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H'WOOD'S ROBOTIC DNA
n the new animated film "Wall-E," a small computerized robot that
uses squeak and squeals to communicate has won audiences
over with its human-like desire for love. Think Chadie Chaplin 2.0.
Hollywood has always loved robots, even when robots
haven't always liked humans. Whether they're smaft and friendly,
like curious Data from the "Star Trek" movies. or an out-of-control
mechanized monster, robots make for fascinating characters:
THE DAYTHE EARTH
sTooD SILLCr951)
(ltrr plugin ftiad: Alien Klaatu lands
on Earth and warns us to behave
ourselves. But no one listens until
Gort the robot starts zapping tanks
and other weapons out of existence.
ilan or nndfne Gort is all machine
- relentless, silent unstoppable and
remorseless. You do not want to pull
a gun on this silicon sheriff.
A.I.ARTIFICIAL
TNTELLTGENCE (2OOr)
Our drgFh ftbnd: Director Steven
Spielberg's film, based on a Stanley
Kubrick idea, s filled with robots,
from sex-machine iude Law to
perfect little boy Haley Joel OsmenL
llan or nadint LawB gigolo is justE
o=o)
(I'
o=lrlz
=
o
@
o
N
o;
(!)
5
)it0
=
foartilicial enough to ease your guilt
over accessing his hard drive, and
Osment is almost too ideal to love.
Oddly, the most human character
is the robot teddy bear voiced with
warmth by Jack Angel.
sHoRT CTRCUTT 0986)
Our plugrin fried: No.5 is a
military weapon robot zapped into
consciousness by a bolt of lightning.
It doesn't take long for it to decide
that hanging with Ally Sheedy is
more fun than killing.
ftlan or madis Duh. No. 5 is alive!
And in more ways than one: An
updated remake is in the works for
2010. This time, No.5 will presumably
cost more than the piddling $11
million price tag on the original.FORBIDDEN PLANET(1es6)
Our plug-in fihnd: Robby the
Robot was a stiff-legged fellow
with one redeeming feature: a
personality. Which was sorely
lacking in most previous movie
robots.
Man or rradfne: Machine, one
hopes, given its sad career. Robby
becarne wildly popular and then
slid into a long, slow decline,
including cameos on eveffiing
from "Gilligan's lsland" to "Mork
& Mindy." lfs now reduced to
hawking for AT&T.
THE |RON G|ANT0999)
Our p[qin fthld: The lron Giant
(voiced by Vin Diesel) is a fierce
weapon sent to destroy Earth, but
gets damaged on landing and is
befriended by a little boy.
ilan or madfne: Man, eventually.
Like Pinocchio and the Scarecrow.
the lron Giant discovers his
humaniU while the movies discover
a major new talent in director Brad
Bird, who goes on to helm "The
tncredibles" and "Ratatouille."Our pfug-in ftiend: In this notorious
flop, Andy Kaufman and Bernadette
Peters are service droids that escape
to freedom and build a love child
out of spare parts - voiced by Jerry
Garcia of the Grateful Dead!
llan or nadfne Robotic in the
extreme. The movie was so God-
awful that it became Kaufman's first
and last leading role.
STARWARS: EPISODE
I-THE PHANTOM
MENACE Cr999)
our phgrin ftiend: A
minor saving grace of
the increasingly digitized
and leaden "Star
Wars" prequels was the
comforting presence of R2-D2
and C-3PO, the Laurel and Hardy
of robots.
Man or nadfne Both. R2-D2 is pure
iBot - up-to-date, clever and highly
adaptable; C-3PO is a mechanized
bundle of fear, doubt and insecurity
so human that he makes us laugh in
recognition.
Michael GilE
n the new animated film "Wall-E," a small computerized robot that
uses squeak and squeals to communicate has won audiences
over with its human-like desire for love. Think Chadie Chaplin 2.0.
Hollywood has always loved robots, even when robots
haven't always liked humans. Whether they're smaft and friendly,
like curious Data from the "Star Trek" movies. or an out-of-control
mechanized monster, robots make for fascinating characters:
THE DAYTHE EARTH
sTooD SILLCr951)
(ltrr plugin ftiad: Alien Klaatu lands
on Earth and warns us to behave
ourselves. But no one listens until
Gort the robot starts zapping tanks
and other weapons out of existence.
ilan or nndfne Gort is all machine
- relentless, silent unstoppable and
remorseless. You do not want to pull
a gun on this silicon sheriff.
A.I.ARTIFICIAL
TNTELLTGENCE (2OOr)
Our drgFh ftbnd: Director Steven
Spielberg's film, based on a Stanley
Kubrick idea, s filled with robots,
from sex-machine iude Law to
perfect little boy Haley Joel OsmenL
llan or nadint LawB gigolo is justE
o=o)
(I'
o=lrlz
=
o
@
o
N
o;
(!)
5
)it0
=
foartilicial enough to ease your guilt
over accessing his hard drive, and
Osment is almost too ideal to love.
Oddly, the most human character
is the robot teddy bear voiced with
warmth by Jack Angel.
sHoRT CTRCUTT 0986)
Our plugrin fried: No.5 is a
military weapon robot zapped into
consciousness by a bolt of lightning.
It doesn't take long for it to decide
that hanging with Ally Sheedy is
more fun than killing.
ftlan or madis Duh. No. 5 is alive!
And in more ways than one: An
updated remake is in the works for
2010. This time, No.5 will presumably
cost more than the piddling $11
million price tag on the original.FORBIDDEN PLANET(1es6)
Our plug-in fihnd: Robby the
Robot was a stiff-legged fellow
with one redeeming feature: a
personality. Which was sorely
lacking in most previous movie
robots.
Man or rradfne: Machine, one
hopes, given its sad career. Robby
becarne wildly popular and then
slid into a long, slow decline,
including cameos on eveffiing
from "Gilligan's lsland" to "Mork
& Mindy." lfs now reduced to
hawking for AT&T.
THE |RON G|ANT0999)
Our p[qin fthld: The lron Giant
(voiced by Vin Diesel) is a fierce
weapon sent to destroy Earth, but
gets damaged on landing and is
befriended by a little boy.
ilan or madfne: Man, eventually.
Like Pinocchio and the Scarecrow.
the lron Giant discovers his
humaniU while the movies discover
a major new talent in director Brad
Bird, who goes on to helm "The
tncredibles" and "Ratatouille."Our pfug-in ftiend: In this notorious
flop, Andy Kaufman and Bernadette
Peters are service droids that escape
to freedom and build a love child
out of spare parts - voiced by Jerry
Garcia of the Grateful Dead!
llan or nadfne Robotic in the
extreme. The movie was so God-
awful that it became Kaufman's first
and last leading role.
STARWARS: EPISODE
I-THE PHANTOM
MENACE Cr999)
our phgrin ftiend: A
minor saving grace of
the increasingly digitized
and leaden "Star
Wars" prequels was the
comforting presence of R2-D2
and C-3PO, the Laurel and Hardy
of robots.
Man or nadfne Both. R2-D2 is pure
iBot - up-to-date, clever and highly
adaptable; C-3PO is a mechanized
bundle of fear, doubt and insecurity
so human that he makes us laugh in
recognition.
Michael GilE