ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

My kids and I loved this movie so much when it first came out that we went around quoting Johnny 5's dialog — while imitating his cute voice.

Okay, so it was cuter when my kids did it. Especially my daughter.


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Actually, this is her daughter, my granddaughter — but she's a dead ringer for my own daughter at that age, who is now Ticket2theMoon, a proud member of All Sci-Fi.

Syd Meads' amazing robot is a true work of art, a brilliant creation that can portray human emotions, despite the fact that it doesn't look remotely like a human.


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The stars of the movie, Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg, make a cute couple.

Here's the adorable Miss Sheedy —



— and since we all know what Steve looks like, no picture required, eh?

The movie gives us a feel-good story that has a surprise ending which leaves the audience grinning from ear to ear. It's one of the most enjoyable sci-fi movies from the 1980s and 1990s, those happy decades that gave us The Rocketeer and The Last Starfighter.

My advice, guys, is to round up your kids or your grand kids or your wife or your significant other and snuggle up on the couch while you watch Johnny 5 battle the evil humans as he champions the rights of artificial lifeforms everywhere.

And he wins!

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__________________ Short Circuit movie clip


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[scotpens]

I guess Short Circuit is fun for kids, but I just found it insufferably twee. Especially with that silly voice for the robot.

[Bud Brewster]

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I've learned over the years that many of the movies I saw with my children while they were growing up were much more appealing to me because I shared them with the kids.

I feel like the voice is the perfect comic delivery system for the funny lines of the robot. It's childlike and enthusiastic. And since I'm childlike and enthusiastic, it was very endearing.

Of course, he had his bad-ass side, too.







I'd venture to say that if Johnny Five's voice didn't appeal to you, NAO's voice won't either. They sound a lot alike — which means I like 'em both, and you like neither of 'em.





But even if you don't care for his impish voice, the unbelievable robotic ballet in the video below will knock your socks off if you have an appreciation for beauty, an ounce of imagination, and the brains to realize that this little robot is the ultimate blend of art and science.

____ 20 Nao Robots Dancing in Synchronized Harmony


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Brent Gair]

I enjoy this movie. I think the reason I like it more than Scotpens is that I watch it more as a romantic comedy. Steve Guttenberg and Ally Sheedy are (more or less) part of my generation. The science fiction is a bonus .

[Gord Green]

I just loved the semi-anthropomorphic design of Johnny-5. It was just human like to make it acceptable to react to it in a human to human-like manner, but just techno like to realize it was an automaton.

If robots are ever to be accepted in human-robot interactions it is going to require an imprinting on the human psyche that there is an interface of co-relationships that exists between organism and technology.

[Bud Brewster]

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I was pleased to discover that IMDB has some very interesting items about this enjoyable movie. As in previous posts, the blue text is from the IMDB trivia items.
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As per the original movie's attempt to portray a living robot in the "real world", every part of Johnny and his brethren was built to have a specific, logical purpose behind them; this was originally a source of contention between the director and the prop designer, the latter of whom insisted on giving Johnny "eyes" to give the character a method of visually expressing emotion. As a result, Johnny's iconic "eyelids" were created, with the explanation that they were sun guards/camera coverings.

Note from me: Actors know that eyes can express any emotion. Artist know it too.

I'm not an actor, but as an amateur artist I love to render the eyes of my subjects. The graphite drawing below was done by me many years ago from a magazine photo I found and liked very much. I have no idea who the sweet old lady is, but I've always imagined that in her youth, she was beautiful.

In the drawing, her eyes seem to show how she misses her youth. (And these days I see the same look in my own mirror each morning.)





So, Johnny 5's clever robotic eyes are a major plus for this amusing character.





Many of the little tricks done by Johnny 5 on-screen (like flipping through book pages in a blink of the eye and tossing a washer into the air in a mimic of a scene from an old gangster movie he saw) were done using relatively simple, yet ingenious sleight-of-hand prop effects. For instance, the pages were flipped using an air hose, while the washer was flipped using a piece of string at both ends sideways. Not only did this save money for the producers for the actual robot and the screenplay, but they proved remarkably effective in getting just the right look needed for the scenes.

Note from me: The flipping pages of books is convincing, but I've always thought the flipping of the coin looked like a cartoon animation effect.

In this film and Short Circuit 2 (1988), Johnny 5's voice is provided by puppeteer Tim Blaney. This casting decision was made due to the director's belief that real-time interaction with the robot prop would make the interaction seem more natural on-screen than if they edited Johnny's voice in during post-production.

Note from me: Some folks like the cheerful, childlike voice. Other folks don't. Being a cheerful, childlike person, I like it.

Director John Badham and Ally Sheedy previously collaborated in War Games.

Note from me: Hey . . . a triple feature with War Games, Short Circuit, and Godzilla (1998). Hmmm . . .

The script called for extensive stop-motion animation to be utilized, but director John Badham opted to use practical effects.

Note from me: Nobody loves stop motion more than me (well, nobody still alive . . . ), but I'm glad they didn't try to blend stop motion with live action. It NEVER works!

Stephanie and Number 5 dance to a scene from Saturday Night Fever (1977) which was also directed by John Badham.

Note from me: Hey, I LOVE that scene! Ally Sheedy's sweet nature just melts my foolish heart when she and Number 5 have that wonderfully flirtatious moment.





When the dance sequence was filmed. John Badham danced with Ally Sheedy as they talked through and rehearsed the scene which Johnny 5 dances with Stephanie to "More Than a Woman" by The Bee Gees.

Note from me: Oh my God, that lucky son of a . . . gun. He got to dance with Ally. (* sigh)
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

Look at the way the Sophia robot reacts with people and you can see that Johnnie is not too far away from reality!

[Bud Brewster]

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Is this you Youtube you meant to post?
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_Tonight Showbotics: Snakebot, Sophia, eMotion Butterflies


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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I posted a fan-made trailer for The Last Starfighter (1984) on the thread for that movie, and the trailer had this amusing message at the beginning.





I wondered just how true the claim at the bottom was, so I made a list of 1980s science fiction films that I thought were good, just to see if that decade really did produce a significant number of “the best” sci-fi movies.

This movie is on the list I made. I know what I like about the film (and a few things I don’t like), but I’d like to hear the pros and cons from the rest of you folks.

So, what do you think, guys?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Eadie]

Did you ever notice that Johnny-5's face looks just like WALL-E's face?
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Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.

[Bud Brewster]

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Just like Johnny 5? Really?

Nope, don't really see the resemblance. What am I missing, Eadie?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

Wall-E's face look like it was made from a pair of binoculars.

David.

[Bogmeister]

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_______________ Short Circuit (1986) - Trailer


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This was Badham's follow-up to War Games (1983), meaning the same preachy warnings about the military industrial complex, but with a more "out there", goofy tone.

The plot concerns a silly looking robot which was created as the latest war toy. This machine, which moves about on wheel threads, gets zapped by lightning which miraculously makes it self aware — it, named simply Number 5, spells this out by proclaiming itself to be "alive" to the quirky animal lover (Ally Sheedy) that it ends up hiding with.

Also quirky are the machine's inventors (Steve Guttenberg & Fisher Stevens), who are astounded when they finally find Number 5 in its new intelligence mode. But the military guys aren't far behind.

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This was a bit too cutesy for my taste, a blend of old-fashioned Disney-style family entertainment and anti-war propaganda. Fisher's character says all his lines with a severe east-Indian accent, something which, besides being annoying, would probably be considered a racist mockery nowadays, though he does have a couple of amusing bits.

Guttenberg plays the same character he played in all his eighties roles. Sheedy is usually charming. There's also an ex-boyfriend character (played by Brian McNamara) who would be regarded as a predator these days. Here it's just for laughs. The robot — OK, it also has a few amusing bits, but this is mostly for pre-teens.

BoG's Score: 6 out of 10



BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus

[Bud Brewster]

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I freely admit that if I hadn't enjoyed this one with my two adorable kids (ages 6 and 3) I might not have acquired such fond feelings for it. But once you love somethin', unlovin' it is just too damn much work, so I still like Short Circuit.

The sequel isn't nearly as good, but I bought it anyway.

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[The Spike]

Short Circuit is directed by John Badham and written by S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock. It stars Ally Sheedy, Steve Guttenberg, Fisher Stevens, Austin Pendleton, G.W. Bailey and Brian MacNamara. Tim Blaney voices the robot, and the design is by Syd Mead.

Number 5, a prototype military robot, is hit by a power surge that causes a malfunction in its programming. When an accident sees it leave the Nova Laboratories grounds, Number 5 finds his way to the home of Stephanie Speck (Sheedy). Here it displays signs of being alive, but the new found respect for life could soon be curtailed as the Nova security staff are seeking him out for disassembly.

On release it was met with mostly positive reviews, debuting at No.1 at the box office, film was undoubtedly a family winner. Also spawning a sequel due to its popularity, Short Circuit is by definition an enjoyable fantasy flick. Yet today there are film critics who give it a good kicking, lamenting how safe it is and decrying the sentimental aspects that come to the fore in the latter stages. That to me is like shooting Bambi! A refusal to let the child in all of us come out once in a while. Yeah it's schmaltzy at times, I'd personally be disappointed if a film about a robot finding a will to live wasn't! While in Sheedy and Guttenberg you couldn't ask for two more amiable bastions of Americana to star in such a movie. But the feel good factor is high and it's also full of funny sequences. Saturday Night Fever and The Three Stooges play a part, as does Fisher Stevens, who send the PC brigade scurrying for their complaint pens. Lighten up folks, the World has moved on you'll be pleased to know.

Sometimes safe and amiable is all you need. I suggest it's all these grumpy modern day critics who need a good kicking, not Short Circuit. 7/10
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The quality of mercy is not strnen.