WALL·E (2008)

WALL-E, promoted with an interpunct as WALLâ?¢E, is a 2008 American computer-animated post-apocalyptic science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton. The story follows a robot named WALL-E, who is designed to clean up a waste-covered Earth far in the future. He falls in love with another robot named EVE, who also has a programmed task, and follows her into outer space on an adventure that changes the destiny of both his kind and humanity. Both robots exhibit an appearance of free will and emotions similar to humans, which develop further as the film progresses. After directing Finding Nemo, Stanton felt Pixar had created believable simulations of underwater physics and was willing to direct a film largely 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 $23.2 million on its opening day, and $63.1 million during its opening weekend in 3,992 theaters, ranking #1 at the box office. This ranks as the fifth highest-grossing opening weekend for a Pixar film. Following Pixar tradition, WALL-E was paired with a short film, Presto, for its theatrical release. WALL-E has been met with overwhelmingly positive reviews among critics, scoring an approval rating of 96% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. It grossed $521.3 million worldwide, won the 2008 Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form,, the final Nebula Award for Best Script,, the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature as well as being nominated for five other Academy Awards at the 81st Academy Awards. WALL-E ranks first in TIME's "Best Movies of the Decade".

The film is set in 2805, with Earth an abandoned planet covered in trash as the result of decades of mass consumerism facilitated by the megacorporation Buy n Large (BnL). Giving up on restoring the ecosystem, BnL evacuated Earth's population in fully automated starliners in 2105, leaving behind an army of trash compactor robots called "WALL-E" (Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth Class) to clean the planet for an intended five-year period. By 2110, however, the planet became too toxic to sustain life, forcing humanity to remain in space. At the start of the film, one WALL-E unit has managed to remain active beyond its designed operational lifespan by learning how to salvage and repair itself using parts from other broken down WALL-E units. This particular unit has developed sentience after 700 years, displaying curiosity about the artifacts of human civilization by collecting various items salvaged from the trash in addition to his regular duties. One day, WALL-E discovers a seedling plant growing among the trash and brings it home to his storage truck. Later, a spaceship lands and deploys EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator), an advanced robot sent from the BnL starliner Axiom with the directive to search for signs of vegetation on Earth. WALL-E falls in love with the initially cold and hostile EVE, who gradually softens and befriends him. When WALL-E brings EVE to his truck to show her the plant, she automatically stores it, goes into standby mode, and sends a retrieval signal for her ship, which returns to collect her. WALL-E clings to the hull of EVE's ship as it returns to the Axiom. On the Axiom, the ship's original human passengers and their descendants have suffered from severe bone loss and become morbidly obese after centuries of living in microgravity and relying on the ship's automated systems. The commanding officer in charge of the ship, Captain B. McCrea, does little, leaving control of the Axiom to its robotic autopilot, Auto. WALL-E follows EVE to the bridge of the Axiom where Captain McCrea learns that by scanning EVE's plant sample with the ship's holo-detector to verify that Earth is habitable again, the Axiom will make a hyperjump back to Earth so its passengers can recolonize. However, Auto orders McCrea's robotic assistant GO-4 to steal the plant as part of a secret "no return" directive, codenamed A113 and given to him after BnL incorrectly thought that the planet could not be saved and humanity would be better off in space. With the plant now missing, EVE is considered defective and taken to the repair ward along with WALL-E for cleanup. WALL-E mistakes the maintenance and diagnostic processes being performed on EVE for torture and tries to save her, accidentally releasing a horde of malfunctioning robots. EVE and WALL-E are designated as rogue robots by the security systems in the process. Angry with WALL-E's disruptions, EVE brings him to the escape pod bay to send him home. There they witness GO-4 attempting to dispose of the missing plant by placing it inside a pod set to self-destruct. WALL-E enters the pod before it launches, but then the pod is jettisoned into space. Inside the pod, WALL-E retrieves the plant and escapes unharmed before the pod explodes. He then reconciles with EVE, celebrating with a dance outside the Axiom. The plant is brought to the captain, who surveys EVE's recordings of the damaged Earth and realizes that mankind must return to restore it. However, Auto reveals his A113 directive and stages a mutiny, tasering WALL-E as he attempts to protect the plant. EVE realizes the only parts for repairing WALL-E are in his truck on Earth, so she helps him bring the plant to the holo-detector to activate the Axiom's hyperjump. Captain McCrea opens the holo-detector while fighting with Auto, but Auto partially crushes WALL-E by closing the holo-detector on him. After McCrea disables Auto and releases control of the ship, EVE places the plant in the holo-detector, freeing the severely damaged WALL-E and returning the Axiom to Earth. EVE brings WALL-E's body back to his home where she successfully repairs and reactivates him, though his memory has been erased and he reverts to his original programming as an unfeeling waste compactor. Heartbroken, EVE gives WALL-E a farewell "kiss" that brings back WALL-E's memory and personality. WALL-E and EVE happily reunite as the humans and robots of the Axiom begin to restore Earth's environment as depicted through a series of artworks during the end credits.