"Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" , the first totally computer-generated "live action" film, won the week's box office with a take of $16.2 million. (The picture was downloaded from the actual "Sky Captain" site, where it's available as desktop wallpaper.)

I took my son to see it Sunday and while we both enjoyed it the film didn't draw applause.

No heart.

One early scene explains it all. The heroine, played Gwyneth Paltrow, goes to Radio City Music Hall to meet a contact. While she and the contact huddle in the foreground, the background is the Radio City screen showing "The Wizard of Oz." (The film is set in a fictional 1939.) Just look at Judy Garland's face, reacting to the effect of Billie Burke's good witch arriving on a soap bubble, then compare it to what Paltrow is doing in the foreground.

And that's the most emotion Paltrow gives through the whole performance. (I blame the director, by the way. If actors in front of a blue screen aren't given proper instruction, none of them can get it right.)

This is often the problem when techies command a story. It's all head. This was the case for a lot of early sci-fi. Asimov's early stories, in particular, suffered from a lack of deep emotion. "Nightfall One" was an exception, but that was because of the tag ending -- the emotions weren't worked through. (Go to Famousfoto.com for this great poster of Jack Haley as The Tin Man.)

It's the how of "Sky Captain" that fascinates. Actors performed in front of a blue screen, after having had their moves completely blocked-out by three complete edits of the whole production. They were then cut-in where needed, like paper dolls.

Gwyneth Paltrow got the most screen time and, as I noted before, this is unfortunate. She made the mistake of trying to act. Given the limitations of the way the story was being told caricature was called for, and Angelina Jolie pulled it off brilliantly. (Both would have been advised to talk to Bob Hoskins, who did such a great job as the foil for cartoons in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?")

The most startling bit of casting was the late Sir Laurence Olivier as the villian, Dr. Totenkopf, but I won't spoil things for you by explaining why his casting fit. (It was the young Olivier of "Wuthering Heights," not the older Olivier, who got the part by the way. He couldn't compete with his younger self in life, either.)

Movies like "Sky Captain" are usually most noted for what they make possible. When this technology is put in thrall to a great story, when it can be done by someone who is devoted to story-telling first, and human emotions, rather than getting the thing done, then I think you'll see something outstanding.

In the end "Sky Captain" will be a landmark in the way the original "Becky Sharp" was a landmark for Technicolor. It's not how the elephant dances, but the fact that can dance at all that's remarkable.