In many ways the Pixar's animated film Wall•E is a story about coming home. It tells the story of a lonely robot who for 700 years has been cleaning up the trash left behind by humans on an abandoned planet. Wall•E stands for "Waste Allocation Load Lifter–Earth class." While we are never told so, it is likely that Wall•E is the last operating robot on the planet. All of the human beings now live on a giant spaceship called The Axiom, situated in the outer reaches of the galaxy. The ship initially set out on a "five-year cruise," while robots like Wall-E made the planet acceptable for human life once again. When the robots' efforts failed, it was decided that The Axiom would become humanity's new home.

In this scene the ship's on-board computer has been trying to tell the captain of The Axiom that a probe (referred to as "Eve") has brought a living plant sample back from Earth. (The ship that carried the plant also brought Wall•E to The Axiom.) This would mean that the planet can once again support life. At first the captain doesn't notice the computer's efforts at giving him the good news. He's stuck in his daily routine of morning announcements.

"Well, good morning everybody," he says, "and welcome to day 255,642 aboard The Axiom. As always, the weather is a balmy 72 degrees and sunny. Hey! I see the ship's log is showing that this is our 700th anniversary of our 5-year cruise. Well, I'm sure our forefathers would be proud to know that, 700 years later, we'd be doing the exact same thing they were doing."

As the captain talks, we see the ship's passengers—all shockingly out-of-shape—lounging in front of a pool, watching robots play tennis, and hitting virtual golf balls into outer space with a flick of their wrists.

"So," the captain continues, "be sure next mealtime to ask for your free septuacentennial cupcake in a cup! Well, look at that. Also, today we have—."

A green button begins flashing on the front of the captain's console. The captain turns to the ship's autopilot and asks, "Hey—what's that flashing button?"

"Captain," Auto responds, "Probe 1 has returned positive." The autopilot begins pressing buttons on the probe, releasing the probe from a hibernating state.

"Positive?" the captain asks. "But, no probe's ever come back positive before." The captain presses the green button, and alarms begin sounding as the cabin becomes secured to the outside.

A screen pops up in front of the captain, containing a message from the humans who originally built The Axiom and left Earth. A man says, "Greetings and congratulations, Captain! If you are seeing this, that means your Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator, or E.V.E. probe, has returned from Earth with a confirmed specimen of ongoing photosynthesis. That's right, it means it's time to go back home."

"Home?" the captain asks, looking very surprised. "We're going back?"

The man on the video continues: "Now that Earth has been restored to a life-sustaining status, by golly, we can begin Operation Recolonize!" An Operation Manual flies out of a console and lands in Wall•E's hands. He quickly hands it to the captain. "Simply follow this manual's instructions to place the plant in your ship's holo-detector, and The Axiom will immediately navigate your return to Earth. It's that easy!

"Now, due to the effects of micro-gravity, you and your passengers may have suffered some slight bone loss." (Indeed, the captain and the rest of the passengers are very overweight—moving about the ship only through the use of hover-chairs.) "But, I'm sure a few laps around the ship's jogging track will get you back in shape in no time. If you have any further questions, just consult your Operation Manual. See you back home real soon!"

Stunned, the captain asks, "We have a jogging track?"

While we chuckle at the people aboard The Axiom, they really aren't all that far removed from many of us today—unaware of our true home and unprepared to go there when the time finally comes.

Content: Rated G

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