Rewind Back to 1986: A Look Back at “Short Circuit”
- Matt Palmer
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
This marks the start of my throwback series called the Rewind Series, where I take a look at some movies that are celebrating anniversary milestones. And, just a quick heads up, as I am still planning my review line up, not every edition will consist of a review for the series!
So, to kick this series off, I wanted to revisit a childhood favorite of mine that I haven’t seen in years and once I saw that it was available on Tubi, I actually had to watch it not once but twice! The movie I’m talking about is “Short Circuit” (celebrating its 40th anniversary)!
When one of an experimental range of military robots is hit by lightning, it is given consciousness. It escapes from the military and befriends a young woman, Stephanie Speck.
The robot’s creator, Newton Crosby, is desperate to find it, or his entire project may be scrapped.
The 1986 movie “Short Circuit” was generally well-received by audiences as a charming, sentimental, and very humorous 80s family movie, and is often praised for its impressive, practical robot puppetry. While critics felt the plot was formulaic, it’s still fondly remembered as a quintessential 80s movie that should not be missed!
I remember watching this a lot when I was younger and also remember renting it numerous times from the video store (remember those?) and always enjoyed watching it. This fun, heartwarming 80s classic does a great job combining slapstick comedy, a little touch of science fiction and quite a few humorous moments.
One of the major highlights of this movie is the robot itself, a.k.a. Johnny No. 5. It’s really easy to be entertained by the robot’s childlike curiosity and quirky charm. Johnny No. 5’s frantic quest for “input” - consuming many books and watching a lot of TV - also
provides some of the best bits of the movie - especially when he imitates John Travolta, the Three Stooges and the Duke himself, John Wayne.
Johnny No. 5 also felt like a real character capable of genuine emotion and the believable robot puppetry helped make that happen. Of course, if this movie was remade today, the robot would likely be CGI and would completely ruin the character’s believability.
While there are quite a few comedic moments featuring the robot, there are some elements that can get a bit serious. “Short Circuit” can be seen as an underdog adventure where the robot and his human allies must stay one step ahead of a relentless military force. Also the friendship that blossoms between Johnny No. 5 and Stephanie feels very sincere, which also helps you feel invested in the robot’s fight for freedom.
There are several moments throughout the movie that will really make you laugh. There’s a classic bit of slapstick comedy where Johnny No. 5 outwits and reprograms other robots that are after him to act like the Stooges as he escapes. Throughout the movie, there’s also a good amount of comedic banter between Newton Crosby (Steve Guttenberg) and his lab partner Ben Jabituya (Fisher Stevens) that can be really humorous.
“Short Circuit” is widely regarded as a charming, sentimental 80s classic, balancing slapstick comedy, with a heartwarming story about a robot. While critics at the time found it safe and somewhat formulaic, audiences embraced the endearing fun story and its retro science fiction appeal.
Make sure to keep on checking my Wyoming County Press Examiner reviews page on Facebook to see what other movies I will be checking out for my new Rewind Series! And you can also see some fun trivia bits from this movie also available on my Facebook page as well!
The sound of Number 5's laser firing is the same effect as the Ghostbusters' Proton Packs powering up.
Filmed in the town of Astoria, Oregon, where Free Willy, The Goonies (1985) and Kindergarten Cop (1990) were filmed as well.
$1.4 million of the film's $15 million budget was spent on the creation of Number Five.
In this film and "Short Circuit 2 (1988)," Johnny 5's voice was provided by puppeteer Tim Blaney. This casting decision was made due to the director's belief that real-time interaction with the robot prop would make the interaction seem more natural on-screen than if they edited Johnny's voice in during post-production.
Clips from several scenes not in the theatrical release can be seen during the closing credits; in one of them Number 5 encounters an Omnibot 2000 (a toy robot manufactured by Tomy in the mid 1980's) that attempts to give him a beverage. Another scene shows Number 5 in an auto scrap yard.
One of the subtle ways in which the movie shows Number 5 becoming alive is his gradual transition from referring to himself in the third person to the first person, implying a development of self-awareness. This is particularly evident when he says "I am alive" to Crosby after repeatedly saying "Number five is alive" earlier in the movie.
The script called for extensive stop-motion animation to be utilized, but Director John Badham opted to use practical effects.
There was a script for a possible third Short Circuit movie written in 1989 and re-written in 1990, but it was found to be unsatisfactory by the producers, and the project was subsequently scrapped. According to Variety Magazine in April of 2008, Dimension Films had bought the rights to make a third Short Circuit movie, in which the plot would involve a boy from a broken family meeting and befriending Number 5. It remains unclear, however, if this movie will be a sequel to the first two movies, or a remake of this movie.
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