Pixar Era Analysis – WALL-E
As mentioned in a previous blog post, I’ll be writing analysis content on all 27 of Pixar’s animated feature films and their film making eras.
The second era is the Merger Era, which ran from 2006 to 2010 and started with Cars. As mentioned in a previous blog post, the Merger Era is known as the first Era after Disney purchased Pixar in early-to-mid 2006. The Merger Era is known for films that continued to tell imaginative and original stories (with the exception of Toy Story 3), showing further development of computer generated animation, and focusing on more mature and darker themes, as well as realism.
So how did WALL-E measure up to the above features of the Merger Era and was it the right film to mark the halfway point of the Era?
Continuing to tell imaginative and original stories (with the exception of Toy Story 3):
According to the film’s Wikipedia page, Andrew Stanton conceived WALL-E during a lunch with fellow Pixar writers in 1994, specifically basing the premise on the hypothetical question of “what if mankind had to leave Earth and somebody forgot to turn off the last robot?” The film’s Wikipedia page also states that Stanton made WALL-E a waste collector as the idea “was instantly understandable and because it was a low-status menial job, that made him sympathetic.” The film’s IMDb page states that the film takes place 700 years in the future, based on Andrew Stanton’s belief of what could happen to Earth if people don’t properly care for and about the environment.
The film’s Wikipedia page also states that there were originally plans to have the film focus on aliens, but this was ultimately scrapped to show “big baby” like humans to illustrate the effects of humans being in space long-term.
According to the film’s IMDb page, Andrew Stanton claimed that the film’s central theme was that irrational love can defeat everything, including programming. The film ultimately succeeded in telling and showing the theme through WALL-E and EVE’s relationship, especially when EVE was in standby mode, and WALL-E briefly lost his memory and personality after EVE repaired him.
Interestingly, there is very little dialogue in this film. The film’s concept and premise is outlined to the audience within the first five minutes through a monologue given through holographic billboards, which illustrates how the Earth demised into a dystopian and abandoned wasteland. There is no dialogue between WALL-E and EVE until 22 minutes in, with no human dialogue until 39 minutes into the film.
Showing further development of computer generated animation:
Interestingly, this was the first Pixar film to combine both animation and live action, specifically through videos/holograms. The only live-action character was Shelby Forthright, the CEO of the Buy n Large Corporation and President of Earth, portrayed by Fred Willard. Although it’s never stated why he was the only live-action human in the film’s universe, so to speak. Live action can also be seen in the video footage WALL-E watches of Hello Dolly!
The film’s IMDb page states that only eight unique textures were made for the trash cubes, with clever set dressing and colour variations providing the illusion of more than eight textures.
Focusing on more mature and darker themes, as well as realism:
This film contained multiple mature, darker and realism themes, including but not limited to: environmentalism, consumerism, corporatocracy, nostalgia, the consequences of obesity and sedentary lifestyles, and the then-future consequences of technology and AI.
There was also realism present in the animation from the environment of the desolate and abandoned dystopian Earth to the vastness of space.
Interestingly, during the film’s production, Steve Jobs was on Disney’s Board of Directors and had an iPhone before anyone else did and loved showing it off to the staff. When Andrew Stanton saw it, he predicted that it would one day lead to everyone going around with their faces buried in computer screens all the time and decided to incorporate his prediction into the film. Nearly sixteen years on, it’s safe to say his prediction was spot-on.
My overall thoughts:
Overall, I felt that WALL-E was the right film to mark the halfway point of the Merger Era as it clearly demonstrated that the Pixar crew were spreading their wings. They mixed live action with animation, the plot consisted of multiple real-life mature themes and issues, they managed to tell a compelling story with little dialogue, and even accidentally predict the future with Andrew Stanton incorporating his own prediction on the effects of screens on humans in the film.
Much like their predecessors, WALL-E also focused on having the main character trying to make their dreams come true, in this case, a loving relationship, and had a tonal shift towards the end of the film. Earth transformed from being a hopeless, dystopian place, to becoming a beacon of hope for humanity and life by the film’s end, which was demonstrated by the end-credits animation showing everyone returning to Earth and the film’s signature plant ultimately growing into a huge tree.
The next part of the Pixar Era Analysis series to be released will focus on Up.
Fun Facts and Trivia:
- WALL-E stands for: Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth class. EVE stands for: Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator.
- Elissa Knight, who provides the voice of EVE, is not an actress but a Pixar employee.
- The last piece of debris that clears away from WALL-E as he leaves Earth’s atmosphere is the Russian satellite, Sputnik, which in 1957 was the first man-made object to be sent into space.
- The name of the spaceship that the humans are living on is called Axiom. In logic and mathematics, an axiom is something unquestionable or taken for granted.
- The survival of both the Twinkie and the cockroach perpetuates the urban myth that both of these things would survive, should the world end.
- WALL-E collects numerous objects from the 1960s-1980s, including a Rubik’s Cube and an ATARI 2600. Despite the film taking place over 800 years after these objects were invented, they were still in working condition.
- The name WALL-E is a tip of the hat to Walt Disney (full name, Walter Elias Disney).
References:
Loveday Writing 