Since before 1995, director Andrew Stanton, stated, “What if mankind evacuated Earth and forgot to turn off the last remaining robot?”
Thirteen years later, Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios paired up and released “WALL-E” on June 27, 2008.
The Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class, or WALL-E robot, is the last working robot in the year 2700. After the powerful mega-corporation, Buy’N’Large, gained control of everything, including the government, mankind was forced to evacuate Earth. What remain are trash, pollution, deactivated robots, cockroaches, and the main character, WALL-E. Being a mobile trash compactor, he is left to clean up the mess. After years of work and watching left-behind romantic movies, he begins to feel lonely. That is, until EVE is sent under the directive to determine is life is sustainable on Earth.
EVE (or Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) meets WALL-E, who shows her a plant he finds at work one day. Upon evaluating the plant, she deactivates and WALL-E is left to protect his true love. EVE’s spaceship returns for her and WALL-E follows her all the way into space.
As the ship leaves planet Earth, the story takes off into an imaginative adventure and a beautiful love story.
The movie also makes bold statements, or rather, exaggerated predictions about our own possible fate. When WALL-E arrives into space, he finds that humans are now physically controlled by the mega-corp and as a result, are obese and completely brainwashed.
Ben Burtt, the sound engineer for the film, used Apple products for most of the sounds and inspiration. However, Stanton also stated that all of the robots started with an everyday appliance and then transformed into individual characters. For example, the Disney/Pixar team started with a pair of binoculars and realized they could look happy or sad. This eventually became the basis for WALL-E.
For 97 minutes, the movie continues to capture audiences worldwide. What is amazing to me is that it contains very little dialogue. For the majority of the film, the plot is determined through mechanical noises and the specific intricacy of the animation. Yet, it is still easy to follow and understand; it is a movie for all ages.
WALL-E is a must-see. It is one of the best animated films ever created, not just in its storyline, but also in the incredible artwork and evident dedication to creativity and imagination. It has “raised the bar” for movies to come and proves that teamwork truly brings out the best in show.