Guide Note

Short Circuit is a comedy/sci-fi movie series about a experimental military robot that, after accidentally being struck by lightning, becomes intelligently self-aware and escapes a military installation. The robot names himself Johnny 5 and used the catchphrase, "Johnny 5 is alive!" The film was followed in 1988 by the sequel Short Circuit 2. In 2008 it was announced that Dimension Films would be producing a remake of the original movie.

Fast Facts

1. Released: May 9, 1986
2. Running Time: 98 Minutes
3. Directed by: John Badham
4. Produced by: David Foster, Lawrence Turman
5. Written by: S.S. Wilson, Brent Maddock
6. Starring: Ally Sheedy, Steve Guttenberg, Fisher Stevens, Austin Pendleton, G.W. Bailey and Tim Blaney

1. Released: July 6, 1988
2. Running Time: 110 Minutes
3. Directed by: Kenneth Johnson
4. Produced by: David Foster, Gary Foster, Lawrence Turman
5. Written by: S.S. Wilson, Brent Maddock
6. Starring: Tim Blaney, Fisher Stevens, Michael McKean, Cynthia Gibb and Jack Weston

Johnny 5 was essentially a robotic puppet. His many arm motions were all controleld by a "telemetry suit," a control device that had to be attached to the puppeteer's torso. As well, Johnny 5's lines were spoken in real time, transmitted by by Tim Blaney directly out of the Johnny 5 robot. And there were in fact many different versions of Johnny 5, each of which had to be built to be used in different sequences. In fact, constructing the different versions proved to be the most costly part of the movie.