R I S E
O F
T H E
MACHINES
Androids Built in the image of their makers, they bear more of a resemblance to humans, in that they have a head, two legs, two arms, bilateral symmetry, etc. MARIA 'Metropolis,’ 1927 The first movie robot is one of the most beautiful: a sleek, metallic, art deco female robot.
There has been a fascination with robots since the era of silent movies. This summer, two big movies have their own takes on these mechanical creatures: “Stepford Wives” and “I, Robot.” The latter movie, “I, Robot,” is based on the classic science fiction anthology by Isaac Asimov and will be released Friday. Here is a history of robots in movies and television:
1950s
Mechanical robots The classic, clanging contraptions, built mainly for functionality. This type of robot can take various machine-like forms. They often have wheels to move around with and built-in devices to perform their robotic duties.
KEY TO SYMBOLS
GORT ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still,’ 1951 One of the earliest alien robots on the screen. A menacing but protective figure, controlled by one of the most famous lines in science fiction movies: “Klaatu Barada Nikto!”
Half human, half machine: Cyborgs are a mix of the mechanical and living organisms.
FEMBOTS ‘Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery,’ 1997
1990s
Alien origin
Pet
GIANT ROBO 'Giant Robo,’ 1967
DARTH VADER ‘Star Wars,’ 1977
MECHAGODZILLA 'Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla,’ 1974
RACHEL ‘Blade Runner,’ 1982
JOHNNY 5 ‘Short Circuit,’ 1986
Love machine
Cyborgs
STEVE AUSTIN ‘The Six Million Dollar Man,’ 1973-78 OPTIMUS PRIME ‘The Transformers,’ 1984-87
TWIKI ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,’ 1979
VINCENT ‘The Black Hole,’ 1979
Earthling
GIGANTOR ‘Gigantor,’ 1966
R2-D2 and C-3PO ‘Star Wars,’ 1977 The amiable ‘droids’ of ‘Star Wars’ become the most popular and influential robots since Robby. These personable, loyal and comical robots paved the way for an avalanche of imitators.
1980s
Servant
Bigger than life!
A pop culture icon: Robby's design was one of the first movie props to be heavily merchanized and had a profound impact on the toy industry.
GUNSLINGER ‘Westworld,’ 1973
HUEY, DEWEY and LOUIE ‘Silent Running,’ 1971
Good
Giant robots
ROBBY ‘Forbidden Planet,’ 1956
ROSIE ‘The Jetsons,’ 1962
1970s
Fighter
THE ROBOT ‘Mysterious Doctor Satan,’ 1940 Robots were villians of choice in ’40s movie serials.
1960s
ROBOT ‘Lost in Space,’ 1965
Evil
THE TERMINATOR ‘The Terminator,’ 1984
DATA ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation,’ 1987-94
ROBOCOP ‘RoboCop,’ 1987 ED-209 'RoboCop,’ 1987
SENTINELS ‘The Matrix,’ 1999 2000s
BENDER ‘Futurama,’ 1999-2004
GODDARD ‘Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius,’ 2001
DAVID and GIGOLO JOE ‘Artificial Intelligence: A.I.,’ 2001
SONNY ‘I, Robot,’ 2004 Sonny holds the key to a vast conspiracy that could threaten the human race.
IRON GIANT ‘The Iron Giant,’ 1999 STEPFORD WIVES ‘The Stepford Wives,’
Sources: Internet Movie Database, 2004 Science Fiction Illustrated Encyclopedia, The Robot Museum Photo credits: Amblin Entertainment, American-International Television, Akom Production Co., BijouFlix Releasing, Capella International, Cartoon Network, Cinema 84, Davis Entertainment, De Line Pictures, DNA Entertainment, DreamWorks SKG, Glen A. Larson Productions, Groucho II Film Partnership, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Hasbro Inc., Hemdale Film Corp., The Ladd Co., Lucasfilm Ltd., MGM, Moving Pictures, New Line Cinema, Nickelodeon Movies, O Entertainment, Orion Pictures Corp., Pacific Western, Paramount Television, Paramount Pictures, PSO, Republic Pictures Corp., Scott Rudin Productions, Silver Pictures, Stanley Kubrick Productions, Sunbow Productions, Toei Co. Ltd., Toho Eizo Co., Toho, Universal, Universum Film A.G., Village Roadshow Pictures, Warner Bros., Walt Disney Pictures, 20th Century Fox ROB HERNANDEZ and JAVIER ZARRACINA—MERCURY NEWS