WALL-E

WALL-E
Directed by	Andrew Stanton
Written by	Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon
Music by	Thomas Newman
Release date(s)	June 27, 2008
Running time	98 min.
Official website
IMDb profile

WALL-E is a 2008 Disney/Pixar film about a robot, WALL-E, who is assigned to clean up Earth after mankind abandons it.

Release

WALL-E was released in theaters June 27, 2008. It was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on November 18, 2008.

Reception

Reviews of WALL-E were overwhelmingly positive, garnering it a 96% "Fresh" rating at RottenTomatoes. Roger Ebert called the film "an enthralling animated film, a visual wonderment and a decent science-fiction story."

The film received 6 Academy Award nominations, tying Beauty and the Beast for the most nominations for an animated film. It won the award for Best Animated Feature.

Synopsis

WALL-E is a movie featuring a garbage clean-up robot, named WALL-E: Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth Class, who is left behind alone on a desolate version of the planet Earth in the year 2815. Unlike all his fellow units (of the same name), WALL-E manages to survive alone for 700 years, mainly due to spare parts (and his ability to repair himself) and his occasional companion, a cockroach.

One day, WALL-E, through his rummaging, finds something in a boot filled with dirt and a plant! Never having seen a plant before, he stuffs it in with his other collections. The next day, by coincidence, an unmanned spaceship arrives on the planetary surface, bringing a new robot, E.V.E: Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator.

WALL-E, seeing her for the first time is elated and in love; a full montage ensues as he tries, to no success, to impress E.V.E. However, he finally gets the courage to introduce himself, and during a sand (or junk) storm, takes her for cover inside his hangar. There, he shows her many novelties he has found—a Rubik's cube and light bulb for two—and tries to dance with her to the music from Hello, Dolly!.

However, after a while, he decides to show her the plant. Having found what she was looking for, she shuts down, disconnecting the power in WALL-E's hangar. Over the next few days, he tries, unsuccessfully, to wake her up, usually getting electrocuted in the process.

Unexpectedly, the ship for E.V.E returns, snatching her before WALL-E eyes. As such, WALL-E decides to follow her on the spaceship, eventually taking him out of Earth's orbit and even the Solar System. As they get closer to their destination, WALL-E sees a giant space-ship, the Axiom!

Humans, under the lead of the mega-corporation Buy N' Large, had polluted the planet in 2115 to such an extent that they had to evacuate the doomed Earth, leaving many WALL-E units active to "clean" up as they waited on a 5-year voyage. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to any (except AUTO), the ship was never meant to return; a 5-year voyage had become a "sep-too-uh-sen-tennieul" (as the Captain put it) 700-year voyage!

Arriving on board, EVE is taken from the ship and placed in a containment hold to be cleaned by the ship's own OCD cleaner, M-O: Microbe Obliterator. To its chagrin, WALL-E, being extremely dirty over 700 years, leaves mud-tracks on board the ship, leaving him to follow and clean. After being inspected and shown to have a green signal (the signal for a plant), E.V.E is taken on board by monorail to the Captain (played by Jeff Garlin), with WALL-E following. Mistakenly, WALL-E's exploits wake up two humans: John (played by John Ratzenberger, who has had a part in every Pixar film released) and Mary (played by Kathy Najimy, voice of Peggy on King of the Hill).

Captain McCrea, stemming from a long line of captains, is shown to be very obese, to the extent that he cannot walk without aid, like all other humans on board. This is explained to be due to a lack of exercise (even though they have machines for it) and microgravity, causing quite severe bone loss. His duties are mainly for show; the ship's auto pilot, AUTO controls the ship, with an ulterior motive...

EVE is brought up to the captain's quarters with an unwitting WALL-E; the captain, seeing the green signal for the first sign is unsure what to do. AUTO shows him innocently the manual on how to activate it. He does so, but to his dismay, it turns up negative. EVE, as detected, was not carrying a plant.

Per AUTO's suggestions, EVE is sent to be fixed in the Recovery Ward, a ward of broken robots like a self-opening umbrella and a hyperactive masseuse. WALL-E follows unflinchingly, until he senses EVE is in trouble—he sees her head and arm being removed (both are removable). He breaks in and frees all the robots with the plasma cannon built into EVE's arm.

EVE, unaware of WALL-E's innocent intentions, forces him to follow her to a pod capsule leading back to Earth, while he refuses to do so. However, as she tries to coax him, they hear AUTO's Assistant, GO-4 heading close, bringing the plant in a tractor beam! AUTO had stolen the plant, for yet unknown purposes.

In love, WALL-E goes to rescue the plant, but is trapped inside as the pod is sent into space, and then explodes. However, to EVE's relief, WALL-E had utilized the fire extinguisher and propelled himself through space, in a waltz with E.V.E.

WALL-E and EVE sojourn back into the ship stealthily, and EVE leaves WALL-E to bring the plant to Captain McCrea, much to his dismay. He, bored and sad, follows her, going up the garbage shoot.

To clear her name, EVE presents to Captain McCrea the plant, in the boot. However, AUTO, under the directive A114 (a Pixar pun) takes the plant from her and throws it down the garbage shoot. Instead of hitting the bottom, it makes a thud; out comes the head of WALL-E, holding the plant! Unwilling to give it to AUTO, he hides it in his chest cavity; unscrupulously, AUTO electrocutes WALL-E, frying his circuit board, sending him to be crushed down by the WALL-A units.

Both WALL-E and EVE wake up in the garbage center of the ship, packed into a cube destined to be sent into interstellar orbit. EVE manages to break free from the cube with WALL-E, and the door is stopped from closing by M-O, who quickly befriends WALL-E (despite cleaning him first) and EVE. Together, EVE, WALL-E, M-O and the plant are brought up to the ship's bridge again.

To activate the Holodeck that would make an automatic hyperjump to Earth, WALL-E and EVE bring the plant to the LIDO deck of the ship, to the infuriation of AUTO. He sends all the warning bots to stop them, but they are aided by the broken robots from earlier, who destroy the security robots and clear their path.

Captain McCrea, in an act of bravery, manages to turn on the button that raises the Holodeck, but is restrainted by AUTO, who locks him in. However, Captain McCrea after a scuffle with AUTO, takes his first steps, and turns the autopilot off manually.

Meanwhile, WALL-E, unable to hold the Holodeck open any longer, is crushed under its weight, to the horror of all on board. Luckily, EVE and M-O find the plant and put it on the deck, with the Captain taking the ship back to Earth.

Environmentalism

A few critics objected to the over-wrought environmentalist message in WALL-E, which suggests that consumerism could one day render Earth uninhabitable.

See also

• Survivalist fiction: Dystopia