Pixar’s ‘Wall-E’ Redefines Storytelling

Article originally published 06/27/2008 at popculturezoo.com

Like much of the doubting geek masses, I was tenuous in my expectations for the newest Pixar film, Wall-E. Was it possible for this company to continue their streak of flawless and endearing films? Unlike previous Pixar movies, after I saw the initial trailer for Wall-E, it wasn’t the CGI that lured me in. Not even the story of a lovable robot who dreamed of traveling into the stars. What really gave me chills was Wall-E’s voice. So, as I shuffled into the Disney panel at last year’s San Diego Comic Con, I was more excited to listen to the sounds and voices from the world of Wall-E than to see the characters. To my delight, Andrew Stanton took the stage and introduced to the crowd the man who crafted the voices of Wall-E, Eve, Mo and the other droids in this film. The same man who brought to life R2-D2, Chewbacca, E.T. and the rumbling boulder from Raiders of The Lost Ark… Ben Burtt. As I stood there and watched this cinematic icon tap on a keyboard, bringing to life the slideshow of robots from Wall-E that sat motionless on a screen behind him, I took my first step into this new and fantastic world. From this point on, I was sold on Wall-E.

To recap a bit of the plot, Wall-E is the last being on planet Earth. Left behind to literally clean up mankind’s mess, Wall-E is a robot who was programmed with a single directive: compact trash until there is nothing left. So, as the decades tick by (and his counterparts slowly break down and rust away) Wall-E keeps to his ‘job’. At some point during his years of laboring alone, Wall-E became self-aware. As we are introduced to the character, we find him plugging away through a normal day of work. However, for Wall-E this is no ordinary job. As he compacts trash, he collects unique items that he finds. A rubick’s cube, a spork, a vhs tape of Mary Poppins… these are no mere knick-knacks. These are the items that help Wall-E define himself as a ‘person’ and we get to watch the robot adapt his personality as he finds and interacts with them. Through this, Wall-E ultimately realizes that he is alone and he longs for a companion. Someone to hold hands with.

Wall-E will astonish you with its rich cast of characters (including a great little shout-out to Animal from the Muppets). Wall-E, Eve, Moe, Otto and the rest of the robots are so immersive that I had to remind myself that through the first 20 minutes of the move, there isn’t any dialog. As we watch Wall-E go about his daily routine, the sound effects and mannerisms that Pixar have given this character transcend the lack of any actual speaking. And when humans finally do appear, it becomes almost distracting (with apologizes to Mr. Ratzenberger). Make no mistake, the humans of Earth are a central point of the film’s final act and it would have been foolish to leave them out of the story altogether. That said, I was so enamored with Pixar and Ben Burt’s robotic creations that I could watch the first third of this film on replay for hours.

It is no secret that director Andrew Stanton and the rest of the creators at Pixar are in love with their characters. Every Pixar character is researched, sketched out, created, torn apart and then created again from the ground up. These storytellers must be absolutely certain that the correct embodiment of their ideas is being presented on-screen. In Wall-E, there is a little bit of E.T., a smattering of R2-D2 and a hint of Johnny-5. Wall-E is just as confusing, friendly, nostalgic and full of wonder as the classic Atari gaming console that undoubtedly still sits in the basement of the Pixar wizards who created him. This is the reason that I feel Wall-E will become one of Pixar’s most memorable characters. He embodies both the free spirit who loves with reckless abandon and the child who gazes at the stars with the absolute certainty that he will one day travel among them. As I walked out of the theater, my only thought was that Wall-E is the perfect embodiment of an old saying… work like you don’t need the money, dance like nobody is watching, love like you’ve never been hurt.