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Disc One:***
Audio Commentary - The standard DVD edition of 'Wall-E'
includes an audio commentary with director Andrew Stanton.
That commentary is presented here in a Cine-Explore mode
that also includes picture-in-picture visual information
with an option to switch off the visuals and listen to the
audio-only portion. The commentary with Stanton is the same
for the DVD and Blu-ray versions.***
Short Pixar Film: "Burn-E" (HD, 7 minutes) - About
a little robot (Burn-E) who tries to replace a light on
the outside of a spaceship. Intercut with scenes from Wall-E,
Burn-E is just as adorable as Eve & Wall-E. The short is
also viewable in a PIP mode that includes running storyboards
for the entire short. Great for behind-the-scenes geeks.***
Short Film (HD, 5 minutes) - This Pixar short called
"Presto" was shown with Wall-E when it was released. I really
enjoyed this tale of a magician whose rabbit revolts when
he won't feed him a carrot. The animation is spectacular,
and so is the story. I hope to see more of this comic due.
The rabbit definitely has shades of Bugs Bunny, but with
a little more heart.***
Theatrical Trailers (HD) - Including 'Pinocchio,' 'The
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,' 'Earth' and 'Tinker
Bell and the Lost Treasure,' as well as a 'Disney Parks'
promo spot.***
Disc Two:***
The extras on disc two are divided into two sections,
first "Robots," then "Humans." All materials are in full
1080 HD, with English, French and Spanish Dolby Digital
2.0 Stereo and subtitle options.***
Deleted Scenes (HD, 22:54 minutes) - Featured in the
"Humans" section, you get four scenes here, playable individually
or as a group (with introduction by Andrew Stanton). The
four scenes are: "Garbage Airlock," "Dumper," "Secret Files,"
and "Docking." They vary in their degree of being "finished"
(some made it to the completely animated stage, some just
have rough concept art). The scenes are enjoyable, but after
hearing Stanton's explanations, it is obvious that the right
choices were made. Interesting to hear Stanton say that
very few extraneous scenes actually make it to the fully
animated stage.***
"Behind-the-Scenes" Featurettes (HD, 1:09:45 minutes)
- These documentaries give us a fairly thorough visual overview
of the conception and production of 'Wall-E.' Interviews
with Stanton and most of the Pixar crew are intercut with
extensive making-of footage shot during the story development,
animation, and post-production processes.
"The Imperfect Lens: Creating the Look of Wall-E" (14:32)
covers the beginning stages of visual design.
"Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds from the Sound
Up" (18:43) dissects the creation of the film's entire soundtrack,
which was constructed completely in the studio.
"Captain's Log: The Evolution of Humans" (7:57) goes
in-depth into the conceptualization and rendering of the
film's human characters.
"Notes on a Score" (10:39) discusses Wall-E's music.
"Wall-E and Eve" (7:00) is an excellent look at how
the Pixar team gave depth and humanity to Wall-E and Eve.
They apparently imagined the two as if they were Buster
Keanton and Sigourney Weaver!***
BnL Shorts (HD, 8:45 minutes) - Full-length versions
of the three short films watched by Wall-E in the movie
are presented here uncut and fully-animated. The three shorts
are: "Captaining the Axiom," "Operation Cleanup" and "Meet
the BnL Bots.". With some narration by Fred Willard, it
is obvious that these are made in a sarcastic tone, but
still, they are somewhat depressing seeing how slothful
and lazy the humans have become at this stage. Funny, yet
very cautionary. "BnL" stands for "Buy n' Large" (with the
aprostrophe after "n" eventually being dropped).***
Gallery (HD) - These extensive still galleries are
divided into four sections: "Character Design," "Layouts
& Backgrounds," "Visual Development" and "Publicity." There
are over 100 images, including both conceptual art and more
fully-rendered drawings. (Note there is also a "Play All"
function that will automatically advance you through all
the stills in the gallery.)***
Documentary: "The Pixar Story" (HD, 1:28:30) - Directed
by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Leslie Iwerks, this is
a fantastic documentary on the history of Pixar Studios,
narrated by Stacy Keach. The entire birth and growth of
the copmany is chronicled, from their beginnings in 1979,
through early experimental shorts and commercials, to the
juggernaut we know now today. Fresh interviews are included
with all of Pixar's chief artists, as well as such luminaries
as Roy Disney, Tom Hanks and Steve Jobs.***
Vignette: "Wall-E's Treasures & Trinkets" (HD, 4:54)
- The "Robots" section begins with this montage of Wall-E
doing cute little things.***
Sneak Peek : "Wall-E's Tour of the Universe" (HD, 1
minute) - This mock preview spot is a cute promo for the
[...] website.***
"Lots of Bots" Storybook (HD) - Games, puzzles, narrated
by John Ratzenberger and Kathy Najimy. Bot Files (HD 9:04)
- A gallery of 28 different robots seen in the film. Each
robot gets a 360-degree visual spin with a narrator filling
us in on some interesting facts about the machine. Includes
Wall-A!***
Worldwide Trailers (HD 13:37) - Three domestic, and
one French-Canadian promo.***
Disc Three:***
Digital Copy - A DisneyFile (aka Digital Copy) version
of the film in 480p standard-definition. The DisneyFile
copy is compatible with PCs, PSP and iTunes.***
Blu-ray Bonus Content:***
Cine-Explore Mode - Director Andrew Stanton's solo audio
commentary is presented here with additional picture-in-picture
information. Stanton jumps right in and immediately tackles
the more controversial environmental and political criticisms
of the film. He covers his original ideas for the core story,
the development of the Wall-E and supporting robot characters,
and some of the substantial changes made to the second and
third acts as the production progressed. PIP information
features a wide range of material, including storyboards,
enlargements of small visual details seen in the film, and
filmmaker photos and data. Even in audio-only form (there
is an option to turn off the PIP portion) this is a great
commentary.***
Geek Talk, Trash Talk & Trivia (HD) - A second visual
commentary is offered with a quartet of 'Wall-E' filmmakers:
Character team supervisor Bill Wise, co-producer Lindsay
Wallace, story artist Derek Thompson and lead animator and
story consultant Angus McClain. The four participants are
seen via silhouette on the bottom right of the screen (as
if you are watching the movie in a theater with them). This
is a boisterous, even goofy track, with the four riffing
off all sorts of pop culture references and insider stories
on what's appearing on-screen. It's perhaps not as articulate
and insightful in terms of story and character as Stanton's
track, as the group largely comments on visual gags, animation
secrets and other technical tidbits.***
3-D Set Fly-Throughs (HD, 10:38) - Found on disc two
(under the "Humans" section), click this feature and an
interactive map of the Axiom spaceship appears. There are
various points of the ship you can click on to watch a full
3-D "fly-through" animated tour of the location. The detail
is amazing. You can also choose to examine Wall-E's truck;
one wishes they could actually get in there and explore
all of the "treasures" that Wall-E has collected.***
Axiom Arcade Interactive Video Games (HD) - Located
in the Robots section, the four games are: "Eve's Bot Blaster,"
"Wall-E's Dodge & Dock," "M-D's Mop-Up Madness" and "Burn-E's
Break Through.", done in the style of 80's video arcade
games.***
BD-Live - Finally, 'Wall-E' comes BD-Live-enabled.***
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