Short Circuit (1986 film)

Lore & Background

The film was conceived after the producers distributed an educational video about a robot to various colleges. Studying other films with a prominent robot cast (like the Star Wars series) for inspiration, they decided to question human reactions to a 'living' robot, on the premise that no one would initially believe its sentience. Number 5 was the most expensive part of the film, requiring several different versions to be made for different sequences. The inspiration for the design came from Douglas Trumbull's 'Showscan' short entitled 'LETS GO' which featured a robot named PAL designed by Eric Allard; Steven Spielberg saw the short and told Badham to contact Allard for the robot construction. Number 5 was designed by Syd Mead, the 'visual futurist' famous for his work on Blade Runner and Tron, though Mead's design was greatly influenced by Allard's sketches. Most of the arm movements of Number 5 were controlled by a 'telemetry suit' carried on the puppeteer's upper torso, and the robot was voiced in real-time by his puppeteer, though a few lines were re-dubbed later. Fisher Stevens, who played Ben Jabituya, was originally fired and replaced by Bronson Pinchot, but when Pinchot left to do the sitcom Perfect Strangers, Stevens was rehired; to portray the role he had to grow a beard, dye his hair black, darken his skin with makeup, turn his blue eyes brown with contact lenses, speak with an East Indian accent and 'walk hunched over like a cricket player'. In 2015, Aziz Ansari had a cordial discussion with Stevens over the role, with Ansari saying he did not view Stevens as a bad guy or someone who played Ben as a tired stereotype, and Stevens saying (with Ansari's agreement) that a present-day version of the role would be played by an actor who had an Indian or a South Asian background.

Reader's Guide

Short Circuit was theatrically released in the United States and Canada on May 9, 1986, by Tri-Star Pictures. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film was a box office success, grossing $40.7 million against a $15 million budget. It earned three nominations, including Best Science Fiction Film, at the 14th Saturn Awards. The film's sequel, titled Short Circuit 2, was directed by Kenneth Johnson and was theatrically released on July 6, 1988. The sequence in the film depicting Number 5 watching the movie Saturday Night Fever (and imitating John Travolta's dance moves) is an in-joke, as Badham also directed Saturday Night Fever. In 2009, Austin Pendleton, who had gone to college with Badham, stated 'some stuff was cut out of my part in [Short Circuit]. And also the two leading roles were cast with really talented, attractive people who were not right for the parts. [The] script was just 'heartbreakingly' beautiful to read. And now it's a nice little slightly bland kids' movie.'

Did You Know?

• The robot's design was inspired by a robot named PAL from Douglas Trumbull's short 'LETS GO'.
• Fisher Stevens was originally fired from the role of Ben Jabituya and later rehired after Bronson Pinchot left.
• Director John Badham makes an uncredited cameo as a cameraman during Stephanie's impromptu news interview.