BURN-E

About BURN-E

The movie BURN-E, released in 2008, is a short film inspired by a character from Pixar’s immensely successful WALL-E movie. BURN-E, which stands for "Basic Utility Repair Nanotechnology Engineer", or Burn-E as he's commonly known, is a hard-working repair droid whose chipper attitude is easily hampered by the antics of the main characters WALL-E and EVE.

The plot revolves around the adventures of BURN-E as he tries to repair a light on the ship Axiom. His task is repeatedly sabotaged due to the unexpected occurrences resulting from WALL-E's pursuit of EVE. The whole narrative provides a humorous side-story to the main plot of WALL-E, neatly weaving into the original storyline.

Making / Production

The short film was directed by Angus MacLane who was one of the animators in the WALL-E movie. MacLane pitched the idea of a parallel story centered around a minor character from Wall-E which was given the green light by the team at Pixar. BURN-E came into production during the post-production of WALL-E, making use of the existing assets and models from the feature film.

Actors

• Angus MacLane: Angus MacLane not only directed the short film but also gave his voice to the character of BURN-E. His portrayal of the character was marked by a smart blend of robot-style sounds and human-like expressions which made BURN-E particularly charming.
• Ben Burtt: Ben Burtt, the famous sound designer who also voiced WALL-E, lent his unique skills to the movie again, subtly linking BURN-E’s sounds to WALL-E’s, recalling familiar soundscapes from the original film.

Trivia / Interesting Facts

• The character BURN-E is seen for only a few seconds in the WALL-E movie, but his story in the short film is cleverly interwoven into the main narrative.
• The name BURN-E is an homage to the movie "Alien" where all the characters were given alpha-numeric designations.

Quotes

• "BURN-E, report." - Ship's Computer
• "BURN-E!" - SUPPLY-R

Music, Soundtrack

• The music for BURN-E was composed by J.A.C. Redford, who created a score that reflects the personality and situation of BURN-E, bringing out the humor and sympathy of the character.
• The short film doesn't use traditional songs but relies heavily on ambient sounds and music to provide a fitting atmosphere for the story.