Burn-E

The next short, in the "Shorts" section on Disney Plus is "Burn-E", which was originally produced to be a DVD extra for "Wall-E" and that takes place on the same ship, at a parallel time to the events in that film.

Burn-E, a maintenance welding droid on board the Axiom Starship, is tasked with fixing an exterior sensor on the hull. Eager to please, he sets off but is distracted by Wall-E's actions further up the ship and is loses his replacement sensor overboard. His further attempts to complete this basic task and return to the ship are repeatedly but accidentally thwarted by the actions of Wall-E and Eve.

Some of the shorts in this section of Disney Plus have perhaps felt like deleted scenes that have been given a lick of paint, but this does give the impression that it was a specifically designed side story, written to interact with certain moments from the main film and in that regard, in every regard in fact, it's utterly charming. It's clever, how it weaves the problems of this little robot around the bigger narrative and funny, how the reactions of this machine can be so expressive and adorable.

As I say, this "shorts" section has been a mixed bag, but this was excellent stuff.

Produced as a DVD extra for the movie Wall-E. This gives the animator to make a spin off short and have an excuse to feature scenes from Wall-E.

BURN-E is a small repair robot. When an external light is faulty, BURN- E goes to repair it but at each attempt he is thwarted by the arrival of WALL-E or the chaos he creates.

The makers do well in giving BURN-E personality in such a short space of time when there is a danger of the character being constantly upstaged by the appearance from WALL-E and the footage from the parent film. Children will of course find this short animation fun.

Like Wall-E, Burn-E has his flaws. Robots should be capable of repetitious acts that they do flawlessly, but they are also the product of human development. What is cool here is an almost human persistence as Burn-E continues to try and try again. I don't know that any new ground was covered. It was fine.

Burn-E is an eight-minute Disney Pixar short that spins off from Wall-E and follows the story of one of the background robots we briefly see in the main film. While Wall-E itself is a masterpiece, Burn-E gives us a fun side adventure that shows just how much care Pixar puts into even the smallest corners of its universe.

What makes this short so creative is how it blends comedy, world-building, and character focus all in such a tight runtime. Instead of giving us a direct sequel to Wall-E (which sadly we've never received, despite how beloved it is), Pixar expands the universe by exploring a single character's misadventures. Burn-E isn't a lead in the original film, but here he gets his moment to shine - and it's both hilarious and surprisingly charming.

The short follows Burn-E's attempt to complete a simple task, but in true Pixar fashion, every possible thing goes wrong. The storytelling is visual, witty, and perfectly timed, making it easy to connect with this little repair-bot despite the lack of dialogue. His frustration, determination, and resilience give him an almost human personality, which is part of the brilliance of Pixar's animation style.

I especially love how the short overlaps with events from Wall-E. While we see Burn-E struggling with his own problem, we catch glimpses of the larger story unfolding, almost like an Easter egg for fans. It's clever, it's immersive, and it reinforces the sense that this world is alive beyond just the main narrative.

Even though it's only eight minutes long, Burn-E gives us more of the magic from the Wall-E universe. It's a reminder of why Pixar stands apart: their ability to take even a minor character and give them depth, humor, and heart.

Verdict: Burn-E is short, sweet, and incredibly fun. It doesn't replace the longing many fans still have for a proper Wall-E sequel, but it gives us a little more time in that world, and that alone makes it worth revisiting again and again.

This DVD extra isn't trying to the sort of brilliance that distinguished Wall-E. It's jut a cute shot that tells a story that runs concurrently with some of Wall-E.

There were a couple of years between when I saw Wall-E and when I saw this, and I think that mutes the humor for me. I feel like if I'd just seen the movie and immediately watched this that it would have more resonance.

Even then though, this is pretty much of a throwaway. It's cute and mildly humorous, but it doesn't really stand on its own. But if you've just seen the movie, or remember it very distinctly, this is worth taking a look at.