(If you’ve not already seen WALL·E, you may not want to continue reading this post: it may spoil certain surprises, and won’t make much sense.)
The two robots in Pixar’s WALL·E represent, roughly, two kinds of personal computers: the PC (in the old sense: a desktop computer running Windows or maybe, GNU/Linux) and the Apple Macintosh (running Mac OS).
EVE has a glossy white shell that resembles an iPod or MacBook. As Sancho has mentioned, EVE was designed in part by a designer at Apple. While the superficial similarities are easy to find, you can find others if you’re willing to stretch a little.
Much like an Apple computer, EVE looks elegant and packs more power than you’d first expect. EVE is quite dedicated at performing the task she is designed to do. She goes to an expensive maintenance area, all white walls and frosted glass, to be repaired by experts. It’s really obvious when EVE gets scratched or smudged, and it takes effort to keep her looking clean (MO, the cleaning bot).
WALL·E, the PC, is made of worn and noisy machine parts. He works with what’s laying around, upgrading his eyes and treads, as well as adding non-standard enhancements—a lunchbox. WALL·E is not easy to repair, his boot-up sequence is slow, and data recovery can be an suspenseful ordeal, as EVE discovers late in the film. He seems even to invite bugs to crawl around him.
While WALL·E is not as modern and shiny as EVE, he’s more flexible and the only one capable of playing video games.
Alright, perhaps I’ve stretched the analogy too far. Nonetheless, it does seem difficult to deny that there is some unusually tight cross-branding going on in WALL·E. There are a number of nods to Apple in the film, some more conspicuous—WALL·E watches movies on a video iPod—than others. (This may excuse one of the failings of my analogy: that WALL·E plays the Mac start-up sound when he has charged his solar battery.)
I don’t find this kind of product placement particularly cute. Yes, EVE is a more sympathetic and business-friendly spokesperson for Apple than the smug Mac dude, but it’s odd to see this kind of marketing in a movie that uses the ubiquity of a corporate brand as a sign of decadence and ruin.
I do choose to interpret the love between the two bots as a hopeful message for nerds and platform-zealots everywhere. Like EVE and WALL·E, Mac and PC users can learn to get along.
Update: Seems I’m not the first to see the PC/Mac parallels.
Get your facts up man, do you even own a mac?
Wall E is running a mac os, listen to him when he starts up, the “dong” sound is referenced to the mac os startup.
I backup previous poster, to miss the OSX startup sound that Wall-E has youre either retarded or know nothing about macs.
Yes, to miss something so obvious, something that is stated so clearly and unambiguously, would be a stupid thing to do.
deviantART got their panties in a bunch and removed the image but you can still get it at: http://kimpix.net/2008/06/28/mac-vs-pc-wall-e-parody/ (if you’d like to replace the link)
What’s funny is I use both Mac and PC and made the comparison purely based on looks but people are freaking out because of a) the sound Wall-E makes and b) thinking it’s some kind of insult towards their OS of choice =D
Thanks for catching the broken link, McKack. (Nice design work, by the way.)
Yeah, some people are still touchy about what sort of computer and OS they use—and that’s fine.
It does confuse me that I’m being called out for missing something that, in truth, I’ve not missed at all: I do mention that Wall·E makes the Mac start-up sound. Sure, he makes the sound, but beyond that Wall·E is quite PC-like, especially when compared to EVE.
[...] – bookmarked by 5 members originally found by puffed on 2008-11-18 WALL·E is a PC, EVE is a Mac http://www.soupface.net/blog/2008/07/12/wall-e-is-a-pc-eve-is-a-mac/ – bookmarked by 4 members [...]
Did anybody notice that in Cars, there’s a racecar on the track (during the race at the beginning of the movie) that is white with a gray apple logo on it?
dude, you’re right: http://www.tuaw.com/2006/06/12/apple-easter-egg-in-pixars-cars/ I hadn’t noticed that.
Nice find!! Apart from the MacOS boot sound, Wall-E is really a “PC” kind of guy :)
Beeing a Mac user for more than 10 years I totally agree with that
Actually these Parallels are more than fitting. To all of those insulting the Creator of this Entry: Has it ever come to your mind, that it might just be wanted, that you catch on the obvious?
IF they would have chosen a typical PC-Chime, this would have raised a lot of voices against this movie AND even PC Users customize their Systems to the look and feel of mac… So this would underline the thoughts of the creator, Posing Wall-E as a self customizing Windows/Linux-BOX what he in fact is.
Also now that some time has passed, they even stated, that the parallels all were wanted – yet emphazising the irony of a major corporation representing the look of the movie whilst shouting against global corporations… might just be another Microsoft kick in the crouch?
wall e functioned autonomously for 800 years, eve had no replaceable parts and was locked down remotely.
Maybe Wall e was an earlier version of a mac? Or maybe he’s a hackintosh? n_n
Either way, while watching it, I did notice the signature sound.
i agree that wall-e is a pc, its also interesting to note how the “mac like” technology has made dull, stupid and fat people onboard the axiom, because they are free from making decisions or effort just like the mac plataform is doing to people in real life… i see it all the time at my work as a design teacher, apple users get stuck whenever a little problem arises, it they dont have an app to fix something they just avoid it, but pc students are more resourceful
@Anne
Hahaha, that comment is so full of WIN!
Cleaner & More beautiful != better
["EVE looks elegant and packs more power than you’d first expect."]
Macs packing more power than expected? I guess that’s really something a person who doesn’t know anything about computers would say.
["the PC, is made of worn and noisy machine parts."]
The parallel can’t be drawn here too. PC parts rarely wear out and you can even build complete noisless systems (watercooling and/or heatsings+heatpipes), something that is not possible with MAC’s, since you have to buy an un-upgradeable box.
Ooops, I meant that to @necrobump, not @Anne :P
i can’t agree to the “hard to repair” for wall-e
EVE needs highly specialized analysis and repair tools (in the repair ward)
WALL-E needs… just new parts. Even a robot not made for repair can stick some new parts in WALL-E
…. What about when Wall-E powers up? He makes the sound a Mac does when you turn it on. >>