Famous Movie Robots - Illustrated History of Film Robots
*batteries not included                 (1987) (aka Miracle on 8th Street)
"Fix-it" Robots
In this Steven Spielberg-produced film, mysterious             philanthropic, flying-saucer-shaped, living 'fix-it' mechanical robots             came to the aid of elderly tenants (including diner owners Frank             and Faye Riley, Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy).
The seniors were threatened with eviction in their             soon-to-be-demolished New York apartment building.
The two good-natured           but shy adult fix-it robots had three babies: Wheems, Jetsom and           Flotsom, and continually repaired broken items, as well as served           cheeseburgers in the diner.
The film was a composite of E.T.:                 The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Cocoon (1985).
"Fix-It" Robots
Cherry 2000 (1987)
Cherry               2000
This science-fiction futuristic film had a tagline             describing the title character: "She's Blond, Beautiful and             Forever Young."
In a post-apocalyptic world in the year 2017, Sam Treadwell             (David Andrews), the head of an Anaheim recycling plant, employed             a perfect girlfriend -- a rare, irreplaceable, top-of-the-line blonde-haired             sex robot named Cherry 2000 (Pamela Gidley).
She was programmed with a shiny "chip" (similar             to a quarter-sized mini CD) behind her ear.
However, he found it difficult to replace her when             she shorted out (wearing a tight red dress and yellow rubber gloves)             when they were love-making on the floor and soapy water overflowed.
When Sam went to a robot factory to get a replacement             body for his girlfriend, his choices included Robby the Robot (from Forbidden             Planet (1956) and Gort (from The Day the Earth Stood Still             (1951)).
Cherry 2000
In Susan Seidelman's PG-13 sci-fi comedic romance,             John Malkovich played a dual role:
emotionless, inept, grouchy, reclusive and nerdy                 android creator, a scientist named Dr. Jeff Peters
a lifelike android 'Ulysses', created in Jeff's               image and intended for solitary deep space research for seven years
Comic confusion arose when the design company             Chemtech Corporation's PR New Wave "image consultant" Frankie             Stone (Ann Magnuson), who had promoted, packaged and 'sold' Ulysses             (with a detachable, spinning head) to the American public, also taught             the android about emotions, sensitivity and love.
Frankie  ultimately           fell in love with the more evolved and sexually-satisfying male robot,           when Ulysses switched roles with his creator.
Dr. Peters and Ulysses
Not Quite Human (1987-1992) (TV movies)
Chip
Not Quite Human II (1989)
Still Not Quite Human (1992)
A series of three TV movies (airing on the Disney Channel),           all sci-fi comedies ("coming-of-age") and family films, were           based on the young adult book series of six novels (published from           1985-1986) by Seth McEvoy.
The stories told about a widower scientist,         Dr. Jonas Carson (Alan Thicke), a single father who created a "not         quite human" teenaged android named Chip (Jay Underwood). The android posed as a         high-school student, and possessed great strength, was impervious to         fire, and had a photographic memory. His head movements were jerky,         and he often took things literally. He attended school with Carson's         daughter Becky (Robyn Lively).
In the developing plot, Carson's former boss Gordon Vogel           (Joseph Bologna), a defense contractor, had plans to kidnap the android       and reprogram him into a military machine.
Chip (Jay Underwood)
RoboCop (1987)
RoboCop;               also ED 209
The first film in the series, by director Paul Verhoeven,             was a graphically-violent film set in dystopic, crime-filled futuristic             Detroit, with the tagline: "Part man, part machine, all cop."
It featured a cyborg - a half-human (with repressed             and fragmented human memories), half-robotic, bullet-proofed, crime-fighting             supercop (Peter Weller/Robert John Burke), officer Alex J. Murphy's             alter-ego.
Alex was killed in the line of duty as a cop, and             brought back as an invincible cyborg called RoboCop. The robotic             enforcer was built by the corrupt local law-enforcement organization             called the OmniConsumer Products Corporation (OCP). RoboCop took             various elements of past robotic designs, such as Gort's head, "Fake" Maria's             legs, and C-3PO's body. Beneath its exterior, it had a human face. When in sleep mode (in a chair), it was battery-recharged and reconfigured.
The film also featured the stop-motion animated ED-209             (Enforcement Droid Series 209) robot - a giant, awkward, faceless,             hard-surfaced, top-heavy, self-sufficient, law enforcement robot             for "urban pacification" - heralded as "a self-sufficient,             law-enforcement robot" and "the hot military product for             the next decade."
During an experimental demonstration in the boardroom,             after the crouched, combat-stanced ED-209 gave a warning when a gun             was threateningly pointed at it: "Please put down your weapon.             You have 20 seconds to comply," it malfunctioned and killed             its opponent Kinney (Kevin/Ken Page) with a violent volley of shots             from its Gatling gun hands, even though the weapon was surrendered.             The faulty robot was excused by OCP Senior President Dick Jones (Ronny             Cox): "I'm sure it's only a glitch, a temporary setback."
Sequels: RoboCop 2 (1990), RoboCop 3 (1993)
Robocop
Spaceballs (1987)
Dot               Matrix
Mel Brooks' science fiction comedy fantasy featured             a wise-cracking character named Dot Matrix (Lorene Yarnell, voice             of Joan Rivers).
Dot Matrix was Princess Vespa's (Daphne Zuniga)           gold-plated, protective Droid of Honor for her wedding on the peace-loving           planet of Druidia.
The robot resembled a female version of Star Wars'             C-3PO. Her name referred to a non-laser type of serial dot matrix             computer printer that printed dots within a grid pattern.
Dot Matrix
Back to the       Future Part II (1989)
Griff           Tannen
This sequel began where the first film ended. It was           both more somber and dark, with a very complex and sophisticated plot           involving time-travel.
The film opened with Marty         McFly (Michael J. Fox) and girlfriend Jennifer Parker (now Elisabeth         Shue) joining Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (Christopher Lloyd)         in time-travel ("back to the future") in his DeLorean to         October 21, 2015.
Marty pretended to be his own son, Marty, Jr. (also Michael           J. Fox) to stand up to Biff's 19 year-old goading grandson Griff (Thomas           F. Wilson) in Cafe 80's.
Griff continued the tradition of the Tannens         in bullying the McFly family, now with the reported aid of bionic implants           (to give him enhanced strength, speed, and taller stature, and the           ability to automatically block punches).
Biff Tannen
Cyborg (1989)
Cyborg               Pearl Prophet
In this post-apocalyptic martial arts film, the starring             character was not the cyborg (it was basically a red-herring for             a film title). This cyborg film was typical             of many that came out in the 1990s, including Cyborg Cop (1993), Cyborg             Cop II (1994), and Cyborg Cop III (1995) (aka Cyborg             Soldier).
Jean-Claude Van Damme starred as "the first hero             of the 21st century," a mercenary named Gibson Rickenbacker             whose mission was the rescue of a beautiful, but abducted cyborg             Pearl Prophet (Dayle Haddon) from evil kidnapper Fender Tremolo (Vincent             Klyn) and his band of "flesh pirates."
Pearl became a cyborg in order to programmatically             store and transport vital information that might help produce a cure             for a plague               that was slowly killing off humanity.
The film was followed with a number of sequels:
Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow (1993) with           an early appearance by a young Angelina Jolie
Cyborg 3: The Recycler (1994), a direct-to-video           release
Pearl Prophet
Darkman (1990)
Peyton           Westlake/Darkman
Director Sam Raimi's comic-book           style superhero action-horror film was adapted from the director's           own short story. It was Raimi's first big-budget         Hollywood studio film.
It starred Liam Neeson as vengeful burn victim scientist           Dr. Peyton Westlake/Darkman, a tormented hero with a disfigured face.
He was continuing to experiment with photosensitive,           synthetic skin (his own invention) after he almost lost his life in           a horrific explosion.
Using the skin as raw material, the tormented         anti-hero created various disguises (but they only lasted 100 minutes           per disguise) that helped him hide his disfigurement from the world,           as he sought vigilante revenge on his enemies ("I'm everyone and           no one, everything and nothing. Call me Darkman").
 
Hardware (1990, UK/US)
M.A.R.K.               13 prototype killer combat droid
In this low-budget, cyber-punkish sci-fi horror hybrid             film, an android head-helmet was found in the radioactive desert             wasteland (previously in an area of New Jersey before an apocalypse)             by an unnamed scavenger nomad (Carl McCoy).
Moses Baxter (Dylan McDermott) acquired the junked             robot and gave it as a Christmas gift to his metalwork artist/girlfriend             Jill Grakowski (Stacey Travis) who used it in one of her blowtorch             and chain-saw sculptures.
The multi-limbed, intelligent military droid was originally             government-programmed to kill people, without prejudice, as a means             of population control (via the 'Emergency Population Control Bill').             The droid was named after a Biblical verse, Mark 13 ("Let no             flesh be spared").
The humanoid skull (with an American flag painted on             its headpiece) came to life (on Christmas Day, significantly) in             her sculpture - the droid reconstructed itself from the various pieces             of junk hardware in Jill's apartment, with glowing red eyes and a             computer motherboard in the shape of a pentagram, claws, and a powerdrill.             It then went on a killing rampage (with high-tech lasers and weapons).
The misogynistic MARK 13 first targeted Jill alone             in her secure apartment, and conducted a simulated rape by forcing             a revolving metal drill between her legs. The droid's fatal flaw             was an inability to insulate against moisture - Jill lured the killer             machine into her shower where she smashed it into pieces.
M.A.R.K. 13
Robot Jox (1990)
Giant               Mega Robots, specifically for example, the Western Market's red/white               Matsumoto-14, or the Confederation's Vovalefski-42
In this Stuart Gordon film, warfare was strictly forbidden             between nations following a WWIII nuclear holocaust. However,             the two major nations, the American-like "Western Market" and             the Russian alliance "Confederation" could war against             each other on large vast playing fields - but vicariously.
They could           fight by using giant mechanical robots, human-piloted by gladiator-like           'jockies' (or jox). The film's tagline described           them as the "ultimate killing machine. Part Man. Part Metal."
The robots were equipped             with various weapons, including lasers, missiles, and cannons. To             be exacting, however, they were not really robots but anthropomorphic-controlled             vehicles - that is, the movements of the giant robot mimicked the             actions of the jox in a control harness, while weapons were fired             by a combination of joy sticks, switches, and buttons.
Giant Mega Robots
Spaced Invaders (1990)
Enforcer           Drones, also Shortstuff
Director/co-writer Patrick Read Johnson's sci-fi comedy,           expensively financed by Disney, was a box-office disaster. The parody           alien invasion film was advertised with a few taglines: "For           years, science has speculated on the existence of intelligent life           in space...Now, there is living proof there is no such thing," and "Earth           will never be the same." It was another example that alien life           was no longer threatening, after the popularity of Close           Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and E.T.:           The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) .
In the story set in the rural Illinois town of Big Bean,           a radio-station was re-broadcasting Orson Welles'           'War of the Worlds' 1938 radio play on its 50th anniversary (on Halloween).
Meanwhile, a planetary warfare was occurring between:
the Martian Imperial Atomic Space Navy or Armada (Battle             Group Seven); the Martian military was kept in line by lethal robots             called Enforcer Drones (voice of director Patrick Johnson) with laser             beam zappers
the Arcturans
It was stated: "To secure our complete success, all ships           throughout the galaxy have been equipped with Enforcer Drones to remove           any weak links in the command chain. Any deviation from the Master           Invasion Plan will result in immediate disciplinary review." When one           of the Martian commanders complained, "I'll not send my boys out to           Arcturas with an Enforcer Drone breathing down my neck," he was zapped           into a charcoaled, smoking skeleton. The other commanders quickly complied.
One of the civilian Martian asteroid         patrol ships, lost in space, picked up the town's radio signal. They           came to believe that Earth was the intended invasion target, and descended           upon Big Bean. The aliens were short-statured with big green heads           (and antennae), and possessed advanced technology. Five         misguided Martians in the ship included:
pilot Blaznee (Kevin Thompson)
senior officer Captain Bipto (Jimmy Briscoe, voice             of Jeff Winkless)
gung-ho Lieutenant Giggywig (Tommy Madden, voice of             Bruce Lanoil)
scientist Dr. Ziplock (Debbie Lee Carrington, voice             of Joe Alaskey)
Corporal Pez (Tony Cox, voice of Tony Pope)
Because it was Halloween, every local in town at first           thought the Martians were costumed Halloween trick-or-treaters. But           the town's recently-widowed Sheriff Sam Hoxly (Douglas Barr) was suspicious,           as was his daughter Kathy Hoxly (Ariana Richards) and an old farmer           named Wrenchmuller (Royal Dano) who owned the barn where the Martians           had crash-landed.
Kathy became       friends with the Martians' little robot Shortstuff (voice of Kirk Thatcher),           nicknamed "Scout-in-a-Can." It could collapse into a sphere and was considered "smart,       efficient, easy to use and expendable." Another       of her friends, dressed in a duck costume, was   Brian Hampton (the Duck)       (J.J. Anderson).
In the conclusion, the Martians determined that they           had made a big mistake, and were attempting to leave, although the           ship's Enforcer Drone wouldn't allow them until it was destroyed with           dynamite.
Enforcer Drone
Costumed Kathy (Ariana Richards) and Brian (the Duck) (J.J. Anderson)
Shortstuff
Total Recall (1990)
Johnny               Cab
In the film's futuristic world of 2084, taxi drivers             were replaced by robotic automatons called "Johnny Cabs" (voice             of Robert Picardo).
When asked by Mars virtual reality secret agent Douglas             Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger), "Where am I?," the whistling             'Johnny Cab' replied: "You're in a Johnny Cab." When Quaid             again asked: "I mean, what am I doing here?...How did I get             in this taxi?," the 'Johnny Cab' robot replied common-sensically: "The             door opened. You got in," and then rolled its eyes.
Later, when pursued in a car chase sequence, Quaid             jumped in another Johnny Cab and in anger (after swearing at the             robot), grabbed the robot and tore him from the gear mechanism attached             to the floor, and threw him in the back seat. As the cab sped away             amidst gunfire, the robot comically cautioned: "Fasten your             seat belt."
When Quaid escaped and left the cab, the robot chirped: "The             fare is 18 credits, please," to which Quaid responded: "Sue             me, dickhead," causing the robot to flare up and run the cab             into a wall to create a fiery explosion - a defense mechanism to             prevent unpaid fares. The tactic was unsuccessful in this case.
Johnny Cab