Character Analysis
Opposites Attract
Who knew a love story between a trash compactor and a flying iPod could be so romantic? That's pretty much what we have between WALL-E and EVE. EVE has about 700 years in technological advancements on WALL-E. He trundles around on mechanical treads; she flies like magic. WALL-E is square and matte-finish; EVE is sleek and glossy. WALL-E likes to roll around collecting things; EVE is focused only on her directive—to retrieve plant life from Earth.
She's not all work and no play though. The moment WALL-E falls in love with her might be when she twirls into the air, doing loops in the sky and breaking the sound barrier, as soon as the recon ship leaves. When the boss is away, EVE will play.
Okay, not really. She works most of the time, scanning for plants, and she also has quite a temper. She fires her laser at WALL-E, and she blows up a bunch of ocean liners. A lot of her destruction isn't because of rage, though, it's simply because she doesn't know her own strength. When WALL-E shows EVE his whisk, she breaks it. When he shows her his bubble wrap, she pops every bubble. And when he dances, she bounces around the room with such force she almost breaks everything inside. She's both super strong and unaware of the fragility of other things.
Returning to the Garden
The most fragile thing might be the plant that WALL-E discovers and later shows EVE, prompting her return to the Axiom. The plant will allow the spaceship to return to Earth and recolonize it. There's some Biblical imagery going on with EVE's name, except in this case, Earth itself is the Garden of Eden, humans have kicked themselves out of it, and EVE is the one helping them all return.
EVE stands for Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator, and there are dozens more like her, just like there are dozens of other WALL-Es. But this specific EVE and that specific WALL-E are the ones who seem to fall in love.
Unlike WALL-E, though, EVE doesn't fall in love at first sight. She's focused on her mission, evaluating extraterrestrial vegetation. It isn't until the captain replays her video recordings, and she sees how sweet WALL-E was to her when she shut down on Earth, that she realizes how much he cares for her.
Once that happens, EVE's directive is augmented by her love for WALL-E. She wants to get the plant to the holo-detector not because it's her mission, but because it will also save WALL-E, enabling her to rebuild him after he's destroyed. Back on Earth, she rebuilds him, and her little spark of a kiss brings him back to life, a reverse Snow White with WALL-E the sleeping robo beauty and EVE his Princess Charming.
EVE's Timeline