Pixar Burn-e Short Film
Matilda Equiluz
BURN-E (stylized with an interpunct as BURNE) is a 2008 American animated short film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It is tied into and included with the DVD and Blu-ray of WALL-E.[1][2][3] The titular repair robot is a minor character from the movie, and this short is intercut with scenes from WALL-E, which takes place concurrently.[4][5] WALL-E's director Andrew Stanton co-wrote and executive produced the short.
BURN-E was produced at the same time as WALL-E and directed by the feature film's lead animator, Angus MacLane.[6] It features music composed and conducted by J. A. C. Redford, who was also an orchestrator on WALL-E.[7][8]
The BURN-E robot appears briefly in WALL-E during the scene in which WALL-E and EVE dance in space. When they re-enter the Axiom, they accidentally lock him out, and he is last seen banging his fists against the door.[9][10]
As WALL-E travels through space clinging to the ship carrying EVE back to the Axiom starliner,[a] he runs his hand through the Rings of Saturn in passing, and dislodges a tiny rock. It gains enough momentum to become a meteor and crashes into and destroys one of the running lights (known as "spires") on the Axiom's hull.
The Axiom's computer alerts the ship's autopilot, AUTO, that repairs are needed. AUTO activates SUPPLY-R, who in turn activates BURN-E. Given his welding torch and an intact spire, he shuts down the broken spire, and travels via a special track onto the ship's hull to complete the repair. However, he gets distracted by WALL-E's arrival, and inadvertently lets the spire float away into space. SUPPLY-R gives him a second one, but he accidentally cuts it in half when an exploding escape pod (which WALL-E was inside of) startles him.
Irritated by this second failure, SUPPLY-R drops the third and final spare light on the floor, leaving BURN-E to pick it up. He successfully repairs the light, but before he can bring it online, he is accidentally locked out by WALL-E and EVE, who fly inside after their dance in space around the Axiom and close the door behind them.
BURN-E tries to find another way in, including through the open garbage airlock, but all attempts fail. Finally, he realizes he can use his welding torch to cut a new entrance in the hull of the Axiom, and does so. However, he is flung back outside when a fight between Captain B. McCrea and AUTO causes the ship to list violently to starboard. He catches hold of the spire, and is able to get back on his track as the ship turns upright again, but McCrea sends the Axiom into a hyperjump, pinning BURN-E against the hull before he can reenter the ship.
When the Axiom lands on Earth, BURN-E goes to find SUPPLY-R so he can hit the button to bring the spire back online, but everyone is gone. He hunts through the deserted Axiom, and finds the humans and robots are all outside when he looks through the window of an escape pod. He accidentally jettisons the pod, and crashes to Earth; flinging the pod door open so hard that it flies into the air, he runs to SUPPLY-R and finally brings the spire online, only for the door to destroy it. As BURN-E collapses in frustration, SUPPLY-R reaches out an arm and comforts him.
BURN-EDirected byAngus MacLaneProduced byGalyn SusmanWritten byAngus MacLaneMusic byJ. A. C. RedfordStudio(s)Pixar Animation Studios
Walt Disney PicturesDistributorWalt Disney Studios Home EntertainmentReleasedNovember 18, 2008Running time7 minutes, 36 secondsSourceBURN-E is a 2008 Pixar short film released on the WALL-E Blu-ray and DVD.[1] It was written and directed by WALL-E lead animator Angus MacLane and produced by Pixar Animation Studios.
It is a parallel spin-off from the feature film WALL-E. A repair robot named BURN-E is a minor character from the feature and the short is intercut with scenes from WALL-E, which takes place concurrently.
The short begins with the words, "2805 AD, 821,190,000 miles from Earth," when EVE's spaceship is flying towards Saturn. WALL-E, who is clinging onto the side of the ship, then runs his hand through one of the rings (as seen in the movie). A small fragment of the ring starts moving at high speed away from Saturn, gets caught in Mars' gravity and catches fire while sling-shooting around Mars. It then shoots away past EVE's ship and straight towards the Axiom where it smashes into one of its lights. On the bridge, AUTO sees the damage and contacts SUPPLY-R (a supply robot), who summons BURN-E (an engineering robot who is specifically designed for this job).
SUPPLY-R hands him one of the three lamps which he stores inside himself and BURN-E, after shutting down the power for the lamp, goes outside and cuts out the base of the destroyed lamp. Meanwhile, WALL-E arrives at the ship and sees BURN-E, who is seating the new lamp in its socket. He waves at him and BURN-E sees and waves back, unaware that the lamp has already started drifting away and by the time he turns around, the lamp has drifted too far off into space. He desperately tries to get it back, but fails and turns back towards the door.
BURN-E then goes back to SUPPLY-R, gets another lamp and starts the cycle again. Meanwhile, GO-4 has just placed the plant inside life pod #12 and he goes to turn it on. At the same time, WALL-E goes in to retrieve the plant, but before he can get back to EVE, GO-4 launches the pod. Outside, BURN-E hears the pod launch, but dismisses the noise until he hears the pod explode. Surprised, he turns around and, in doing so, accidentally slices the lamp off with his still-activated blowtorch.
SUPPLY-R, now annoyed, drops the third and final lamp in front of BURN-E and he takes it, embarrassed. Soon, he is almost finished welding the lamp in place when WALL-E and EVE, finished with their space dance, fly in through the airlock near BURN-E, the only entrance into the ship, and lock him out. BURN-E hears the door slam shut and starts thumping on it, trying to make it alert the others, but he ultimately realizes that he has been locked out.
For a while, BURN-E travels around the airlock, waiting for the doors to open. Meanwhile, the garbage disposal is preparing to fire the cubes with EVE and WALL-E in them into space. EVE successfully breaks out of her garbage cube and then struggles to get WALL-E out. BURN-E sees the doors open and races towards them, realizing that he has a way in. Just as he approaches the doors, a WALL-A unit shuts the airlock after noticing the commotion between EVE, WALL-E, and M-O. BURN-E despondently makes his way back to his own airlock.
Later, BURN-E is scorching a flower shape into the deck in front of him by heating up his hand with his blowtorch when he realizes that he can use it to cut a hole in the door for himself. He does so and races back to SUPPLY-R, just as the captain and AUTO begin their final fight. BURN-E reaches SUPPLY-R and is just about to press his POW-R button for the lamp when AUTO turns the ship over. BURN-E is flung backwards and is taken through the path to the airlock where he has to cling onto the lamp to avoid floating off into space. The Captain then de-activates AUTO and rights the ship. BURN-E then tries to enter the ship, but it suddenly hyperjumps and BURN-E is caught in hyperspace, pinned to the side of the hull. The Axiom then lands on Earth at its landing dock. Released from the sudden acceleration, BURN-E falls forward with a groan.
BURN-E, badly shaken, returns to where SUPPLY-R usually stands, but is very surprised to see that he has disappeared. BURN-E searches all over the ship, but can't find anyone. Finally, his search brings him to life pod #9. There, he sees several robots on the ground below and he spots SUPPLY-R. He waves to him and his hand hits the Launch button. The pod is then launched and it lands right behind SUPPLY-R. BURN-E jumps out of the pod and, giddily hopping over, presses SUPPLY-R's POW-R button, re-activating the lamp. As BURN-E whoops with victory, the door of the life pod, which was tossed into the air when BURN-E got out, falls back down to Earth and hits the same lamp, destroying it yet again. BURN-E fainted.
Pixar has come to be known for many things, among them, high-quality animation, intriguing storylines that the young and old can relate to, which are present on their award-winning feature films and shorts as well. The Wall-E DVD release, which hits the shelves on DVD and two-disc Blu-ray on November 18, features all of these aspects of this wonderful studio. Like most Pixar DVD releases, Wall-E comes with a few short films as well, one of which being the parellel tale of Burn-E. I was in on one of Disney's awesome virtual roundtable sessions where we got to see this short film in its entirety, along with an original pencil sketch run-through, which are both on the DVD, and then submit questions to the director of the short, Angus Maclane, who was also the directing animator on Wall-E. First though, let me give you a little rundown of this new short.
Burn-E is a peripheral story that takes place at the same time that Wall-E is aboard the Axiom, frolicking about with Eve. Burn-E is a repair robot and, when an exterior light goes out on the deck of the ship, he's summoned to repair it. Burn-E's movements are limited to the track that's set out for him, so, when anything and everything starts going wrong when he's trying to fix this light, there's nothing he can do about it except groan a little mechanical groan and go back to the cranky parts robot for another light, which always ends up with hilarious results. Like the feature film, (and many of their shorts) there really isn't any dialogue here, or much of it anyway, but the way this is animated and the subtle sounds we're given are more than sufficient. It's pretty cool too how they weave this short in with the events of the feature and you can't help but feel bad for poor Burn-E as he's just trying to complete a simple task... that keeps getting ruined by Wall-E, one way or another. Any fan of the film will surely enjoy this wonderful short.
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