WALL-E

Infobox Film
name = WALL-E


caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Andrew Stanton
producer = Jim Morris
writer = Screenplay:
Andrew Stanton
Jim Reardon
Story:
Andrew Stanton
Pete Docter
starring = Ben Burtt
Elissa Knight
Sigourney Weaver
Jeff Garlin
Fred Willard
John Ratzenberger
Kathy Najimy
music = Thomas Newman
Peter Gabriel (song)
editing = Stephen Schaffer
distributor = Walt Disney Pictures
released = June 27, 2008 (USA)
July 18, 2008 (UK)
September 18, 2008 (AUS)
September 18, 2008 (NZ)
runtime = 98 min. [cite web | url=http://projection.pixar.com/index.html|title=Pixar Projection - Home|publisher=Pixar.com|accessdate=2008-09-10]
country = USA
language = English
budget = $180,000,000cite news |url= http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=wall-e.htm |title = Production Budget of Wall E| publisher = Boxofficemojo |accessdate=2008-07-12 ]
gross = $451,427,808 [Cite web|url=http://the-numbers.com/movies/2008/WALE.php|title=Movie WALL-E - Box Office Data, News, Cast Information|publisher=The Numbers|accessdate=2008-09-24]
website = http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/wall-e/
amg_id = 1:379342
imdb_id = 0910970 "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 ("Presto") 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 planet was found to be much more toxic then expected, and thus Forthright had the starliners stay their courses until the clean-up could be completed. For the next 700 years humanity continued to live aboard the starliners, with the micro-gravity causing a loss of bone mass and leading to humans becoming too obese to do anything without the help of robotic assistance, including piloting the ships, which is handled by their computerized autopilots. On Earth, all of the WALL-E units have failed except for one; this remaining unit still performs his duties but his lonely time on Earth for hundreds of years have caused him to achieve 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 which begins to scan the soil as part of her directive to find plant life on Earth. While WALL-E falls in love with the new robot on first sight, EVE could hardly think the same of him, though she eventually 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.

WALL-E discovers that EVE is part of the "Axiom"'s programming to determine if the Earth is capable of supporting life; when the plant sample EVE carries is positively identified in the ship's holo-detector, the ship will return to Earth with its hyperjump engines, allowing humans to recolonize the planet. However, the ship's autopilot, AUTO, had received a final directive from Forthright those hundreds of years ago asserting that life on Earth would forever be unsustainable, ordering them to never have the ships return to Earth. The "Axiom"'s captain, Captain McCrea, says the plant is living proof that Forthright was wrong, and believes humanity must return to Earth to amend their mistakes. As a result, AUTO takes measures to stop the plant from being delivered to the holo-detector by attempting to destroy it. Auto has one of the other robots under his control secretly steal the plant from EVE and attempt to launch it in a self-destructing escape pod, but WALL-E and EVE are able to recover it safely.

When WALL-E and EVE try to return the plant to McCrea, Auto rebels and drops the two down a garbage chute into the "Axiom"'s waste chambers. WALL-E is significantly damaged, and the only parts that can save him are those he kept on Earth. EVE, having realized her true feelings for WALL-E after observing through her own security recordings how he protected her while she was dormant, determines that the only way to return to Earth in time is to get the plant into the holo-detector and initiate the hyperjump. With the help of the humans and other robots, the two attempt to get the plant into the holo-detector, but are continually thwarted by AUTO's control of the ship and security systems. McCrea duels with AUTO manages to stand up on his own and deactivate AUTO, allowing the plant to be placed in the holo-detector and sending the "Axiom" back to Earth, though WALL-E is damaged to an even greater extent in the process.

As soon as the "Axiom" lands on Earth, EVE attempts to repair the gravely damaged 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", resulting in an electrical spark that restores 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 chime produced by a Macintosh computer upon activation, signifying the successful completion of the power-on self-test (POST).

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 [cite news|url=http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/09/technology/siklos_walle.fortune/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote|title=Apple and Eve|work=CNNMoney.com|first=Richard|last=Siklos|date=2008-05-09|accessdate=2008-07-07] .

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" filmscite news | author = Eric Vespe | title = Quint discusses the Pixar half of the Disney Animation Presentation! UP! WALL-E! TOY STORY 3! NEWT! THE BEAR & THE BOW! | publisher = Ain't It Cool News | date = 2008-04-09 | url = http://www.aintitcool.com/node/36333 | accessdate=2008-04-09] .

MacInTalk sounds were used for Auto, the "Axiom"'s internal autopilot, built into the ship's steering wheel. 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.

Other robots

* BRL-A - Mobile umbrella robots, one of which has trouble keeping himself closed.
* BUF-R - Cleaning robots that polish the EVE probes.
* BURN-E - Robots who weld and make repairs on the "Axiom".
* COM-T - Secretary robots who type and organize files, one of which learns how 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.
* HAN-S - Robotic masseurs, one of which is overly energetic with little control over his flailing arms.
* 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.
* REM-E - Robotic rodents, modeled after computer mice, that inhabit the "Axiom".
* SERV-A - Service robots who carry other robots from place to place.
* SPR-A - Cleaning robots that spray and rinse robots with water.
* VAQ-M - Vacuum cleaner-like robots, one of which is prone to sneezing fits.
* VN-GO - Painting robots, one of which tracks paint wherever he goes.
* WALL-A - (Waste Allocation Load Lifter "Axiom"-Class). Large trash-compactor robots used aboard the "Axiom".

Production

Quote box
quote = 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.
source = Andrew Stanton
width = 300px
align = right
Andrew Stanton conceived "WALL-E" before "Toy Story" was made:cite news | author = Eric Vespe | title = Quint sits down with WALL-E director Andrew Stanton!!! | publisher = Ain't It Cool News | date = 2007-08-11 | url = http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33648 | accessdate=2007-08-11] the idea was, "What if mankind evacuated Earth and forgot to turn off the last remaining robot?"cite news | author = Eric Vespe | title = Quint catches up on Disney's Prince Caspian and WALL-E panel at Comic-Con!!! | publisher = Ain't It Cool News | date = 2007-08-01 | url = http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33519 | accessdate=2007-08-01] 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.cite news | author = James White | title = How We Made WALL-E | publisher = Total Film | date = April 2008 | pages=113–116] The idea continued to preoccupy Stanton, because of his love of space opera and personifying inanimate objects.

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'". Producer Jim Morris added that the film was animated so that it would feel "as if there really was a cameraman". [cite news | author = Tom Ambrose | title = Heroes of 2008 | pages = 72 | publisher = Empire | date = 2007-07-26] 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.cite news | author = Alex Billington | title = WonderCon: Pixar's Wall-E Presentation - Incredible! | publisher = FirstShowing.net | date = 2008-02-24 | url = http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/02/24/wondercon-pixars-wall-e-presentation-incredible/ | accessdate=2008-02-24] Scale models were made for Muren, which he used to teach Pixar. [cite news | author = Anthony Baratta | title = First Look: Disney/Pixar's WALL-E | publisher = ComingSoon.net | date = 2008-04-07 | url = http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=43395 | accessdate=2008-04-07]

Quote box
quote = 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.
source = Andrew Stantoncite web|url=http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=3682|title=Hello, WALL•E!: Pixar Reaches for the Stars|author=Desowitz, Bill|publisher=Animation World Magazine|accessdate= 2008-07-07]
width = 300px
align = leftThe design of the robots came about by Stanton telling his designers, "See it as an appliance first, and then read character into it". 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.cite news | author = Peter Scieretta | title = Comic-Con: Indepth Wall-E Details Revealed | publisher = Slash Film | date = 2007-07-28 | url = http://www.slashfilm.com/2007/07/28/comic-con-indepth-wall-e-details-revealed/ | accessdate=2007-10-03] Stanton was playing with a pair of binoculars, which looked happy or sad depending on whether they were upside down or not.cite news | author = Eric Vespe | title = WonderCon: Quint sees some WALL-E and Prince Caspian footage at Disney's panel! Plus Q&A with Andrew Stanton! | publisher = Ain't It Cool News | date = 2008-02-24 | url = http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35724 | accessdate=2008-02-24] 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.

Stanton pitched the story to Ben Burtt who signed on to do the sound design. 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 speech. When WALL-E recharges his battery by means of solar energy, he makes the same startup chime as does a Macintosh computer [cite news | author = Dawn C. Chmielewski | title = 'Wall-E' draws design inspiration from Apple | publisher = Los Angeles Times | date = 2008-06-25 | url = http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/06/wall-e-draws-de.html | accessdate=2008-06-28] . 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." [cite news | author = Steve Fritz | title = A talk with John Lasseter: What the man in Disney's chair has to say | publisher = Newsarama | date = 2007 | url = http://www.newsarama.com/AniShorts/411/Ani411.html | accessdate=2007-11-04]

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. [cite news | author = | title = Justin Wright (IV) | publisher = Internet Movie Database | date = 2008 | url = http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2938045/ | accessdate=2008-07-02] 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

oundtrack

Release

The film received its premiere at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on June 23, 2008. [cite news | title = Wall-E rolls out for world premiere | publisher = The Press Association | date = 2008-06-23 | url = http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5g7z4_ABJb813TQLIJLXFj66rgTsg | accessdate=2008-06-23] "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. [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=wall-e.htm |title=WALL-E (2008) - Daily Box Office Results |accessdate=2008-06-29 |publisher=Box Office Mojo] In its opening weekend, the film grossed $63 million in 3,992 theaters, ranking #1 at the box office. [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=wall-e.htm |title=WALL-E (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results |accessdate=2008-06-29 |publisher=Box Office Mojo] The opening weekend would give the film the third-best opening weekend for a Pixar film. [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=pixar.htm |title=Pixar Movies |accessdate=2008-06-29 |publisher=Box Office Mojo]

Continuing a Pixar tradition, "WALL-E" was paired with a short film for its theatrical release. The attached film was "Presto". [cite web|accessdate=2008-07-13|url=http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/07/video-pick-pixa.html|title=Video Pick: Pixar's Magical Short, Presto |work=Wired|date=2008-07-07|author=Wortham, Jenna ] This is the first Disney-Pixar film to use the new Walt Disney Pictures logo (used in 2006 since ""), 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. "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.cite web | url=http://rottentomatoes.com/m/wall_e/ | title=WALL-E Movie Reviews | work=Rotten Tomatoes | publisher=IGN Entertainment, Inc | accessdate=2008-09-24] 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.cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/walle | title=WALL-E: Reviews | work=Metacritic | publisher=CNET Networks, Inc | accessdate=2008-08-04 ]

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.cite news | url=http://www.variety.com/VE1117937536.html | author=Todd McCarthy | title=WALL-E Review | publisher=Variety | date=2008-06-26 | accessdate=2008-06-26 ]

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 ("", and moments where robots "run riot" bringing to mind "Monsters, Inc."), "WALL-E" could be Pixar's most original work to date.cite news | url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film/reviews/article_display.jsp?JSESSIONID=stXDLjWG25pv31dwl2yynPgffjhWyvSk96w52TwNp9jZphdLSkRG!-209288430&&rid=11329 | title=Film Review: WALL-E | author=Kirk Honeycutt | date=2006-06-25 | publisher=The Hollywood Reporter | accessdate=2008-06-26 ]

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. [cite news | url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080626/REVIEWS/963071290 | title=WALL-E review | author=Roger Ebert | publisher=Chicago Sun-Times | date=2008-06-26 | accessdate=2008-06-30 ]

Commentary

The film was interpreted as tackling a topical, ecologically-minded agenda. Todd McCarthy said it did so with a lightness of touch that granted the viewer the ability to accept or ignore the message. 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". [cite news | author= Jessica Jensen | title = Wall-E: Robotic Ode to Environmental Protection | work = The Huffington Post | date = 2008-06-30 | url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-jensen/wall-e-robotic-ode-to-env_b_109847.html | accessdate=2008-06-30] The film's ecological theme was criticized by conservative commentators such as CNN Headline News host Glenn Beck, and contributors for "National Review Online"; [cite web | url=http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/01/right-wing-hates-wall-e/ | title=Right-Wing Apoplectic Over Pixar’s WALL-E: 'Malthusian Fear Mongering,' 'Fascistic Elements' | author=Ali Frick | date=2008-07-01 | accessdate=2008-07-01 | work=Think Progress | publisher=Center for American Progress ] Shannen W. Coffin said that the film was "leftist propaganda about the evils of mankind", [cite web | url=http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ODBmN2FmNjIwNmUxMDBkZDc5MjUxYWIwYjBjODExNzQ= | title=WALL-E, No Thanks | author=Shannen W. Coffin | work=National Review Online | publisher=Jack Fowler | date=2006-06-30 | accessdate=2008-07-01 ] 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". [cite web | url=http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=M2E2NjdhYjJiYTI4ZTBlM2IzZDFlMjZkNjg3N2Y3N2Q= | title=Re: WALL-E | author=Jonah Goldberg | work=National Review Online | publisher=Jack Fowler | date=2006-06-30 | accessdate=2008-07-01 ]

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".cite journal | author = Patrick J. Ford | title = WALL-E’s Conservative Critics | journal=The American Conservative | publisher=Ron Unz | date =2008-06-30 | url=http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2008/06/30/wall-es-conservative-critics/ | accessdate=2008-07-02]

Andrew Stanton commented on the reaction to the film by denying any specific agenda beyond telling the story about 'the last robot on Earth'.cite interview
last = Stanton
first = Andrew
subject = Andrew Stanton
subjectlink = Andrew Stanton
subject2 = Pixar
subjectlink2 = Pixar
subject3 = WALL-E
subjectlink3 = WALL-E
interviewer =
title = Pixar's Andrew Stanton, Animating from Life
type = Audio
format = Audio
url = http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=92400669&m=92414700
program = NPR Fresh Air
accessdate = 2008-07-10 ] [cite web | url=http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_14899.html | title= Andrew Stanton Interview, WALL-E | author= Sheila Roberts | work=MoviesOnline | accessdate=2008-07-05 ] 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.cite journal | url=http://www.worldmag.com/articles/14127 | title=WALL-E world | author=Megan Basham | journal=World Magazine | publisher=Nickolas S. Eicher | date=2008-06-28 | accessdate=2008-07-02 ]

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". [cite web | url=http://kylesmithonline.com/?p=1319 | title=Disney's "Wall-E": A $170 Million Art Film | author=Kyle Smith | publisher=kylesmithonline.com | date=2008-06-26 | accessdate=2008-07-01 ] 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". [cite news | utl=http://www.usnews.com/blogs/fresh-greens/2008/6/30/will-wall-e-make-us-greener.html | title=Will 'WALL-E' Make Us Greener? | author=Maura Judkis | work=U.S. News & World Report | publisher=Kerry F. Dyer | date=2008-06-30 | accessdate=2008-07-02 ] Stanton denied that his intention was to pass comment on obesity, saying the purpose was instead to portray human overdependency.

Award nominations

* World Soundtrack Awards 2008: Best Original Score of the Year, Thomas Newman [cite web |url=http://www.worldsoundtrackawards.com/news.cgi?go=detail&id=70 |title=Nominees World Soundtrack Awards 2008 announced |publisher=World Soundtrack Awards |date=2008-08-20 |accessdate=2008-08-26 ]
* 2008 Teen Choice Awards: Best Summer Comedy Movie. [cite news |author=Staff |title=2008 Teen Choice Awards winners and nominees |url=http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/env-2008-teen-choice-awards-scorecard17jun17,0,1198329.htmlstory |work=Los Angeles Times: The Envelope |publisher=David Hiller |date=2008-06-24 |accessdate=2008-08-14 ]

Home video 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 - both in a standard and special edition version. [cite web |work=The Pixar Blog |title=WALL-E DVD/Blu-ray coming Nov. 18 |url=http://pixarblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/wall-e-dvdblu-ray-coming-nov-18.html |date=2008-08-15]

The special editions of "WALL-E" will have a second disc with special features, and a third disc that includes 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". [ [http://pixarblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/pixar-story-on-dvd-this-june-iwerks.html The Pixar Blog: 'Pixar Story' coming soon to DVD: Iwerks ] ]

References

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External links

* [http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/wall-e/ Official site]
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* [http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/06/27/wall-e-easter-eggs/ "WALL-E hidden references"] ("Easter eggs")
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20080208072157/http://www.buynlarge.com/ Archived version of Buy n Large] - February 2, 2008

Box Office Leaders USA
before = Get Smart
date = June 29
year = 2008
after = Hancock