WALL-E (film)

WALL-E is a computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. The film, which has a robot as its title character, was released on June 27, 2008 in the USA and Canada. The film is directed by Andrew Stanton, whose previous film, Finding Nemo, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Jim Morris, who previously worked for Lucasfilm, is the producer. Most of the characters are not voiced by actors, but by mechanical noises combined to resemble voices. It was the first Disney/Pixar film to use the 2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo.

Plot
Throughout the 21st century, Earth was governed by the Buy n Large megacorporation (BnL), causing mass consumerism and covering the planet in trash by 2105. In an attempt to resolve the situation, Earth's population was evacuated on fully automated luxury BnL starliners for five years while an army of trash compactor robots called WALL-Es and large city block-wide sized mobile incinerators were left behind to clean up the planet. The plan largely failed, however, forcing humanity to remain in space indefinitely. Seven hundred years later, in 2805, none of the incinerator units was active anymore and only one WALL-E unit functions, having survived by salvaging parts for himself from other defunct WALL-E units. This unit has developed sentience and a sense of emotion, particularly curiosity, as shown by his quirky habits of collecting knickknacks from the mountains of trash. He also keeps a pet cockroach called Hal.

One day, WALL-E finds a seedling plant growing among the trash and returns it to his home inside an old transport truck. Later, a spaceship lands and deploys an advanced probe robot named EVE. WALL-E is instantly mesmerized by EVE, as she carries out her directive of searching for signs of plant life. Initially aloof and hostile, EVE begins to warm up to WALL-E and takes a liking to him. During a dust storm, WALL-E takes EVE to his truck and shows her the plant, causing her automated systems to store the plant inside her, activate a homing beacon and deactivate her. WALL-E goes to great lengths to try to revive and take care of her, even going on a date with the inactive robot. When her ship returns to collect her, WALL-E desperately clings to the hull of the ship as it returns to the Axiom, the flagship of the BnL fleet.

Upon docking, WALL-E follows EVE as she is taken to the bridge of the ship by the MVR-A transport robot. As he progresses through the Axiom, it becomes apparent that, after centuries of living in microgravity and relying on the ship's automated systems, the human passengers have suffered severe bone loss and have become obese. The Captain himself does little, leaving control of the ship to the autopilot, Auto. When EVE is brought to the bridge, the Captain learns that by placing her plant sample inside the ship's holo-detector as a sign of Earth being habitable again, the Axiom will enter hyperspace and return to Earth to allow its passengers to repopulate the planet. However, when EVE is opened, the plant is missing. EVE is considered defective and taken to the robot repair ward along with WALL-E by the MVR-A and GO-4, though the Captain's curiosity is piqued and he begins researching Earth history.

At the repair ward, WALL-E, seeing a silhouette of EVE through a frosted window, believes that EVE is being harmed when she is in fact being pampered by the repair robots. Crashing through the glass and raising an alarm, he causes chaos (angering EVE) and accidentally releases a horde of malfunctioning robots to roam the ship, resulting in the ship's security designating him and EVE as "rogue robots." Annoyed with WALL-E's disruptive influence, EVE attempts to send him back to Earth on an escape pod. However, they see Auto's assistant, GO-4, deposit the missing plant into the escape pod and set it to self-destruct. WALL-E manages to save the plant, and EVE gratefully gives him a "kiss" in the form of an electric spark. The two robots celebrate on a spacewalk around the Axiom before returning the plant to the Captain. The Captain reviews EVE's visual records of the devastated Earth, and vows to return there to restore the planet. EVE, meanwhile, sees WALL-E's commitment to her well-being while she was inactive and falls in love with him. However, Auto reveals that he was given a final directive to keep humanity in space, as Earth had been deemed uninhabitable at the time he was given the directive. The Captain argues the plant is proof that life is once again sustainable on Earth, but Auto stages a mutiny, locking the Captain in his quarters, electricuting WALL-E and sending him down a trash chute with EVE and the plant.

With WALL-E severely damaged, EVE realizes the only parts to repair him are on Earth, which they can reach quickly if they can activate the hyperjump. With the help of M-O, the other rogue robots and the human passengers, WALL-E and EVE attempt to place the plant in the holo-detector, but Auto's control of the ship prevents them from doing so, and WALL-E dies. The Captain breaks free of his quarters and deactivates Auto, allowing the holo-detector to activate, sending the ship back to Earth. EVE quickly takes destroyed WALL-E back to his truck and attempts to repair him, but his memory and personality appear to have been erased as he reverts to his original trash-compacting duties. Heartbroken, EVE gives him a farewell "kiss", which causes another spark that inadvertently restores WALL-E to his unique personality, happily reuniting the two robots. WALL-E and EVE rejoin the humans and robots as they begin working together to restore Earth, taking care to plant the seedling that brought them back home.

Cast and characters

 * Ben Burtt as WALL-E and M-O
 * Elissa Knight as EVE
 * Jeff Garlin as Captain B. McCrea
 * Fred Willard as Shelby Forthright
 * MacInTalk as Auto
 * John Ratzenberger and Kathy Najimy as John and Mary
 * Sigourney Weaver as Axiom's computer