Wall*E is not going to be a traditional Disney or even Pixar release for that matter. It goes beyond the Disney scope and actually broaches more into the realm of science fiction. According to Andrew Staunton, the creation of Wall*E is based on the question :
What if mankind had to evacuate Earth and someone forgot to turn off the last robot?
Evolution & Robotics
There has been a great deal of literary speculation over the years about the evolution of man and machine. Chief among the speculators was Isaac Asimov in his works that I, Robot was based on. But for Wall*E, it won’t be about the laws of robotics, but about a world abandoned by mankind because their trash was literally getting to be too much. Humans decide to evacuate Earth for these magnificent floating cruise ships that will take a spin around the galaxy. While they are gone, their robots will clean up their mess and make the Earth nice once more.
But while aboard their cruise ships, humans become little more than couch potatoes because they have robots servicing their every need. The robots are even self-repairing so they require little in the way of human interaction to fix them. Meanwhile, back on Earth Wall*E continues with his work, cleaning, repairing and rebuilding – and evolving.
Wall*E is a trash compacting robot that’s700 years old. He’s an energizer bunny in effort and the longer he works and more he explores, the more he changes. He begins to develop a personality and explores the abandoned world around him as he goes through his day in and day out routines. But one day, the opportunity presents itself and he begins to break out of his own programming and instead heads out to space himself.
Wall*E’s journey is a personal odyssey and it’s very human, despite his robotic nature. He discovers what has become of humans and that in many ways, he is far more alive than they are – and what happens then?
A Little Deep
Wall*E may seem a little deep for a Pixar film, but then take a look at Toy Story, Monsters Inc and other Pixar releases – there is a deeper story there. It sounds like Wall*E is going to take the story even deeper. The film is due to be released in summer of 2008.