WALL-E

WALL-E is a 2008 American computer-animated science-fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Andrew Stanton, who wrote the screenplay with Jim Reardon, from a story by Stanton and Pete Docter. The title names its central robot, whose designation expands to Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth-Class. Pixar's ninth feature, WALL-E opened in the United States on June 27, 2008. Its story begins in the year 2805, long after humans have abandoned an Earth buried beneath garbage and left under the corporate control of Buy n Large, usually abbreviated BnL.

On Earth, WALL-E has spent centuries compacting refuse into cubes and stacking them into towers. His only regular companion is a cockroach; he also collects objects that interest him, including a videotape of Hello, Dolly!, and repeatedly watches its song “Put On Your Sunday Clothes.” A BnL spaceship arrives and deploys EVE, a sleek Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator sent to search for evidence that Earth can support life again. WALL-E falls in love with EVE and shows her a living plant he has found inside an old refrigerator. EVE stores the plant, enters standby mode, and is taken back to the Axiom, a vast BnL starliner carrying humanity.

Aboard the Axiom, people live in floating chairs, consume constant advertising, and rely on screens and robots for nearly every activity. The ship's autopilot, AUTO, follows a classified directive from BnL's former chief executive Shelby Forthright: Earth is considered uninhabitable, so the plant must not be used to trigger a return. Captain B. McCrea gradually becomes interested in Earth after meeting WALL-E and EVE. When the plant is placed in the ship's holo-detector, the Axiom is programmed to begin its journey home. AUTO resists, while WALL-E, EVE, the captain, and several malfunctioning robots work to protect the plant and restore the directive.

The film was notably sparse in dialogue during its first half; Ben Burtt supplied WALL-E's voice and sound design, while Elissa Knight voiced EVE. Jeff Garlin played Captain McCrea, Fred Willard portrayed Shelby Forthright, and Sigourney Weaver voiced the Axiom's computer. Thomas Newman composed the score. WALL-E won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 81st Academy Awards and received five additional Oscar nominations, including Best Original Screenplay. It was also selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2021 by the Library of Congress for its cultural significance.