Robots. Sometimes they are helpful, sometimes they are out to kill us, sometimes they just sort of, like, hang out. Robots in movies go back a century. Seriously, as one of the first iconic epics “Metropolis” hinges on a robot, and that movie came out in 1927. In the intervening years, there have been hundreds of robots in film. Here are the 25 most memorable robots. For the purposes of this article, we will include humanoid robots, but not robots who look indistinguishable from humans, also known as androids.
We have to start with the franchise that has given us many an iconic robot. “Star Wars” is a defining film franchise and cinematic universe, including two legendary robots. C-3PO has a look definitely modeled off of the “Metropolis” robot, and his finicky nature and facility with language made him a fleshed-out character even without having any flesh. Micro Servo 9g Sg90
Where would C-3PO be without his running mate R2-D2? Or, maybe we should flip that around. After all, R2-D2 talks with beeps and boops. While Threepio is a humanoid robot, Artoo very much is not, though the bot is equally iconic anyway.
One last “Star Wars” robot for the list. We’d just have gone with the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of the original trilogy, but then our beloved ball droid popped up. BB-8 is kind of the evolution of R2-D2, in that it is not humanoid at all, and is a smaller robot. However, BB-8 rolls around on that ball half of his body, making it a bit more mobile.
From “Star Wars” to Mel Brooks’ parody of “Star Wars,” there is no R2-D2 analog in “Spaceballs.” However, this is a riff on C-3PO. Dot Matrix is Princess Vespa’s companion and protector. Also, she’s voiced by Joan Rivers. There are a few good robot jokes in “Spaceballs,” a movie that can be defined as “A few good jokes about a few ‘Star Wars’ things.”
Alien robots are not uncommon, and the Iron Giant is one of them. Voiced by Vin Diesel, this massive robot falls from the sky, but is then befriended by a boy named Hogarth. Brad Bird, who would go on to direct “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille,” debuted as a film director in this touching tale of friendship.
The Terminator, as we envision him, looks human. Specifically, he looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, we also see the T-800 sans the humanlike appearance, and then it is just a straight-up robot. Plus, visions of the future show T-800 robots that aren’t humanlike at all. If we showed you a photo of the T-800, we bet you would recognize it from “The Terminator.”
The “Transformers” films are brimming with robots. Instead of rattling them off, though, we will just go with the bot that leads the good guys. That would be Optimus Prime. If you can’t name any other Transformer, you can probably name Optimus Prime. Well, we should also shout out “Bumblebee,” the only Transformer to get a titular film.
Tony Stark’s reach exceeded his grasp big time. In the second “Avengers” film, Stark accidentally unleashed the villain of the piece, Ultron. “Age of Ultron” is generally thought of as being a lesser film from the MCU, but among villains, Ultron is perhaps the foremost robot.
What if Godzilla was a robot? That is Mechagodzilla in a nutshell. Thus, Mechagodzilla pretty much rules. Sure, the robot version has never been able to vanquish the real reptilian monster, but Mechagodzilla stands out among the monsters Godzilla has battled.
Originally just “Number 5,” by dint of escaping, Johnny 5 got to have his own personality in the “Short Circuit” films. Johnny 5 is a comedic relief robot, but “Short Circuit” was popular enough to yield a sequel.
We’re joining Crow and Servo together here, because primarily “Mystery Science Theater 3000” is a TV show. However, there was a movie version with Mike and the bots watching “This Island Earth.” Hey, if we get a chance to shout out these two quipping robots, we’re going to take it.
A classic ‘50s sci-fi robot, Gort is the compatriot of Klaatu in “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” In the 1951 version, Gort is giant and constructed from a single piece of metal. He has no expressions and doesn’t speak, but he comes equipped with a powerful laser. Gort reappears in a 2000s remake where Keanu Reeves plays Klaatu.
Robots are typically depicted as metal and angular. Not Baymax! In “Big Hero 6” we get a robot that is inflatable and soft in appearance. While it may not feel like Baymax made a huge cultural impact, but “Big Hero 6” was a huge hit for Disney and it spawned two spinoff series as well.
How successful is Rocky Balboa by the time of “Rocky IV.” His buddy Paulie has a robot! Paulie’s robot may not be a key feature in the film, but it has become a piece of ‘80s pop culture iconography. So much so that “The Muppets” movie has a character called “80s Robot” that feels like a riff on Paulie’s novelty robot.
“Real Steel” is about a robot fighting league. That’s a silly idea, but one that a lot of folks have an affinity for. Hugh Jackman’s a robot fighting manager, and the robot that he is in the corner for is named Noisy Boy, which is certainly a memorable name.
Chappie is more meme than movie character at this point. Everything about “Chappie” felt just a bit off, from the key acting roles for the members of Die Antwoord to, well, the name Chappie. Of course, living on in memes and ironic appreciation does make for a memorable robot. That’s Chappie.
“Chopping Mall” is an ‘80s cult classic, the kind of movie that gives cameos to Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov. The premise is that a mall is patrolled at night by robotic security guards. However, a few people decide to secretly stay in the mall overnight to party and drink and such, not knowing that these robots are, well, Killbots.
RoboCop is not a robot. He’s a cyborg, and a grim one at that, what with Red Foreman did to Murphy. In Paul Verhoeven’s gory, bonkers action flick, there is a robot, though. That would be ED-209, a killing machine that will eviscerate you with artillery at the drop of a hat. “RoboCop” is a wild movie.
There is a common misconception that the robot in “Lost in Space” is Robby the Robot. That robot does not have a name, even in the film. No, Robby the Robot comes from “Forbidden Planet.” Actually, Robot the Robot once appeared on the “Lost in Space” show to battle that robot. “Forbidden Planet” is also an interesting watch as it features a lead performance from Leslie Nielsen in the days before he turned to comedy.
“Clash of the Titans” exists primarily as a showcase for Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion special effects. Amongst the creations of Harryhausen and his team is Bubo the owl. When Hera refuses to allow Perseus to be guided by her actual owl, she has a mechanical version created for Perseus. Bubo is one of the notable creatures and monsters from the movie, including the Kraken and Medusa as well.
Marvin is neither paranoid, nor an android, but here we are. The character is featured in Douglas Adams’ beloved “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” series. Eventually, “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” was adapted into a film, and Marvin was of course included. The morose robot was voiced by Alan Rickman.
We delve back into the world of Verhoeven, who directed the original “Total Recall.” Johnny Cab is certainly not the most memorable thing from this film, which is packed to the brim with the usual insanity that the filmmaker traffics in. However, the cab-driving robot is memorable, in part because he looks so weird. He’s an uncanny cabbie.
“Lightyear” didn’t quite hit as Disney hoped. The film's premise is that it is the movie that Andy saw in the “Toy Story” universe and that the Buzz Lightyear toys come from that movie. What did seem to hit in “Lightyear,” though, is Sox, the robotic cat companion of Buzz. Why Andy never got a Sox toy, we don’t know.
The evil robot doubles of Bill and Ted in “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey” are played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, and are entirely human in appearance. When Bill and Ted escape Hell and seek to defeat their evil robot doubles, they create good robot doubles with the help of Station. These robots are, well, definitely robots, and kind of janky ones at that. They are good robot doubles, at least, and help Bill and Ted defeat their “evil robot us-es.”
Pixar knocked it out of the park with “WALL-E.” A bold swing, the film is focused on the titular robot, who is tasked to clean up the mess that humans left behind. For a considerable portion of the film, WALL-E is alone, and Pixar trusted people would be into watching a trash robot hanging out by himself. They were right.
Chris Morgan is a sports and pop culture writer and the author of the books The Comic Galaxy of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and The Ash Heap of History. You can follow him on Twitter @ChrisXMorgan.
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