many pre-recorded drills and public service announcements. There's a lot of great humor in these, especially one that details that history of the Buy N Large corporation with narration by Fred Willard.

Deleted Scenes (12:45)

Disc Two features two more deleted scenes, both available with optional introductions by Stanton. Again, they're in animatic form and don't really add much, though one interestingly suggests that William Shatner may have been the original basis for Fred Willard's character.

"The Pixar Story" (1:29:30)

A full-length documentary detailing the history of Pixar as a company. It's an impressive special feature and makes the 3-Disc set worth the extra money. Particularly impressive is that the doc doesn't shy away from some of the nastier experiences Pixar had in its dealings with Disney during its earlier years. There is so much great footage included -- especially in clips of student films by Brad Bird and John Lasseter -- that it's a shame the full shorts couldn't be included in some capacity. The documentary was made around the time of "The Incredibles" so there's no direct link to WALL-E, but that shouldn't stop anyone from checking it out.

The Robot section of the disc offers a few child-friendly extras as well:

"WALL-E's Treasures and Trinkets" (4:54)

A number of short segments were created to promote WALL-E online and they're all included here with scenes of our hero playing with a variety of objects. Everything from plastic balls to hula hoops to a troublesome magnet.

"Bot Files"

From a menu of almost thirty different robot designs, you can select the bot of your choice and pull up a brief video description of their job and personality.

"Lots of Bots" Storybook

The characters of Mary and John read an interactive story that allows for some viewer navigation. It's not the most interesting feature but it's certainly family-friendly and something that kids may enjoy trying their hand at.

DISC THREE:

Disc three consists entirely of a Digital Copy of the film for use in portable devices like Ipods. This is a growing trend and while it feels somewhat redundant, I can't fault the set as it's packed to brim and this is just icing on the cake.

OVERALL:

If you haven't seen WALL-E yet, you're missing out on what is destined to become another Pixar classic. The 3-Disc set goes above and beyond most special editions and should be a welcome addition to any collection. Even after pouring over the film and features, I'm already to anxious to put it into the player again and relive the magic that Pixar seems to breathe effortlessly onto the screen.