WALL·E

Plot synopsis:
A Dystopia in the FutureApproximately seven hundred years in the future, the Earth is over-run with garbage and devoid of plant and animal life, the consequence of years of environmental degradation and thoughtless consumerism. The surviving humans are living on the spaceship Axiom after vacating Earth centuries earlier. Axiom is operated by a large corporation called Buy N Large, whose BnL logo appears even on the artificial sun visible from the ship's main concourse. The original plan was for humans to live in outer space for 5 years while cleaning robots ("WALL-Es" invented by Professor Simon) prepared Earth for recolonization. However, after seven hundred years, only one WALL-E (voice: Ben Burtt) remains.WALL-E spends his days compacting debris into solid blocks and building structures with them. He also collects some of the more interesting artifacts and keeps them in the garage he shares with a cockroach, his only friend. At night he watches Hello Dolly on VHS and dreams of having a hand to hold. Most of his finds are spare parts and electronics but one day he discovers a lonely plant. Not sure what it is, but recognizing that it needs soil and care, he picks it up and puts it in a dirt-filled old shoe.The next day, an enormous spaceship lands and deposits another robot, EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator, voice: Elissa Knight). WALL-E is immediately smitten and hopes to hold her hand, but EVE is quick to use her plasma cannon, which can blast a hole through anything. EVE flies around Earth looking for vegetation but becomes distraught upon not finding any. WALL-E is finally able to approach her and takes her back to his garage where he shows her his collection of human artifacts. She still resists holding his hand, however, so he shows her the plant he found. This activates her prime directive: she takes the plant into a special containment capsule within her body, sends a signal to the mother ship, and goes into hibernation mode. Confused, WALL-E tries to make her safe and comfortable. He shelters her from thunderstorms and takes her to a park where he can watch the sunset next to her.Several days later, the mother ship returns and collects EVE. WALL-E hitches a ride on the ship, which returns to the Axiom several light years away from Earth. EVE and WALL-E are examined in the landing bay. EVE, still in hibernation mode, is taken away to the ship's commander. WALL-E pursues her, followed by M-O (voice: Ben Burtt), a cleaning robot who is intent on scrubbing the filthy WALL-E to remove foreign contaminants (i.e. dirt or earth). On the way, WALL-E sees humans for the first time. Obese and largely unable to move on their own, they are carted around the Axiom in hover chairs with video screens that allow them to communicate with one another and see a variety of advertisements for drinkable food products. When WALL-E accidentally knocks one of the humans, John (voice: John Ratzenberger), off his hover chair, WALL-E helps the man back into the chair and introduces himself. Confused but grateful, John introduces himself in return.WALL-E tracks EVE to the chambers of Captain McCrea (voice: Jeff Garlin), who is just as inert and catered to as the other humans. McCrea is confused but excited about Operation Recolonize, which is triggered by EVE's find. But when McCrea reactivates EVE and orders her to produce the plant, it is missing. McCrea orders EVE and WALL-E to be taken for repairs but, after they've left, decides to educate himself about Earth. In the repair bay, WALL-E mistakenly thinks EVE is being harmed by the repair crew and uses her plasma cannon to save her, inadvertently releasing other robots who had been taken in for service. During the breakout, security robots take photos of them; the ship's computer announces to humans that EVE and WALL-E are renegade robots. Angry, EVE takes WALL-E to an escape pod to send him back to Earth. Before she can put him in the pod, they see Gopher putting the plant in the escape pod. After Gopher leaves, WALL-E goes to rescue the plant but is blasted into space. Before the pod self-destructs, WALL-E uses the emergency escape hatch and a fire extinguisher to exit the pod with the plant. A joyous EVE plays in space with WALL-E and even gives him an appreciative electric kiss.Using the garbage chute, EVE and WALL-E sneak into McCrea's cabin to give him the plant. But Auto (voice: MacInTalk), the ship's auto pilot system, reveals it was the one who stole the plant earlier. It has no intention of allowing a return to Earth because of a centuries-old directive that was issued when the Earth was believed to be permanently uninhabitable. Auto blasts WALL-E, EVE and the plant back down the garbage chute and confines McCrea to his cabin. WALL-E and EVE barely escape being shot into space with the rest of the refuse but WALL-E is badly damaged. Meanwhile, McCrea has figured out how to hack into the ship's communication system and tells EVE and WALL-E to head to the ship's central deck, where a special machine will return the ship to earth when the plant is placed inside it. With the help of the robots they liberated earlier, WALL-E and EVE make it to the central deck where the special machine has risen from a platform. Auto tries to force the machine back into the platform but is prevented by WALL-E. McCrea manages to stand up on his own and shuts off AUTO. EVE puts the plant in the special machine and the Axiom is whisked back to Earth.WALL-E was grievously crushed in keeping Auto from collapsing the platform. Once they reach Earth, EVE rushes WALL-E back to his garage and repairs him. WALL-E doesn't recognize her and begins to compact garbage. Distraught, EVE holds WALL-E's hand and gives him an electric kiss again. This properly reboots WALL-E. McCrea teaches the other humans how to nurture the plant and heal the planet. It will be much easier than they think because just outside the city, plants have already begun to flourish.

Tags: dark, comedy, thought-provoking, cult, cute, psychedelic, satire, inspiring, romantic, entertaining, sentimental

Review:
Sure, WALL·E is adorable, and as much credit as the animators get for that, this film would be nothing without Stanton's screenplay, which features very little dialogue but is still notably intelligent and surprisingly subtle, making a refreshing change from the 'go green' campaigns we're all so used to.
It's a brilliant introduction to WALL·E, given that the rest of the film is too wacky to bother with long scenes focused entirely on character, and works beautifully with the ugly yet beautifully-rendered future Earth, a barren wasteland filled with nothing but garbage, a seriously resilient cockroach being WALL·E's only companion before EVE shows up, but I won't go into the story- it's best you see it unfold for yourself.From the entertaining shorts shown before the film to the memorable characters, locations, and animation we have come to expect, Pixar films are now event cinema, and they have outdone themselves with "WALL·E".
WALL*E is no exception.The best way to describe the film is as a science fiction, comedy, dramatic love story.
It is true that there is little dialogue in this feature, but I personally did not feel it detracted from the story at all.WALL*E is very much a different Pixar film from it's previous features.
Everyone's sworn to secrecy, but for a film with little dialog, it carries more of an emotional punch and has a richer story than any live-action movie this year.
The tone and style of the film is completely different for Pixar, and Disney haven't tried to override the darker thematic elements at all, making the story surprisingly three-dimensional.This will end up being the animated film of the year and I had the same 'wow' feeling as after seeing Ratatouille.
Wall-E rises above that kind of unnecessary complication into the same kind of space occupied by dreams and the imagination.This film is beautifully animated, of course, to that magical Pixar point where even piles of what should be disgusting trash somehow look breathtakingly gorgeous and even fairly realistic-looking roaches look cute.
It's a testament to the level of genius at which the Pixar storytellers are operating that we feel every beat of this relationship resonate every step of the way despite the fact that the characters are robots that are not modeled off of humans and speak no more than a handful of words throughout the movie (this animated movie is refreshingly free of obvious "guest star" voices or any over-the-top stand-up comedians trying to upstage the movie).Just like in the first Superman films, once you care about the characters as individuals and care about their relationship, it's almost impossible for the rest of the movie not to work.
It probably helps that you can do a lot more physical damage to a robot character than you can to a human character while keeping a G rating and still getting the audience dramatically worried about their survival.Even on top of the action, the emotion, the visuals and the humor, Wall-E goes the extra mile into thought-provoking thematic territory.
Wall-E and Eve are the heart of this movie but the humans are used to add some intellectual gravity for the audience to chew on.Other choices made in the movie might also leave room for debate, such as the integration of some live-action footage into the film.
I can't say enough about how good this movie, that you probably haven't read, so I'm going to keep this short.This is the best thing out there in theater's right now, and might just be the best animated film of all time, whether you believe that or not, is your own opinion, but what Pixar has done here, can put companies like Dreamworks, Sony, and Blue sky to shame.Wall E also may go down as the most lovable character ever to grace the movie screen, I praise Ben Burtt and Andrew Stanton, and the people at Pixar for what they did, and will continue to do.This is why Pixar is the top studio in the world.10/10.
In fact, barely a word is spoken in the entire first half hour but WALL-E and Eve's silent and playful love story is such a joy to watch.
Wall-E is: A) A great story B) Packed with fun and humor C) Built up with memorable characters D) Fun for all ages E) Revolutionary in animation techniques The world Pixar creates is so credible, you forget it is animation.
Well, sorry to disappoint, but Pixar's 'WALL-E' is among not only their greatest work, but among the greatest animations ever produced.The film opens with some astonishing shots of a desolate, rubbish-laden, polluted Earth; a boldly dark opening for a family oriented feature.
WALL-E is a character of genius; combining elements of Johnny 5, Charlie Chaplin and Mr. Bean, Andrew Stanton (Director) and crew have created something that will no doubt go down in history with R2-D2 as one as the screen's most memorable machines.It is the 22nd Century, and mankind have left Earth in giant Space Cruisers waiting for the surface of their planet to finally become habitable again.
As he rumages through human garbage, finding interest in things that seem mundane to us, we discover that after all these years, this little robot has developed something that makes him seem more to us than an animated clunk of cogs and rust...
Oh, and to take care of the planet, of course.Beautiful visuals, astonishing characterisation and a sequence with WALL-E and EVE floating through space that is more romantic than anything your likely to see this year, make 'WALL-E' an outstanding achievement that proudly stands among Pixar's finest work.
The powerful corporation Buy N Large builds a huge spacecraft called Axiom and sends the entire civilization for a five-year cruise while trash collector robots called WALL-E (Waste Allocator Load Lifter  Earth) would clean the planet.
The expectation of life on Earth brings hope to the Captain against the will and prime direction of the auto-pilot that organizes a mutiny on board."WALL-E" is one of the best animations I have ever seen, with adorable characters and a deep story, showing a possible scenario of the depletion of our planet caused by the lack of concern from the big corporations with the environment.
In addition, there is the beautiful love story of WALL-E, the importance of small and forgotten things; a great nostalgia of the old times among many other message.
My favorite parts were in the beginning on Earth with the little robot WALL-E and his cockroach friend.There is so much to see in this film, it makes multiple viewings all the more attractive but, I'll assume, you're always going to catch some things you didn't see the first few times.
Wall-E is the quintessential Pixar film...no, it's the quintessential animated movie.Wall-E (or Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth class) is a lonely robot on futuristic Earth.
Wall-E and EVE end up having to save the plant life they brought up to show to the ship's captain so they can go back to Earth, but the ship computer doesn't like that idea.I have no critiques for this film.
Every character that is introduced in the story has their own unique personality, and it really shows how hard Pixar worked on the movie.The movie serves as both a sci-fi futuristic love comedy, and also a warning to humanity.
Embarrassing to admit, but I go the theater twice in a year at most, and yet I actually bought our WALL-E tickets 2 weeks in advance.Having seen the movie today, he's honestly no less than the most adorable and brilliant animated character of all time.
The way this movie ends is the same way it begins: at the core it's all about WALL-E and the things we recognize in him as inherently human: his funny personality, his compulsion toward the good, his child-like curiosity and naivety, his sense of loneliness that he tries (and fails) at anesthetizing with psychological comforts and companion place-holders.
All of the film's characters other than WALL-E are really just props, like arrows pointing your attention back at him, and always when it's the last thing he would want.
His plant also seems symbolic of him (and that will make sense after you've seen the movie).All that aside, the graphics are brilliant, especially the WALL-E character, in that it looks like a real physical robot shot on film.
Even when another robot EVE arrives from outer space and a technical romance ensues, the dialogue is minimalist but the action accelerates at a exciting and satisfying pace.Pixar have here given us outstanding work and Andrew Stanton, who conceived the story and directed the film, deserves special praise.
It's a great homage to the style of Warner Brothers (you'll understand when you see it; the feel of it is pure Bugs Bunny) and if the only way I'll be able to own it one day is to buy the disc for WALL-E, I consider that a bargain.Oh, and for the record, my son, diagnosed ADHD (and currently not medicated), adored the movie, even the long stretch at the beginning when people's biggest complaint seems to be that "nothing happens".
For years Disney, the studio joined at the hip (and now, practically, submissive to whatever PIXAR wants in animation), didn't want to do WALL*E, as it was a somewhat bleak science fiction movie with 3/4 of the movie not featuring any distinct human dialog at all.
WALL*E the character is one of those classic character straight out of Disney movies that you don't see ever done this well, or at least this purely: he's wholesome, innocent, curious, lovable and loving to the robot that comes to earth, Eva, looking for any signs of life, and we want to cheer for him every step of the way.
The simplicity here, too, is awe-inspiring, and like a silent film brings on the tear-ducts in the final moments of suspense.So, it's a superb comedy, a fully-realized and somewhat original science fiction story (then again what is original entirely), and the best date movie of the summer.
My first thought was that could an "Animation" film supposedly created for kids work as a science-fiction movie for me ?
After half an hour of almost meditative atmospheric silent comedy build-up, complete with perfect use of sound effects, the plot kicks in and we're left with one of PIXARs least captivating story lines this side of "Cars".The computer-generated images are crystal-clear and marvelous to behold, but, compared to, say, "Ratatouille" somewhat distancing, while the sledgehammer delivery of the eco-friendly message with all the obese robot-controlled ex-earthlings tends to overstay its welcome.
I never expected WALL·E to pack in such a strong emotional punch, not that Pixar has never animated non-living objects before (such as Cars), but there's a certain child like innocence appeal that WALL·E possesses, that makes him very charming, and very endearing to the audience.As a Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth-Class, Isaac Asimov's Robot directives has him firmly and dutifully carrying out his duties of compacting Earth's rubbish, as the last of its class on Earth to clean up the mess.
He (see what I mean?) has a lot of eccentricities, and in performing his duties, develops quirks and becomes a collector (of junk) of sorts, which allows the creators to pump in plenty of sight gags and inside jokes ranging from sound effects (I swear my Apple is now a WALL·E pre-cursor) to paying homage to movies such as 2001: A Space Odessey.In essence, WALL·E is a love story in human terms, where the boy tries hard to get the girl, only to have her spurn his advances.
If you have time to only watch one animated movie this year, or want to bring your kids to one, then make no mistake, WALL·E is the perfect choice, without a doubt, hands down.
My husband and I watched it with them and right away I'm turned off because Wall-e looks a lot like No. 5 from the movie Short Circuit.
Throughout the story, Wall-E encounters Eve, a robot sent to search for life on Earth, and he falls in love (any further about the plot, and I'd be spoiling the film).
In a world controlled by computers, the human effort stands above all, and if kids end up watching this movie, they would realize it as well.All in all, Wall-E isn't an adventure anyone should miss.
None of us enjoyed the movie much at all and we probably would have walked out if we had communicated better in the theater about how hard it was to sit through.Unlike previous Pixar films, which we have all enjoyed immensely, this was an extremely linear and slow moving story.
When I read the reviews stating that Wall-E was the best movie from Pixar yet, "a masterpiece", I got really anxious to see it!
I think the rave reviews come from the kind of people for whom whatever's new is the best thing ever.Wall-e falls in love in a second, with a robot the audience has never seen.
There's humor, intrigue, anticipation...and for children no doubt...some moments that may be a bit scary.The story is cute...but it doesn't contain many surprises.The characters designs were Pixar's biggest roadblock to giving a heart to this film.
At this point, except for one, they all even wear the same clothes.If Pixar was trying to tie its own hands...and make it as difficult to create endearing characters for an audience to connect to...they did an excellent job.The children sitting behind me sat quietly through-out the film and at the end they lightly applauded.So while this film is up to Pixar's usual impeccable production and animation standards...the story and characters held it down for me.Pixar's short feature before the film was very enjoyable with lots of heart and laughs...and may make this a DVD worth adding to my collection some day.Sorry Pixar...I'd still work for you any day!!!!
The script and story are an absolute triumph as the skill's of the animator's to make those hundred's of pixels perform in such charming, heart-warming ways is a joy to watch.The pacing of the film, unlike Nemo, The Incredibles and Cars is flawless and you get the feeling that a lot was sacrificed to keep that running time as tight and precise as it is.
The answer I guess would be "much harder" which is why it is so impressive that with barely a word spoken we manage to care so much for these robots.Wall-E will almost certainly win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature but, for probably the first time, Pixar have a film that genuinely deserves consideration for Best Feature  it is that engaging, well crafted and charming and manages to do that for all sections of the audience without resorting to the oft-used (and mostly fun) "one for me, one for you" style of some of these films..
Both WALLE and EVE will, undoubtedly go down in history as two of the most charming and influential characters of all time.Sure there is a dip in quality when both robots leave earth to board the mother ship but even with this dip it still manages to soar avoid all previous attempts at creating what I perceive as the perfect animated film only really out shone by Princess Mononoke 11 years before.
In fact, I do not think that young children could understand the true meaning of the movie.It's 700 years from now and we have Wall-E, a little trash compactor robot, whose only job is to clean the mess that the earth has become after humans have turned it into a giant landfill and abandoned it for another planet.
This is partly because Pixar's animation is so advanced now that WALL-E looks and behaves exactly as you'd expect a robot in real life would.
But imagination and originality is something Pixar has always been known for (as well as making great movies aimed at all ages), and this film is no exception.WALL-E tells the story of a robot who seems to be one of the last inhabitants living on Earth.
WALL-E wants to be seen on the same level as other animated flicks, and it looks like the filmmakers spent an immense amount of time making the film accessible to anyone, dialogue plagued or not.The film is not perfect however.
I just imagine me as a character in the movie, and then I will thoroughly enjoy it.I'll bet that WALL-E is the best Pixar animation I have ever seen.
The cleaning of earth has been left to sentimental robot Wall-E and when EVE visits the planet looking for plant life Wall-E's love takes him into space where mankind live.Described as Pixar's 'biggest gamble' this 2008 animation showcases a near speechless adventure in time and space, being both constantly humorous and breathtaking in its approach to get a message of human destruction across.Any viewer of any age or gender will find their own interpretation of exploration and personal meaning in this picture which, nominated for numerous Oscars, inevitably winning best animated picture, has countless reasons to view.For uniqueness this is one hat proudly sits on top of the pile.
Andrew Stanton, director of 'Finding Nemo' and co-writer/director of 'Toy Story' has written and directed one of the greatest animation films of all time.'Wall-E' is also painfully intelligent for what most people would call a 'Children's/Family' feature.
This film really has it all, amazing characters, brilliant story, vibrant universe, incredible animation, a message.
Yet, even after stating this, no one could have expected what they did with their newest film.They created art.Pixar's 2008 contribution is "WALL-E," a fish out of water story about a cute and cuddly robot who finds himself in love, and unknowingly, carrying the torch for humanity's future.
WALL-E, Best Pixar Film Ever?.
While the kids will still have a great time, I think adults will really understand this movie, and will find it to be one of the best Pixar films ever made, kids may prefer the humor of Finding Nemo over the humor of Wall-e.