Pixar · 2008 · a robot, a heap and a lot of cubes
WALL-E squashes rubbish into cubes and stacks them. So does this page. Eight real places are tied to the film’s research, sound, promotion and premiere. Each starts as a loose scrap.
The compactor
Each scrap is a real place the film’s making is tied to. Compact it to stack the cube and read why.
0 of 8 cubes stacked
The heap
Eight scraps in the heap. Select one, then press Compact.
The tower
The tower is empty.
Pick any scrap to begin.
Anaheim, California
The resort’s own site lists its hotels, including the Disneyland Hotel, and room offers. Tomorrowland, where Pixar looked for the Axiom’s optimism, is inside Disneyland Park. Pictured: Tomorrowland, 2010.
See the hotelsNiagara Falls, Ontario
Live marketplace results for tours of the falls, where Ben Burtt recorded in 1987. Check each itinerary.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursStudied
Pixar studied Chernobyl and the city of Sofia to create the ruined world.
Art director Anthony Christov was from Bulgaria. He recalled that Sofia used to have problems storing its garbage.
Production designer Ralph Eggleston bleached out the whites on Earth to make WALL-E feel vulnerable. The overexposed light, the article says, makes the location look more vast.
Pixar visited Las Vegas, which was helpful in understanding artificial lighting.
Pixar also studied the Disney Cruise Line for the design of the Axiom.
The animators visited NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to study robots. They also met robot designers and watched a recording of a Mars rover.
On tour
The 318 kg robots were always strictly controlled, and Imagineering always needed to know exactly what they were to interact with.
Animatronic WALL-Es made appearances at the Franklin Institute. Walt Disney Imagineering built animatronic WALL-Es to promote the picture, which made appearances at Disneyland Resort.
Stanton said of Pixar’s people that they all miss the Tomorrowland promised from the heyday of Disneyland, and wanted a jet-pack feel for the Axiom.
A science museum open to visitors with a ticket; check its own page for hours.
Salvage
The Greek Theatre, Sofia, the Strip, Niagara Falls, Tomorrowland and the Franklin Institute can be visited. JPL is a working NASA site with its own tour rules. Chernobyl is inside a controlled zone and is not pinned.
7 places tied to the making of the film, in Europe and North America.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
Area reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A capital city you can walk. Vitosha Boulevard, in the photograph, is its main pedestrian street.
Area reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public boulevard of casinos and hotels, brightest after dark.
Site reference · Restricted access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working NASA centre behind security. JPL’s own page is titled Free Public Tours; check its rules and dates before you go.
Area reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A land inside Disneyland Park; you need a park ticket.
Where it was studied · Sofia, Bulgaria
Pixar studied Chernobyl and the city of Sofia to create the ruined world.
A capital city you can walk. Vitosha Boulevard, in the photograph, is its main pedestrian street.
Where it was studied · The Las Vegas Strip, Nevada
Pixar visited Las Vegas, which was helpful in understanding artificial lighting.
A public boulevard of casinos and hotels, brightest after dark.
Where it was studied · 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California
The animators visited NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to study robots.
A working NASA centre behind security. JPL’s own page is titled Free Public Tours; check its rules and dates before you go.
Where it was studied · Disneyland Park, Anaheim, California
Stanton said of Pixar’s people that they all miss the Tomorrowland promised from the heyday of Disneyland, and wanted a jet-pack feel for the Axiom.
A land inside Disneyland Park; you need a park ticket.
Stay
Disneyland Resort lists its hotels on its own site.
Anaheim, California
The resort’s own site lists its hotels, including the Disneyland Hotel, and room offers. Tomorrowland, where Pixar looked for the Axiom’s optimism, is inside Disneyland Park. Pictured: Tomorrowland, 2010.
See the hotelsGo there
JPL’s tours page and live tour searches for two of the places.
Pasadena, California
JPL’s own page is titled Free Public Tours. Check it for who can join, dates and how to book. Pictured: the JPL site, about 1961.
Check the toursNiagara Falls, Ontario
Live marketplace results for tours of the falls, where Ben Burtt recorded in 1987. Check each itinerary.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursLas Vegas, Nevada
Live marketplace results for evening tours of the Strip, the artificial light Pixar went to see. Check each route.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursWhat’s on
Nothing dated for the film is listed at these places now.
No current dated events are listed. Check providers for the latest programme.
Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
8 of 8 places · 8 of 8 stories
Chernobyl, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine
Pixar studies Chernobyl and Sofia to build the film’s ruined world.
Sofia, Bulgaria
Art director Anthony Christov remembers Sofia’s trouble storing its garbage.
The Las Vegas Strip, Nevada
Pixar visits Las Vegas to understand artificial lighting.
4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California
Animators visit JPL to study robots and watch a Mars rover recording.
Disneyland Park, Anaheim, California
Stanton and Eggleston look to Disneyland’s Tomorrowland for the Axiom’s optimism.
Horseshoe Falls, Niagara Falls, Ontario
Ben Burtt reuses his 1987 Niagara Falls recordings for WALL-E’s wind.
2700 North Vermont Canyon Road, Griffith Park, Los Angeles
WALL-E premieres at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
222 North 20th Street, Logan Square, Philadelphia
A controlled animatronic WALL-E appears at the Franklin Institute.
Places to stay
Hosted the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929, across from the Chinese Theatre.
7000 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, 90028 · Source · Check dates on Expedia (Ad / affiliate)
Above Sunset Boulevard, a long-time hideout for film and music stars; John Belushi died in one of its bungalows in 1982.
8221 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, 90046 · Source · Check dates on Expedia (Ad / affiliate)
Art deco tower on the Sunset Strip, once home to Hollywood stars.
8358 West Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, 90069 · Source · Check dates on Expedia (Ad / affiliate)
What’s on
Greek Theatre · 50 m from Greek Theatre
Greek Theatre · 50 m from Greek Theatre
Greek Theatre · 50 m from Greek Theatre
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Links go to each venue’s or organiser’s own site. Check dates, access and availability there before you go.
Every place in WALL-E leads somewhere else.
