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==Plot==
==Plot==
In the early [[22nd century]] the [[megacorporation]] ''Buy n Large'' assumed every economic service on Earth, including the government. Overrun by [[recycling|un-recycled]] waste, the planet eventually became so polluted that it could no longer support life. ''Buy n Large'' [[CEO]] Shelby Forthright developed a plan that would have humans spend the next five years aboard fully-automated starliners, while an army of "WALL-E" robots would compact the waste into skyscraper-like towers for easy disposal. However, the plan went awry; the Earth was found too toxic to clean up, and thus for the next 700 years humanity continued to live aboard the starliners for several generations, with the [[micro-gravity]] causing a loss of [[bone density|bone mass]] leading to humans becoming too obese to do anything without the help of robotic assistance, including piloting the ship, which is handled by its own computerized [[autopilot]]. On Earth, all of the WALL-E units have failed except for one; this remaining unit still performs his duties but has achieved a form of [[sentience]], collecting interesting knickknacks, befriending a [[cockroach]], and watching an old videotape of ''[[Hello, Dolly! (film)|Hello, Dolly!]]'' to learn about human emotions including love.
In the early [[22nd century]] the [[megacorporation]] ''Buy n Large'' assumed every economic service on Earth, including the government. Overrun by [[recycling|un-recycled]] waste, the planet eventually became so polluted that it could no longer support life. ''Buy n Large'' [[CEO]] Shelby Forthright developed a plan that would have humans spend the next five years aboard fully-automated starliners, while an army of "WALL•E" robots would compact the waste into skyscraper-like towers for easy disposal. However, the plan went awry; the Earth was found too toxic to clean up, and thus for the next 700 years humanity continued to live aboard the starliners for several generations, with the [[micro-gravity]] causing a loss of [[bone density|bone mass]] leading to humans becoming too obese to do anything without the help of robotic assistance, including piloting the ship, which is handled by its own computerized [[autopilot]]. On Earth, all of the WALL•E units have failed except for one; this remaining unit still performs his duties but has achieved a form of [[sentience]], collecting interesting knickknacks, befriending a [[cockroach]], and watching an old videotape of ''[[Hello, Dolly! (film)|Hello, Dolly!]]'' to learn about human emotions including love.


One day, WALL-E finds a new plant growth in the trash, and repots it in an old shoe for safekeeping. Later, a spaceship lands on Earth and deploys a feminine, state of the art "EVE" probe who begins to scan the surface as part of her [[directive (programming)|directive]] to find plant life on Earth. WALL-E falls in love with the new robot on first sight, though EVE could hardly think the same of him. Eventually, EVE warms up to WALL-E and takes to his unique personality. When WALL-E shows her the plant he found, EVE's automatic programming initiates, causing her to seize the plant and store it inside her, activate a homing beacon for her ship, and shut down. WALL-E is unable to awaken EVE, but goes to great lengths to protect her from the elements, as well as take her motionless body out on a [[Dating (activity)|date]]. EVE's spaceship later returns to collect her; WALL-E, unwilling to leave EVE, hitches onto the ship's hull to follow EVE to her destination, the ''Axiom'', the flagship of the human starliners. Aboard, EVE is taken to the bridge of the ship while WALL-E follows her; along the way he runs into several humans and robots, inadvertently giving them a refreshing new lease on life different from their dull routines.
One day, WALL•E finds a new plant growth in the trash, and repots it in an old shoe for safekeeping. Later, a spaceship lands on Earth and deploys a feminine, state of the art "EVE" probe who begins to scan the surface as part of her [[directive (programming)|directive]] to find plant life on Earth. WALL•E falls in love with the new robot on first sight, though EVE could hardly think the same of him. Eventually, EVE warms up to WALL•E and takes to his unique personality. When WALL•E shows her the plant he found, EVE's automatic programming initiates, causing her to seize the plant and store it inside her, activate a homing beacon for her ship, and shut down. WALL•E is unable to awaken EVE, but goes to great lengths to protect her from the elements, as well as take her motionless body out on a [[Dating (activity)|date]]. EVE's spaceship later returns to collect her; WALL•E, unwilling to leave EVE, hitches onto the ship's hull to follow EVE to her destination, the ''Axiom'', the flagship of the human starliners. Aboard, EVE is taken to the bridge of the ship while WALL•E follows her; along the way he runs into several humans and robots, inadvertently giving them a refreshing new lease on life different from their dull routines.


On the bridge, EVE reactivates and prepares to present the plant to the ship's Captain so that he may place it in the ship's holo-detector, which will activate the ship's [[hyperspace (science fiction)|hyperjump]] and return to Earth so that humanity may recolonize the planet. However, the plant is discovered missing, and the Captain believes EVE to be malfunctioning. Both EVE and WALL-E are sent to the robot repair ward, but before EVE's diagnosis can be completed, WALL-E rescues her, mistakenly thinking that the repair ward robots are trying to harm EVE. In the process of freeing her, he accidentally releases all the other malfunctioning robots in the room as well, labeling both EVE and himself security targets. EVE tries to send WALL-E back to Earth via an [[escape pod]] to prevent him from causing trouble, but WALL-E simply refuses to leave without her. While the two argue, the Captain's robotic [[first mate]] enters the room with the missing plant which, as it turns out, he had stolen, and launches it into space in a pod set to self-destruct. WALL-E and EVE recover the plant before the pod explodes, and they celebrate with a dance around the ship before returning the plant back to the Captain.
On the bridge, EVE reactivates and prepares to present the plant to the ship's Captain so that he may place it in the ship's holo-detector, which will activate the ship's [[hyperspace (science fiction)|hyperjump]] and return to Earth so that humanity may recolonize the planet. However, the plant is discovered missing, and the Captain believes EVE to be malfunctioning. Both EVE and WALL•E are sent to the robot repair ward, but before EVE's diagnosis can be completed, WALL-E rescues her, mistakenly thinking that the repair ward robots are trying to harm EVE. In the process of freeing her, he accidentally releases all the other malfunctioning robots in the room as well, labeling both EVE and himself security targets. EVE tries to send WALL•E back to Earth via an [[escape pod]] to prevent him from causing trouble, but WALL•E simply refuses to leave without her. While the two argue, the Captain's robotic [[first mate]] enters the room with the missing plant which, as it turns out, he had stolen, and launches it into space in a pod set to self-destruct. WALL-E and EVE recover the plant before the pod explodes, and they celebrate with a dance around the ship before returning the plant back to the Captain.


EVE presents the plant to the Captain. Out of curiosity, the Captain reviews her camera logs and sees the devastated planet, belying the images of greenery he had seen from historical records; in the process, EVE views security footage showing WALL-E protecting her while she was shut down and realizes that she loves him. The Captain vows that humanity must return to make up for their mistakes but the ship's autopilot, aptly referred to as "Auto", reveals that Forthright had instilled a directive to prevent any attempt to return to Earth. Auto stages a [[mutiny]], locking the Captain in his chambers and sending both WALL-E and EVE down a garbage chute with the plant, significantly damaging WALL-E along the way. As the robots recover, they realize the only way to repair the failing WALL-E is to return to Earth to his stash of spare parts, and the fastest way to do so would be to insert the plant in the holo-detector. With the help of some of the malfunctioning robots from the repair ward and the Captain, WALL-E and EVE surmount the efforts of Auto and the security systems to prevent them from activating the holo-detector, though WALL-E suffers further damage to the extent that he is crushed. The Captain, standing on his own two feet for the first time, is able to deactivate Auto, allowing the humans and robots to help insert the plant into holo-detector, and the ship makes the hyperjump to Earth.
EVE presents the plant to the Captain. Out of curiosity, the Captain reviews her camera logs and sees the devastated planet, belying the images of greenery he had seen from historical records; in the process, EVE views security footage showing WALL-E protecting her while she was shut down and realizes that she loves him. The Captain vows that humanity must return to make up for their mistakes but the ship's autopilot, aptly referred to as "Auto", reveals that Forthright had instilled a directive to prevent any attempt to return to Earth. Auto stages a [[mutiny]], locking the Captain in his chambers and sending both WALL-E and EVE down a garbage chute with the plant, significantly damaging WALL-E along the way. As the robots recover, they realize the only way to repair the failing WALL-E is to return to Earth to his stash of spare parts, and the fastest way to do so would be to insert the plant in the holo-detector. With the help of some of the malfunctioning robots from the repair ward and the Captain, WALL-E and EVE surmount the efforts of Auto and the security systems to prevent them from activating the holo-detector, though WALL-E suffers further damage to the extent that he is crushed. The Captain, standing on his own two feet for the first time, is able to deactivate Auto, allowing the humans and robots to help insert the plant into holo-detector, and the ship makes the hyperjump to Earth.

Revision as of 01:00, 26 September 2008

For the video game adaption of the film, see WALL-E (video game).
WALL-E
File:WALL-Eposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAndrew Stanton
Written byScreenplay:
Andrew Stanton
Jim Reardon
Story:
Andrew Stanton
Pete Docter
Produced byJim Morris
StarringBen Burtt
Elissa Knight
Sigourney Weaver
Jeff Garlin
Fred Willard
John Ratzenberger
Kathy Najimy
Edited byStephen Schaffer
Music byThomas Newman
Peter Gabriel (song)
Distributed byWalt Disney Pictures
Release dates
June 27, 2008 (USA)
July 18, 2008 (UK)
September 18, 2008 (AUS)
September 18, 2008 (NZ)
Running time
98 min.[1]
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish
Budget$180,000,000[2]
Box office$420,603,606[3]

WALL-E (promoted with an interpunct as WALL·E) is a 2008 computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton. It follows the story of a robot named WALL-E who is designed to clean up a polluted Earth. He eventually falls in love with another robot named EVE, and follows her into outer space on an adventure.

After directing Finding Nemo, Stanton felt Pixar had created believable simulations of underwater physics and was willing to direct a film set in space. Most of the characters do not have actual human voices, but instead communicate with body language and robotic sounds, designed by Ben Burtt, that resemble voices. In addition, it is the first animated feature by Pixar to have segments featuring live action characters.

Walt Disney Pictures released it in the United States and Canada on June 27, 2008. The film grossed $23.1 million on its opening day, and $63 million during its opening weekend in 3,992 theaters, ranking #1 at the box office. This ranks the third highest-grossing opening weekend for a Pixar film as of July 2008. Following Pixar tradition, WALL-E was paired with a short film for its theatrical release. It has achieved highly positive reviews with an approval rating of 96% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Plot

In the early 22nd century the megacorporation Buy n Large assumed every economic service on Earth, including the government. Overrun by un-recycled waste, the planet eventually became so polluted that it could no longer support life. Buy n Large CEO Shelby Forthright developed a plan that would have humans spend the next five years aboard fully-automated starliners, while an army of "WALL•E" robots would compact the waste into skyscraper-like towers for easy disposal. However, the plan went awry; the Earth was found too toxic to clean up, and thus for the next 700 years humanity continued to live aboard the starliners for several generations, with the micro-gravity causing a loss of bone mass leading to humans becoming too obese to do anything without the help of robotic assistance, including piloting the ship, which is handled by its own computerized autopilot. On Earth, all of the WALL•E units have failed except for one; this remaining unit still performs his duties but has achieved a form of sentience, collecting interesting knickknacks, befriending a cockroach, and watching an old videotape of Hello, Dolly! to learn about human emotions including love.

One day, WALL•E finds a new plant growth in the trash, and repots it in an old shoe for safekeeping. Later, a spaceship lands on Earth and deploys a feminine, state of the art "EVE" probe who begins to scan the surface as part of her directive to find plant life on Earth. WALL•E falls in love with the new robot on first sight, though EVE could hardly think the same of him. Eventually, EVE warms up to WALL•E and takes to his unique personality. When WALL•E shows her the plant he found, EVE's automatic programming initiates, causing her to seize the plant and store it inside her, activate a homing beacon for her ship, and shut down. WALL•E is unable to awaken EVE, but goes to great lengths to protect her from the elements, as well as take her motionless body out on a date. EVE's spaceship later returns to collect her; WALL•E, unwilling to leave EVE, hitches onto the ship's hull to follow EVE to her destination, the Axiom, the flagship of the human starliners. Aboard, EVE is taken to the bridge of the ship while WALL•E follows her; along the way he runs into several humans and robots, inadvertently giving them a refreshing new lease on life different from their dull routines.

On the bridge, EVE reactivates and prepares to present the plant to the ship's Captain so that he may place it in the ship's holo-detector, which will activate the ship's hyperjump and return to Earth so that humanity may recolonize the planet. However, the plant is discovered missing, and the Captain believes EVE to be malfunctioning. Both EVE and WALL•E are sent to the robot repair ward, but before EVE's diagnosis can be completed, WALL-E rescues her, mistakenly thinking that the repair ward robots are trying to harm EVE. In the process of freeing her, he accidentally releases all the other malfunctioning robots in the room as well, labeling both EVE and himself security targets. EVE tries to send WALL•E back to Earth via an escape pod to prevent him from causing trouble, but WALL•E simply refuses to leave without her. While the two argue, the Captain's robotic first mate enters the room with the missing plant which, as it turns out, he had stolen, and launches it into space in a pod set to self-destruct. WALL-E and EVE recover the plant before the pod explodes, and they celebrate with a dance around the ship before returning the plant back to the Captain.

EVE presents the plant to the Captain. Out of curiosity, the Captain reviews her camera logs and sees the devastated planet, belying the images of greenery he had seen from historical records; in the process, EVE views security footage showing WALL-E protecting her while she was shut down and realizes that she loves him. The Captain vows that humanity must return to make up for their mistakes but the ship's autopilot, aptly referred to as "Auto", reveals that Forthright had instilled a directive to prevent any attempt to return to Earth. Auto stages a mutiny, locking the Captain in his chambers and sending both WALL-E and EVE down a garbage chute with the plant, significantly damaging WALL-E along the way. As the robots recover, they realize the only way to repair the failing WALL-E is to return to Earth to his stash of spare parts, and the fastest way to do so would be to insert the plant in the holo-detector. With the help of some of the malfunctioning robots from the repair ward and the Captain, WALL-E and EVE surmount the efforts of Auto and the security systems to prevent them from activating the holo-detector, though WALL-E suffers further damage to the extent that he is crushed. The Captain, standing on his own two feet for the first time, is able to deactivate Auto, allowing the humans and robots to help insert the plant into holo-detector, and the ship makes the hyperjump to Earth.

As soon as the Axiom lands on Earth, EVE attempts to repair WALL-E. Though she is able to restore his body, his memories and personality seem to have been erased, his waste-disposal programming taking over. EVE is heartbroken and mournfully gives WALL-E a farewell "kiss", actually a power spark, which reboots WALL-E's memory. The two robots embrace happily as the humans from the Axiom take their first steps on Earth, carefully replanting the seedling that brought them back, and begin working alongside the robots to restore their home.

Cast

Ben Burtt is the sound engineer for WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class), the titular character of the film, as well as other robot characters. WALL-E is a mobile trash compactor, the last operational unit in a massive line created by the Buy n Large Corporation to gather and compact the waste created by the humans that used their products. WALL-E is solar-powered and constantly replaces his worn parts with those scavenged from non-functional WALL-E units. He can retract his limbs and head into his body and form a cube when he senses danger (although he is armed with a laser beam between his eyes, he uses this chiefly as a cutting tool with which to manipulate waste). He may also fold into a cube when he is resting. WALL-E's long and lonely existence has granted him sentience and emotion. His loneliness is soon requited via EVE, a probe that comes to Earth searching for signs of plant life. Burtt also produced the voice for M-O (Microbe Obliterator), one of the maintenance robots who cleans the filth in the ship and inspects incoming shipments for foreign contaminants. M-O is annoyed by the amount of filth on WALL-E, and learns to act on his own accord by following WALL-E in an attempt to clean him. M-O's warning message and catchphrase, "foreign contaminant", were created using PlainTalk, while the chime produced by WALL-E to signify his recharge is identical to the sound produced by a Macintosh computer as a speaker test during the Power On Self Test or POST, which also serves to signify its activation.[4]

Elissa Knight as EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator), a sleek, ergonomically advanced robotic probe whose main function is to locate plant life in order to determine whether the Earth is capable of supporting human life. She is equipped with scanners and a retractable plasma cannon in her right arm, the latter of which she is quick to use at the slightest provocation. Although initially EVE appears to be an unfeeling, stoic robot concerned with nothing more than what she is programmed to do, over the course of the film she begins to show signs of all kinds of emotions, including cheer, frustration, and sorrow, and eventually comes to worry more for WALL-E than for her purpose. Her design was inspired by the sleek white versions of Apple, Inc. products such as the iPod [5].

Jeff Garlin as the Captain, the sole leader and commander of the Axiom, who becomes enraptured by the images of Earth as it was before the rise of Buy n Large and therefore assumes dynamism and a leader's position among the humans who recolonize Earth. His holographic commemoration in his room reveals his name to be "B. McCrea" (his given name is unknown).

Fred Willard as Shelby Forthright, CEO of the Buy n Large Corporation. In the film, a global cleanup project is initiated by Shelby Forthright as humanity is evacuated into space; the project goes awry when he finds he had underestimated just how toxic the Earth has become, persuading him to forsake hope. Willard is the only cast member in this film who plays a live-action character with a speaking role, and the first to do so in any Pixar film.

John Ratzenberger as John, a human who is made aware of his surroundings by WALL-E. He becomes the companion of Mary.

Kathy Najimy as Mary, another human made aware of her surroundings by WALL-E. She becomes the companion of John.

Sigourney Weaver as the Axiom's computer. Weaver's casting was a nod to the Alien films[6].

MacInTalk sounds were used for Auto, the Axiom's internal autopilot, built into the ship's steering wheel, although Burtt originally wanted to use maritime military sounds for the character. Auto has a single, HAL-like eye. He serves as the antagonist of the film. His responsibilities include following Directive A113, by which to ensure that the ship never returns to Earth. Upon discovering a small plant retrieved by EVE, Auto seeks to dispose of it in order to follow the A113 protocol, thus maintaining the status quo.[7]

Other robots

File:Wall-e and m-o.jpg
WALL-E and M-O meet each other.
  • BRL-A — Mobile umbrella robots, one of which has trouble keeping himself closed (the name being a play on "umbrella")
  • BUF-R — Cleaning robots that polish the EVE probes (the name being a play on "buffer").
  • BURN-E — Robots who weld and make repairs on the Axiom.
  • COM-T — Secretary robots who type and organize files, one of which learns to wave hands from WALL-E.
  • D-FIB — Defibrillator robots, one of which cannot control the voltage in its paddles.
  • GEL-A — Robot stewards who oversee security on the ship, primarily following commands from Auto.
  • GO-4 — Head of security and the Captain's second-in-command, but is entirely subservient to Auto. He steals the plant from EVE and tries to destroy it, but is later destroyed himself. The name is a play on "gofer".
  • HAN-S — Robotic masseurs, one of which is overly energetic with little control over his flailing arms (the name being a play on "hands").
  • L-T — Flashlight robots, one of which likes to play in the dark.
  • NAN-E — Nanny robots who teach and watch over the children on the Axiom.
  • PR-T — Beautician robots who make mindless small-talk, one of which tries to give a makeover to anything nearby (the name being a play on "pretty").
  • REM-E — Robotic rodents modeled after computer mice, which inhabit the Axiom waste dump. The name is an allusion to the main character of Ratatouille.
  • SERV-A — Service robots who carry other robots from place to place.
  • SPR-A — Cleaning robots that spray and rinse robots with water (the name being a play on "spray").
  • VAQ-M — Vacuum-like robots, one of which is prone to sneezing fits.
  • VN-GO — Painting robots, one of which tracks paint wherever he goes. The name is a play on "Van Gogh".
  • WALL-A — (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Axiom-Class). Large trash-compactor robots used aboard the Axiom that resemble WALL-E units.

Production

WALL-E is the only one still truly living. And what is the ultimate purpose of living? To love. And WALL-E falls head over heels with a robot named EVE. Now, WALL-E's feelings aren't reciprocated because, well, she has no feelings. She's a robot, cold and clinical. WALL-E is the one who has evolved over time and garnered feelings. So in the end, it's gonna be WALL-E's pursuit to win EVE's heart, and his unique appreciation of life to become mankind's last hope to rediscover its roots. In short, it's going to take a robot's love to help make the world go round.

Andrew Stanton[7]

Andrew Stanton conceived WALL-E before Toy Story was made:[8] the idea was, "What if mankind evacuated Earth and forgot to turn off the last remaining robot?"[9] Pete Docter developed the film for two months in 1995, after Stanton explained the story to him, but he decided to make Monsters, Inc. (2001) instead, as he was unsure of telling a love story.[10] The idea continued to preoccupy Stanton, because of his love of space opera and personifying inanimate objects.[7]

After directing Finding Nemo, Stanton felt they "had really achieved the physics of believing you were really under water, so I said 'Hey, let’s do that with air'. Let’s fix our lenses, let’s get the depth of field looking exactly how anamorphic lenses work and do all these tricks that make us have the same kind of dimensionality that we got on Nemo with an object out in the air and on the ground'".[8] Producer Jim Morris added that the film was animated so that it would feel "as if there really was a cameraman".[11] Dennis Muren was hired to advise Pixar on replicating science fiction films from the 1960s and 1970s, including elements such as 70 mm frames, barrel distortion and lens flare.[4][12] Scale models were made for Muren, which he used to teach Pixar.[13]

Life is nothing but imperfection and the computer likes perfection, so we spent probably 90% of our time putting in all of the imperfections, whether it's in the design of something or just the unconscious stuff. How the camera lens works in [a real] housing is never perfect, and we tried to put those imperfections [into the virtual camera] so that everything looks like you're in familiar [live-action] territory.

Andrew Stanton[14]

The design of the robots came about by Stanton telling his designers, "See it as an appliance first, and then read character into it".[8] In creating the title character, the animators were inspired by a pair of binoculars and by Luxo Jr., the lamp featured in the Pixar logo.[7] Stanton was playing with a pair of binoculars, which looked happy or sad depending on whether they were upside down or not.[4] Stanton felt "you don't need a mouth, you don't need a nose, you get a whole personality just from [the eyes]", which meant the audience would feel he is "not just a human in a robot shell". WALL-E's body came from the logic of having his head, arms, and legs pull into his body like a turtle and tank treads that would allow him to overcome any terrain. The director also acknowledged he may have been subconsciously influenced by Johnny 5 from the film Short Circuit, which he once saw.[12]

Stanton pitched the story to Ben Burtt who signed on to do the sound design.[7] There is little traditional dialogue in the film; Stanton joked, "I’m basically making R2-D2: The Movie", in reference to Burtt's work on Star Wars. To create dialogue, Burtt took various mechanical sounds, and combined them to resemble dialogue.[9] When WALL-E recharges his battery by means of solar energy, he makes the same startup chime as does a Macintosh computer [15]. Executive producer John Lasseter said of the film's lack of dialogue that "the art of animation is about what the character does, not what it says. It all depends on how you tell the story, whether it has a lot of dialogue or not."[16]

As Finding Nemo was dedicated to the memory of Glenn McQueen and Cars was dedicated to the memory of Joe Ranft, WALL-E was dedicated to Justin Wright (1981–2008), a Pixar animator who had worked on Ratatouille and died of a heart attack before the movie's release.[17] In the Pixar tradition, a list of "Production Babies" was included in the closing credits. As of July 2008, WALL-E holds the record for the highest production budget of any Pixar film at $180 million.

References to other Pixar films

Main article: List of Pixar film references § WALL-E

Soundtrack

Main article: WALL-E (soundtrack)

Release

File:WallEElCapitan.jpg
WALL-E marquee at the El Capitan Theatre, Los Angeles, on June 26, 2008

The film received its premiere at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on June 23, 2008.[18] WALL-E opened in wide release in the United States and Canada on June 27, 2008 and grossed $23.1 million in its opening day.[19] In its opening weekend, the film grossed $63 million in 3,992 theaters, ranking #1 at the box office.[20] The opening weekend would give the film the third-best opening weekend for a Pixar film.[21]

Continuing a Pixar tradition, WALL-E was paired with a short film for its theatrical release. The attached film was Presto.[22] This is the first Disney-Pixar film to use the new Walt Disney Pictures logo (used in 2006 since Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest), since the previous eight films (Toy Story-Ratatouille) used the Pixar version of the logo.

Reception

WALL-E received near-universal acclaim from film critics.[23] Rotten Tomatoes reported that 96% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based upon a sample of 200 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10.[24] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 93, based on 39 reviews.[23]

Todd McCarthy of Variety called the film "Pixar's ninth consecutive wonder", saying it was imaginative yet straightforward. Citing WALL-E's "adroit" borrowing from other works, McCarthy said it pushed the boundaries of animation in managing to balance esoteric ideas with more immediately accessible ones, and that the main difference between the film and other science fiction projects rooted in an apocalypse was its optimism. McCarthy also had praise for Thomas Newman's musical score and the visuals, for which he cited cinematographer Roger Deakins' input as a visual consultant as a possible factor.[25]

Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter declared that WALL-E surpassed the achievements of Pixar's previous eight features, saying that the film had the "heart, soul, spirit and romance" of the best silent films. He said that the filmmakers managed to tell a terrific story through visual and aural ideas which enabled the robotic characters to convey "a rainbow of emotions". He said the visuals were arguably Pixar's best and praised the creation of a ruined Earth city and a human spaceship as "fantastically imaginative". Honeycutt said the film's definitive stroke of brilliance was in using a mix of archive film footage and computer graphics to trigger WALL-E's romantic leanings. He praised Burtt's sound design, saying "If there is such a thing as an aural sleight of hand, this is it". Honeycutt concluded by saying that despite the film's acknowledged nods to other works (2001: A Space Odyssey, and moments where robots "run riot" bringing to mind Monsters, Inc.), WALL-E could be Pixar's most original work to date.[26]

Roger Ebert writing in the Chicago Sun-Times said WALL-E succeeded in three areas: as "an enthralling animated film, a visual wonderment, and a decent science-fiction story". Ebert said the scarcity of dialogue would allow it to "cross language barriers" in a manner appropriate to the global theme, and he had praise for the visual effects, saying the color palette was "bright and cheerful... and a little bit realistic". He cited early Disney animations that successfully translated human expressions onto non-human characters as an influence on the title character. He said the film managed to generate a "curious" regard for the WALL-E, comparing his design ("rusty and hard-working and plucky") favorably to more obvious attempts at creating "lovable" lead characters. Ebert called the storytelling "enchanting" and said the film could be enjoyed by adults and children alike. He said WALL-E was concerned with ideas rather than spectacle, saying it may require "a little thought" on the part of the audience, and that this could be particularly stimulating to younger viewers.[27]

Commentary

The film was interpreted as tackling a topical, ecologically-minded agenda.[24][25][26] Todd McCarthy said it did so with a lightness of touch that granted the viewer the ability to accept or ignore the message.[25] Jessica Jensen, blogging at The Huffington Post, while praising the film overall, felt it did not make enough of a point with its environmental themes. She suggested it should have had environmental advice or a website link during the end credits, adding it was "troubling" that by the end "humans return to Earth and it seems as if everything will just be hunky-dory".[28] The film's ecological theme was criticized by conservative commentators such as CNN Headline News host Glenn Beck, and contributors for National Review Online;[29] Shannen W. Coffin said that the film was "leftist propaganda about the evils of mankind",[30] and Jonah Goldberg wrote that he agreed with the charges of hypocrisy and "Malthusian fear mongering" leveled at the film by others, but said that it was "fascinating" and occasionally "brilliant".[31]

Patrick J. Ford of The American Conservative said WALL-E's conservative critics were missing lessons in the film that he felt were appealing to traditional conservatism. He argued that the mass consumerism in the film was not shown to be a product of big business, but of too close a tie between big business and big government: "The government unilaterally provided its citizens with everything they needed, and this lack of variety led to Earth’s downfall". Responding to Coffin's claim that the film points out the "evils of mankind", he argued the only evils depicted were those that resulted from "losing touch with our own humanity" and that fundamental conservative representations such as the farm, the family unit, and "wholesome" entertainment were in the end held aloft by the human characters. He concluded, "By steering conservative families away from WALL-E, these commentators are doing their readers a great disservice".[32]

Andrew Stanton commented on the reaction to the film by denying any specific agenda beyond telling the story about 'the last robot on Earth'.[33][34] He said that people were making connections that he "never saw coming", and that the circumstances of humanity's abandoning the Earth arose merely as a way of telling the story, "reverse-engineered" from the initial concept of using refuse as both a visual shorthand that would be easy for children to understand, and as a way of depicting the title character as holding a low-status, menial job.[35]

Kyle Smith, author and columnist for the New York Post, wrote that in depicting humans of the future as "a flabby mass of peabrained idiots who are literally too fat to walk", WALL-E was darker and more cynical than any major Disney feature film he could recall. He compared the humans in the film to the patrons of Disney World, adding, "I'm also not sure I've ever seen a major corporation spend so much money to issue an insult to its customers".[36] Maura Judkis of U.S. News & World Report questioned whether this depiction of "frighteningly obese humans" would resonate with children, making them more likely to "play outside rather than in front of the computer, to avoid a similar fate".[37] Stanton denied that his intention was to pass comment on obesity, saying the purpose was instead to portray human overdependency.[35]

Award nominations

Home release

The film will be released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in Region 1 on November 18, 2008 and in Region 2 on November 24, 2008. [40]

WALL-E will have a second disc with special features and will include a bonus digital copy of the film. Special features include several deleted scenes, an audio commentary with director Andrew Stanton, Presto animated theatrical short film, and an animation sound design featurette.

The DVD also includes the documentary, The Pixar Story.[41]

References

  1. ^ "Pixar Projection - Home". Pixar.com. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  2. ^ "Production Budget of Wall E". Boxofficemojo. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  3. ^ "Movie WALL-E - Box Office Data, News, Cast Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
  4. ^ a b c Eric Vespe (2008-02-24). "WonderCon: Quint sees some WALL-E and Prince Caspian footage at Disney's panel! Plus Q&A with Andrew Stanton!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 2008-02-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Siklos, Richard (2008-05-09). "Apple and Eve". CNNMoney.com. Retrieved 2008-07-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Eric Vespe (2008-04-09). "Quint discusses the Pixar half of the Disney Animation Presentation! UP! WALL-E! TOY STORY 3! NEWT! THE BEAR & THE BOW!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 2008-04-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ a b c d e Peter Scieretta (2007-07-28). "Comic-Con: Indepth Wall-E Details Revealed". Slash Film. Retrieved 2007-10-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ a b c Eric Vespe (2007-08-11). "Quint sits down with WALL-E director Andrew Stanton!!!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 2007-08-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ a b Eric Vespe (2007-08-01). "Quint catches up on Disney's Prince Caspian and WALL-E panel at Comic-Con!!!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 2007-08-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ James White (April 2008). "How We Made WALL-E". Total Film. pp. 113–116.
  11. ^ Tom Ambrose (2007-07-26). "Heroes of 2008". Empire. p. 72. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ a b Alex Billington (2008-02-24). "WonderCon: Pixar's Wall-E Presentation - Incredible!". FirstShowing.net. Retrieved 2008-02-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Anthony Baratta (2008-04-07). "First Look: Disney/Pixar's WALL-E". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Desowitz, Bill. "Hello, WALL•E!: Pixar Reaches for the Stars". Animation World Magazine. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  15. ^ Dawn C. Chmielewski (2008-06-25). "'Wall-E' draws design inspiration from Apple". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-06-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Steve Fritz (2007). "A talk with John Lasseter: What the man in Disney's chair has to say". Newsarama. Retrieved 2007-11-04.
  17. ^ "Justin Wright (IV)". Internet Movie Database. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
  18. ^ "Wall-E rolls out for world premiere". The Press Association. 2008-06-23. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
  19. ^ "WALL-E (2008) - Daily Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
  20. ^ "WALL-E (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
  21. ^ "Pixar Movies". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
  22. ^ Wortham, Jenna (2008-07-07). "Video Pick: Pixar's Magical Short, Presto". Wired. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
  23. ^ a b "WALL-E: Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  24. ^ a b "WALL-E Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
  25. ^ a b c Todd McCarthy (2008-06-26). "WALL-E Review". Variety. Retrieved 2008-06-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ a b Kirk Honeycutt (2006-06-25). "Film Review: WALL-E". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2008-06-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ Roger Ebert (2008-06-26). "WALL-E review". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-06-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ Jessica Jensen (2008-06-30). "Wall-E: Robotic Ode to Environmental Protection". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
  29. ^ Ali Frick (2008-07-01). "Right-Wing Apoplectic Over Pixar's WALL-E: 'Malthusian Fear Mongering,' 'Fascistic Elements'". Think Progress. Center for American Progress. Retrieved 2008-07-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ Shannen W. Coffin (2006-06-30). "WALL-E, No Thanks". National Review Online. Jack Fowler. Retrieved 2008-07-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ Jonah Goldberg (2006-06-30). "Re: WALL-E". National Review Online. Jack Fowler. Retrieved 2008-07-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ Patrick J. Ford (2008-06-30). "WALL-E's Conservative Critics". The American Conservative. Ron Unz. Retrieved 2008-07-02. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ Stanton, Andrew; Pixar; WALL-E. "Pixar's Andrew Stanton, Animating from Life" (Audio) (Audio). Retrieved 2008-07-10. {{cite interview}}: More than one of |subject= and |last= specified (help); Unknown parameter |subjectlink2= ignored (|subject-link2= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |subjectlink3= ignored (|subject-link3= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ Sheila Roberts. "Andrew Stanton Interview, WALL-E". MoviesOnline. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  35. ^ a b Megan Basham (2008-06-28). "WALL-E world". World Magazine. Nickolas S. Eicher. Retrieved 2008-07-02. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ Kyle Smith (2008-06-26). "Disney's "Wall-E": A $170 Million Art Film". kylesmithonline.com. Retrieved 2008-07-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ Maura Judkis (2008-06-30). "Will 'WALL-E' Make Us Greener?". U.S. News & World Report. Kerry F. Dyer. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |utl= ignored (help)
  38. ^ "Nominees World Soundtrack Awards 2008 announced". World Soundtrack Awards. 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2008-08-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  39. ^ Staff (2008-06-24). "2008 Teen Choice Awards winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times: The Envelope. David Hiller. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  40. ^ "WALL-E DVD/Blu-ray coming Nov. 18". The Pixar Blog. 2008-08-15.
  41. ^ The Pixar Blog: 'Pixar Story' coming soon to DVD: Iwerks

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