BURN-E is a short film by
Pixar Animation StudiosPixar Animation Studios is a CGI animation production company based in Emeryville, California, United States. To date, the studio has earned twenty-two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, and three Grammys, among many other awards, acknowledgments and achievements. It is one of the most critically...
based on the movie
WALL-EWALL-E is a 2008 computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton. It follows the story of a robot named WALL-E who is designed to clean up a waste-covered Earth far in the future...
that is attached to the movie's
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
and
Blu-ray DiscBlu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the standard DVD format. Its main uses are for storing high-definition video, PlayStation 3 games, and other data, with up to 25 GB per single layered, and 50 GB per dual layered disc...
release on November 18, 2008.
The short film, directed by WALL-E lead animator Angus MacLane, was produced at the same time as
WALL-E, and is included as bonus material to the DVD and Blu-ray release.
BURN-E features music composed and conducted by J.A.C.
BURN-E is a short film by
Pixar Animation StudiosPixar Animation Studios is a CGI animation production company based in Emeryville, California, United States. To date, the studio has earned twenty-two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, and three Grammys, among many other awards, acknowledgments and achievements. It is one of the most critically...
based on the movie
WALL-EWALL-E is a 2008 computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton. It follows the story of a robot named WALL-E who is designed to clean up a waste-covered Earth far in the future...
that is attached to the movie's
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
and
Blu-ray DiscBlu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the standard DVD format. Its main uses are for storing high-definition video, PlayStation 3 games, and other data, with up to 25 GB per single layered, and 50 GB per dual layered disc...
release on November 18, 2008.
The short film, directed by WALL-E lead animator Angus MacLane, was produced at the same time as
WALL-E, and is included as bonus material to the DVD and Blu-ray release.
BURN-E features music composed and conducted by J.A.C. Redford, who was also orchestrator on the film
WALL-E.
The short film is based on a character who was briefly seen when WALL-E and EVE fly around the
Axiom starliner, and enter through a door, locking a welder robot outside of the ship. This character is a robot named BURN-E (Basic Utility Repair Nano Engineer), who is seen banging his fists against the door, and ultimately realizing that he has been locked out.
The film is
intercutCross-cutting is an editing technique most often used in films to establish action occurring at the same time in two different locations. In a cross-cut, the camera will cut away from one action to another action, which can suggest the simultaneity of these two actions but this is not always the...
with scenes from
WALL-E, which takes place concurrently.
Synopsis
The story begins with WALL-E running his hand through the
rings of SaturnThe rings of Saturn are the most extensive planetary ring system of any planet in the Solar System. They consist of countless small particles, ranging in size from micrometres to metres, that form clumps that in turn orbit about Saturn...
while holding on to the side of EVE's spaceship. One of the rock particles that swirls away begins to increase in velocity and size once it moves up against the
atmosphereAn atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, by the gravity of the body, and are retained for a longer duration if gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
of
MarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. It is also referred to as the "Red Planet" because of its reddish appearance, due to iron oxide prevalent on its surface....
, becoming a
meteoriteA meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives an impact with the Earth's surface. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
that destroys a small lamp outside the
Axiom. A repair robot named BURN-E is dispatched by SUPPLY-R, a storage robot that dispenses spare lamp spires, to replace it. As he works, he quietly hums
Ode to JoyThe Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 "Choral" is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire and is considered one of Beethoven's greatest masterpieces.The symphony was the first example of...
to himself. Before he can secure the lamp, EVE's ship begins to enter the
Axioms docking bay. Still clinging onto the side of the ship, WALL-E waves to BURN-E, who waves back, distracting him while the loose lamp floats off into space.
Obtaining another spare from SUPPLY-R, BURN-E begins to weld the lamp down. Meanwhile, inside the
Axiom, WALL-E and EVE witness the security robot GO-4 place the
plantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The scientific study of plants, known as botany, has identified about 350,000 extant species of plants, defined as seed plants,...
from Earth into an
escapeEscape may refer to:* Escapism, mental diversion by means of entertainment or recreation* Escapology, the study and practice of escaping from physical restraints* Prison escape, the act of breaking out of prison-Literature:...
pod set to self-destruct, launching it with WALL-E inside and EVE giving chase. The pod explodes a few seconds later and BURN-E turns around in surprise, accidentally slicing off the lamp with his blowtorch. Annoyed, SUPPLY-R gives BURN-E the last spare lamp (and drops it before BURN-E picks it up), which BURN-E finally manages to install successfully. At this time, WALL-E, who survived the pod explosion, is dancing in space with EVE. The two enter the ship through the only available entrance near BURN-E, flying inside and accidentally locking him out.
After BURN-E sits helplessly outside for some time, WALL-E and EVE are about to be jettisoned into space through a garbage
airlockAn airlock is a device which permits the passage of people and objects between a pressure vessel and its surroundings while minimizing the change of pressure in the vessel and loss of air from it...
. BURN-E sees the airlock open and tries to enter the ship, but as soon as he reaches it, a WALL-A unit pushes a button that slams the airlock shut in front of BURN-E. BURN-E gives up all hope and begins to play around with his blowtorch when it dawns on him that he can cut a hole in the door with it. He does so and returns to SUPPLY-R to turn on the lamp. Before he can, the Captain of the
Axiom and Auto get into a fight, causing the ship to tilt off its axis, throwing BURN-E outside again. The Captain deactivates Auto and realigns the ship, which then blasts into
hyperspaceHyperspace is a plot device sometimes used in science fiction. It is typically described as an alternate region of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or other device...
at full momentum, pinning BURN-E to the hull. (It is significant that hyperspace looks like the Star Gate sequence from 2001: A Space Odyssey.)
The
Axiom lands on Earth, and BURN-E goes back inside to find the ship has been completely deserted. BURN-E's search leads him into one of the ship's escape pods, where he sees SUPPLY-R out the window. BURN-E waves to him from inside the pod, accidentally launching it and crashing to the ground below near SUPPLY-R. BURN-E flings the hatch on the pod off and finally turns on the lamp, which is then destroyed by the flying hatch. BURN-E collapses in defeat. After the credits, SUPPLY-R attempts to console the stricken BURN-E by patting him on the head, saying, "There, there." in a dull, monotone voice.