WALL-E and MO are arguably two of Pixar’s most iconic characters, but seeing either one of them in real life is typically something to be accomplished at a Disney Theme park and nowhere else.
So it came as a shock to attendees of this year’s Kitsap Fair and Rodeo to see both of them, live and prepped for all the photo-ops in the world.
“The kids love WALL-E,” said Tabathe McDermott, a passerby who made sure to get plenty of pictures. “They just fall in love with it. I mean, when they saw it at Whaling Days, it was the only thing they talked about for the past three weeks.”
Ten-year-old Korbin, a big fan of Star Wars, says the project is another reminder of how fun he thinks robotics is.
“I want to build one of those, like, R2-D2 at one of the Disneyland stores,” he said.
It’s a robotics project given incredible attention to detail that was born out of family love according to the man behind the replica robot, Port Orchard’s Robert Zollna. He says he enjoys how much the children love seeing such a beloved character the same way kids like his own grandson love seeing it on the big screen.
“I 3D printed him a quarter scale model, and he just loved it. I put a lot of function into it, but then I thought if I just scale everything up, we could have a big (working) one.”
Basing it off designs already put out there with a few special modifications, this full-size WALL-E certainly was a sight to behold. It’s also as true to the movie image of the lovestruck robot as fans of the movie remember, with the emotion-filled eyes and eyebrows, the collectibles lunchbox, a Rubik’s Cube in hand and on the inside of his trash compactor, a plant in a boot. The voice recordings are also included, as well as the revisited musical numbers from “Hello, Dolly!”
Even the rust spots were intentionally placed to increase the realism. “I did a lot of freeze frames from the movie. Every dent, every ding, every pattern of rust is moving out here,” Zollna said.
This year marks WALL-E’s first stop at the Kitsap Fair and Rodeo, paired with the latest addition to the collection in MO. Together, it’s fair to say they stole the show, winning several awards in their debut including Best in Show.
However, it’s certainly not WALL-E’s first public appearance. Port Orchard residents may recall seeing the robot on occasion down by the waterfront. Zollna also tried to bring the robot on a shopping trip in Walmart, a mini shopping cart attached to WALL-E, before it was unfortunately rejected at the door.
“I still can’t believe it,” Zollna said, laughing about not being able to take his robot shopping.
WALL-E did manage to make it into the Kitsap Mall, however, and has also made appearances at Whaling Days and even Emerald City Comic Con. No matter where he has gone, Zollna’s creation has brought smiles to the faces of both the youths and adults who have seen WALL-E in action.
“It makes my day every time,” he said. “My grandson loves it, and they love it too.”
