Action heroine Sigourney Weaver has ditched her tough-girl image in new Pixar animation WALL:E.

The Aliens star, 59, attended the UK premiere of the film on Sunday, and said she was “absolutely delighted” to be asked to voice a spaceship computer in the film, which centres on the last robot on earth.

Sigourney, who has only a handful of lines, said: “As I don’t have any stake in the film, I can objectively say I’m in love with every element. I think this is a perfect movie.”

WALL:E, pronounced wally, is a lonely robot whose job it is to clear up the waste on Earth, after humans have been forced to evacuate.

But after 800 lonely years, WALL:E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) wants someone to share his world with. Luckily, girl robot EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) is sent to Earth on a routine mission...

Sigourney says WALL:E can give us all hope.

“He doesn’t give up or sit around feeling sorry for himself. He is dogged and devoted and whatever he does, he tries to do well.”

WALL:E is released in the UK on Friday.