FOR the first 40 minutes of Wall.E, the only thing resembling speech is the trash compactor pronouncing his name, 'Waa- ah-leee', and his love interest Eve's, 'Ee-vaaaah'. There is still dialogue but in place of words are the squeaks of motors, the clicks of gears and other mechanical sounds, which help the two robots express their thoughts and feelings.

'How do you have a character not speak words or very few words but understand what is going on in its head?' director Andrew Stanton pinpointed the challenge facing the creators of the latest Pixar animated feature. He was speaking at an interview at the Four Seasons hotel in Los Angeles in June to promote the movie.

The solution lies with Ben Burtt, the film's sound designer. The four-time Academy Award winner is the master of wordless speeches - he is behind the language of beeps and whistles of Stars Wars' R2-D2, the lovable robot in the original trilogy.

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times Life!