The recent unveiling of Tesla’s humanoid Optimus robots at the Cybercab event has sparked a wave of excitement, curiosity, and apprehension about our future with AI. With promises from Elon Musk that Optimus can “do anything” from walking your dog to babysitting, many are left wondering about the role of AI in our lives. While some fear the destructive potential of AI, cinema has offered us glimpses of hope through friendly robots and benevolent AI. In this listicle, we’ll explore movies that suggest our AI overlords might just end up on our side.
1. Short Circuit (1986)
Synopsis: When Number 5, a military robot, is struck by lightning, he gains human-like intelligence and emotions. Escaping his creators, Number 5 discovers the world anew, seeking friendship and hoping to avoid being dismantled.
- MPAA Rating: PG
- Available on: Amazon Prime Video
2. Bicentennial Man (1999)
Synopsis: Andrew, a robot played by Robin Williams, gradually develops human emotions and desires over two centuries. His quest for humanity and acceptance challenges the boundaries between man and machine.
- MPAA Rating: PG
- Available on: Disney+
3. RoboCop (1987)
Synopsis: In a dystopian Detroit, police officer Alex Murphy is restored to life as RoboCop, a part-man, part-machine law enforcer. While enforcing justice, RoboCop begins questioning his programming and identity.
- MPAA Rating: R
- Available on: Hulu
4. WALL-E (2008)
Synopsis: On a trash-covered Earth, the last remaining robot, WALL-E, spends his days cleaning up the planet. When he meets EVE, a sleek probe sent to find signs of life, WALL-E experiences love and adventure.
- MPAA Rating: G
- Available on: Disney+
5. The Iron Giant (1999)
Synopsis: A young boy named Hogarth discovers a giant robot that fell from space. Together, they form a friendship while hiding the giant from government agents who see it as a threat.
- MPAA Rating: PG
- Available on: HBO Max
6. Big Hero 6 (2014)
Synopsis: When prodigy Hiro Hamada encounters the comforting robot Baymax, designed for healthcare, they team up with friends to form a superhero group to solve a mysterious crime.
- MPAA Rating: PG
- Available on: Disney+
7. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994)
Synopsis: While not a movie (though the franchise does boast four), this series deserves mention for its portrayal of Data, a sentient android striving to understand humanity while serving as a valued crew member of the starship Enterprise.
- MPAA Rating: TV-PG
- Available on: Paramount+
8. Pacific Rim (2013)
Synopsis: Giant robots called Jaegers, piloted by humans, are humanity’s last defense against monstrous alien creatures known as Kaiju that emerge from a portal beneath the Pacific Ocean.
- MPAA Rating: PG-13
- Available on: Amazon Prime Video
9. Batteries Not Included (1987)
Synopsis: A group of tiny, friendly alien robots helps the residents of a New York City apartment block fight against property developers intent on demolishing their homes.
- MPAA Rating: PG
- Available on: Amazon Prime Video
These films remind us that while AI has the potential for great power, it can also embody empathy, friendship, and humanity. Through this lens, we can imagine a future where AI not only enhances our lives but also connects with us on a deeply personal level.
James Carrick
James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.
One comment
Sweet Deals
October 14, 2024 at 11:43 pm
I love cute robot movies. Let me express my silly opinions in the order the movies were listed.
1. Short Circuit: I love this movie. The sequel was fun, too. The thing that I’ll point to in this movie is that Johnny Five’s creator is a robotics engineer who repeatedly mentions that robots don’t think or feel, they only run programs (which is true, in real life). The idea that his robot inexplicably gains the ability to think and feel by manipulating his own hardware absolutely baffles and surprises him. Johnny Five takes in a lot of data, most of it is pop culture trash, but in spite of his vast knowledge he is still intellectually a toddler. It takes a lot more than just having a databank full of information to be able to make smart and independent decisions.
2. Bicentennial Man: The movie is cuter than the novel. In the book, the android Andrew spends his lifetime pursuing humanity to prove he’s more than a machine through achievements and credentials. In the film, Andrew pursues humanity because he wants to understand human connection and emotion. This was a good adaption decision because the viewer cares about his character more.
3. RoboCop: RoboCop is technically a human being named Alex Murphy. He has chips for brains, which makes him a very durable fighter, a very accurate marksman, and a fairly comfortable dude to talk to, but this also interferes with his ability to enforce the law against a corrupt corporate executive who programmed RoboCop that way in order to make himself immune to justice. RoboCop side-steps this by publicly accusing the bad guy but telling everyone present that his programming prevents him from acting, until the condition he’s prevented from acting against no longer applies. (You wouldn’t want the giant clumsy robots who were supposed to take his place enforcing law and order in your city).
4. WALL-E: Adorable movie. A robot compacts trash and collects weird artifacts for centuries, but the job is so big that he’ll never be done. He briefly leaves his post to chase a robot girl he likes, and in the process he sets in motion a chain of events that end up making the world a better place for everybody. Isn’t romance great?
5. The Iron Giant: Great movie, but he’s technically an alien from another planet.
6. Big Hero 6: I can’t give a positive opinion of this movie because I still have emotional battle scars from watching Disney’s Meet the Robinsons (don’t get me started). I don’t care how cute the Baymax robot is designed to be. I can’t really form a positive emotional bond between an arrogant super genius boy and his late brother’s ridiculous engineering classmates play-acting as superheroes.
7. Star Trek TNG: I’ve never been a big Star Trek fan, but my brother-in-law loves the show so I binged my way through it so I would be familiar with it when he discusses what Darmok did at Tanagra. If there’s a key theme episode that sticks out in my mind, I think it was called “Hero Worship”. A boy who is the lone survivor of a starship wreck refuses to discuss what happened after being rescued. Feeling bad about himself, he starts admiring Data and pretends to be an android who is perfect and has no uncomfortable negative emotions. Counselor Troi understands that the boy is putting on an act to distance himself from his feelings and asks Data to indulge the kid by showing him how to be an android, but then gradually bring him back to being a human again by admitting that androids also have limitations. When the story is over, the boy is absolved of his guilty feelings and uses his knowledge to prevent another accident.
8. Pacific Rim: Didn’t watch it. My brain tends to shut off when the CGI action drags on for so long that I forget what the plot was about.
9. Batteries Not Included: Another movie I love, but once again, the flying saucer robots are technically aliens from another planet.
As much as I love artificially intelligent cartoon robots, if they existed in real life I would prefer my robots to be appliances that are only intelligent enough to do the task they were programmed for and no smarter. I think we’ve learned that “smart” devices tend to be more trouble than they are worth.