Robots have always been a fun part of movies, perhaps most famously in the 1918 silent film called The Master Mystery, which starred Harry Houdini. The robot was called The Automaton. George Lucas Star Wars was another spectacular motion picture that depicted the most iconic and lovable robots — C-3PO and R2-D2. The blockbuster movie had influenced three generations of science fiction fans and inspired a wave of movies based on robots, cyborgs,
and droids.
Since the dawn of cinema, kids have been fascinated by robot movies from the days of Star Wars to Robocop. Robots are also fun and engaging to impersonate. They make you laugh, cry; they’re also kind of scary.
Consider this list of the best robot movies for kids to excite the interest of children in artificial intelligence and robotics.
35 Robot Movies For Kids
1. D.A.R.Y.L
A family adopts a little boy who is lost in the woods. The wonder kid doesn’t remember who he is or knows nothing about his parents. The family tries to help him find his family and his home. Soon, the family notices that the boy seems to have certain special abilities, which are usually not common among children of his age. Sometimes he does things that no human can do. D.A.R.Y.L is a hilarious watch for the entire family.
2. WALL-E
Humans have completely abandoned the Earth because the entire planet has now become a huge landfill. WALL-E, a trash-collecting robot, lives alone on Earth with a gigantic task to clean up the planet. As he sifts through the garbage, he finds relics of human culture through memorabilia, history, and music. WALL-E runs into an advanced robot called EVE. This is a rollercoaster movie full of music, comedy, and romance.
3. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy
Based on the bestselling book of the same name, this movie is full of humor and witty dialogues that kids will love. When it was planned to “remove” Earth to make room for the Galactic Highway, Arthur Dent found a way to preserve it. This movie is full of all kinds of weird friends and enemies, including a depressed robot, space cops, and aliens. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy will make the whole family laugh.
4. The Incredibles
Although this is more like a “superhero” movie, it has the enduring themes of robots and A.I., and many plots and action scenes revolve around them. When a superhero family “retires” due to public pressure, they find it difficult to adjust to normal human life. A threat from an unexpected angle makes them come out of retirement to save the world – as a family. It has all the iconic features of Disney movies, excellent animation effects, solid dubbing, and weird plots that will keep you guessing.
5. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
When A.I. technology was still in its early stages, this movie brought it into the mainstream. When the coastline of the world began to flood, and the cities sank, humans moved to the middle of the continent and developed advanced A.I. in robots that perform daily tasks. David is one of the artificial intelligence models in a human body, adopted by a human mother. The film is beautifully made and explores deep concepts such as the things that truly make us human, moral, and the essence of existence.
6. Robots
In a world filled with robots, a maverick inventor takes a trip to the big city to meet his inspiration and work for him. He quickly learns that the big city, despite all its charms, and appeals has some sinister elements that he needs to worry about if he’s to achieve his goal of making the world better. With comedy, some robot romance, and some witty social commentary on how corporations shape our world’s this is a great watch for all.
7. Pacific Rim
Human beings are fighting for their own survival. But the threat does not come from each other or aliens, but the threat of giant monsters at the bottom of the ocean. The only thing between humans and destruction is the giant robot suits, which are “piloted” by humans who have bonds with each other and the robot. Although the film is about fighting monsters and saving humans, it touches on many topics such as family, self-worth, and inner courage.
8. I, Robot
The suicide of a famous A.I. scientist brought Detective Spooner to the case. Despite his inner fear and aversion to robots as entities, while sailing in this robot-filled future, he began to discover that there were more obvious suicides than he initially thought. Loosely based on Issac Asimov’s classic novel, the animation and the plot will keep you thoroughly entertained.
9. Inspector Gadget
Inspector Gadget is a movie adapted from the beloved children’s cartoon and is a lively watch for the whole family. A bewildered security guard is caught in an accident, and when he recovers, he finds that he is part cybernetic with a gadget or tool for seemingly any occasion. The doctor/scientist who repairs him becomes interested in him. When the city is threatened by Claw, Inspector Gadget will make full use of all gadgets and his cunning abilities.
10. Bicentennial Man
In this movie, androids are household “servants” that people rely on for menial tasks. Android Andrew starts to develop emotions similar to a human being, such as happiness or creativity. However, some people don’t see this development as positive, and he finds himself trying to evade his creators. Bicentennial Man is a funny yet compelling plot with excellent voice acting by Robin Williams.
11. Star Wars Series
Without the iconic Star Wars series, no robot movie list will be complete. In addition to the futuristic environment, aliens, and cool action sequences, the movie has a lot of robots. They’re often sentient or semi-sentient at the very least, making their influence on the story impactful and enjoyable to watch. Whether they’re evil robots obsessed with war or a bumbling android, they simply cannot be rude.
12. The Iron Giant
A giant “killer” robot from outer space has landed on Earth. As the government and military mobilize to fight and destroy this perceived threat, something incredible happens – the robot befriends a little boy. When they find common ground despite being different, the boy tries to save the robot from the government and military. What follows is a heartwarming story that will appeal to both adults and kids alike.
13. The Day The Earth Stood Still
In this remake of the 1951 classic, a spaceship arrives at Earth with two passengers – an alien and a powerful robot. Although the aliens claim that their goal was to save Earth, humans begin to panic at the size and power of the robot, which they regard as a threat. When a scientist believes that the captured alien was sincere about his intentions to save Earth, she decides to free him to see what exactly Earth needed to save from it. The movie is a compelling watch that will make you question our direction as a species.
14. Tomorrowland
Many movies about the future of robots are often pessimistic or ominous. Tomorrowland breaks through this formula, showing a relatively optimistic future for mankind in a different dimension. When human survival is threatened by predictions and calculations by futuristic scientists, our protagonist will try to change the future in an attempt to influence the present. Although it may be a bit confusing, the plot is very compelling and has excellent characters, including animated and animatronic characters.
15. Flight Of The Navigator
Flight of the Navigator has everything you would like to have in a science fiction movie of the 80s – time travel, aliens, and a sentient robot with a strange sense of humor. When a young boy disappears down a ravine and finds that eight years have passed since he “returned,” it gets the whole world was thinking about what happened. The government becomes more worried when the alien spaceship crashes on Earth and is eventually captured by NASA. This movie is a light-hearted watch with great comedy.
16. Flubber
When a wacky professor tries to save his beloved university from being shut down, he accidentally stumbles upon a bouncy, flexible material he names “Flubber,” which seems to be sentient at times. The professor’s rivals attempt to steal the substance at all costs. The professor is helped along the way by his wandering robot companion called Weebo. If you’re a fan of comedic sci-fi and Robin Williams, you’ll love this movie.
17. Hugo
Hugo is a young Parisian orphan. He is an expert in repairing gadgets, which he learned from his father and uncle. However, he has no contact with his father apart from the robot “automaton,” but he lacks the key to operate it. When Hugo and his friends set out to find out more about his father and the automaton, they discover they are linked by surprising circumstances. Watch this for the great portrayal of Paris in the 1930s and the theme of family.
18. Short Circuit
When one of five experimental robots in the military is struck by lightning, the robot undergoes a profound transformation that leads him to become self-aware and sentient. When the military chases the robot to reprogram it, the robot flees with the help of a woman who believes he’s as human as anyone. The robot “Number 5” must escape from being captured while trying to convince his creator that he has developed consciousness and personality similar to any human being. A classic of its times, the movie still holds up as a good watch to this day.
19. Big Hero 6
In the near future, robots have become common everywhere. 14-year-old genius Hiro activates his brother’s medicare robot “Baymax,” they join forces to prevent an unknown villain from misusing Hiro’s invention – a dangerous new type of robot called “microbots.” Helping them are the goofy science whizzes from Hiro’s brother’s college as they form “Big Hero 6” to safeguard the futuristic city of “San Fransokyo.”
20. Astroboy
When a genius scientist loses his son, he creates a robot in his image to help him cope with grief. The robot “Astro Boy” is powerful and smart, but he cannot fill the void left by the scientist’s son. He then embarks on a journey to discover himself and his place in the futuristic Metro City. This movie is full of action and emotional roller coaster scenes. Astro Boy seeks a sense of self and tries to gain the approval of his creator.
21. The Adventures Of Roborex
Young James Miller is extremely distraught when he loses his pet dog and best friend, Rex. His life is changed forever, though, as one night, a time machine emerges in his backyard piloted by “RoboRex”, a robot dog that has traveled back in time to save the future. As they team up to stop an evil scientist and his cat sidekick from world domination, they form a heartwarming bond that goes beyond the barrier of species and technology.
22. Cody The Robosapien
When a scientist creating intelligent robots for the government finds out they are meant for violence and military use, he tries to steal one of them and free him. The now broken robot is found by a lonely young boy who fixes him up and forms a bond with him. The two then team up to rescue the boy’s parents as well as the robot’s creator from the evil organization that wants to weaponize the robots.
23. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Jimmy Neutron is already a genius at age eight and invents things that adults only dream of. But this does not make him the most popular kid in school. When alien species kidnap all the adults in the world, all these things are no longer important. Jimmy, his unlikely friends, and his robot dog, Goddard must embark on a hilarious journey to save their parents and Earth itself.
24. Tron: Legacy
Sam Flynn is a tech-savvy rebel without a cause. When a series of clues about his father’s disappearance leads him to an old video game arcade, he finds himself transported to a virtual world. This is the same virtual world his father created and has been stuck in for two decades. To save his father, they have to battle the artificial intelligence called CLU and its army of robots, as they plan to dominate the real world, as well. With stunning visuals and a retro vibe, this is a great film to watch with family as there is a strong father-son plot as well as great action sequences.
25. Meet The Robinsons
Lewis is a young orphan who’s having a hard time getting adopted. He’s a prolific inventor whose inventions scare away potential parents. When he runs into an odd kid who claims to be a cop from the future, his life becomes even stranger. As Lewis realizes the future is directly linked to his actions, he and the future cop go on a quest to stop the “Bowler Hat Guy” (with a robotic, talking bowler hat) from changing the flow of time itself. Meet the Robinsons is a hilarious and heartwarming tale with a strong theme of family.
26. Transformers: The Movie (1986)
From the 80s to today, the Transformers franchise has been extremely popular among kids and teenagers. Watch these everyday vehicles morph into heavily armed giant robots as the Autobots fight to defend their home planet, which has been taken over by the evil Decepticons. An even larger threat looms on the horizon in the form of Unicron, a massive planet-eating robotic entity. Fans of the original and the newer version of Transformers will enjoy this movie starring Orson Welles.
27. Robocop (1987)
In the dystopian future where crime has taken over Detroit, the police are almost helpless. Taking advantage of the situation, a company tries to privatize the city’s police force. One day, a policeman called Alex Murphy is seriously injured by criminals. The only way to save his life is to cybernetically enhance his body, thereby creating “Robocop.” Although Robocop is effective in dealing with local crime, the real villain may be closer than he thought.
28. Batteries Not Included
The Rileys have no end to their problems. For one, there is a gang of hooligans harassing them in their own neighborhood. Worse still, they’re employed by developers who want to demolish their apartments. Luckily for them, help arrives from the most unexpected source. Robotic aliens who are willing to use their abilities to help the Riley’s keep their home and thwart the developer’s plot. Batteries Are Not Included is a light-hearted movie that deals with human nature.
29. The Adventures Of A.R.I.: My Robot Friend
Young Noah is an empathetic shy boy who tries to do the right thing. When he became friends with a robot, he was “liberated” from his father’s workplace, and he hardly knew that this would have serious consequences. The robot in question, A.R.I. was designated to be a weapon for evil purposes, and the laboratory director wants him back at all costs. When Noah and ARI try to be one step ahead of the kidnappers, they form a close friendship that transcends differences.
30. Sid The Science Kid: The Movie
When Sid and his classmate get a chance to see a modern science museum, before its grand opening, they’re ecstatic. To add to their excitement, the tours for this museum are all robots, courtesy of the eccentric scientist who helped design the exhibits. Things will change when a robot begins to exhibit strange behavior and threatens the grand opening and the museum itself! Sid, his classmate Gabriella, and the scientist will have to handle this rogue tour guide before he can cause significant damage.
31. Real Steel
In the future, sports will be dominated by robots, and especially people who like to watch boxing matches. A former boxer tries his hand at the new sport and discovers he is terrible at it. To make matters worse, his ex-wife dies, leaving him with custody of their young son Max. As Max builds his own boxing robot and starts winning matches, the estranged father-son duo discover that they have more in common than they initially thought. They compete, bond, and understand what it means to be a family.
32. Next Gen
When young Mai accidentally activated a deadly robot at a product launch, she hardly thought that it would follow her home. The robot 7723 lives in the dog’s kennel and soon becomes good friends with Mai, helping her fight off bullies (with their own robots), and staying with her when her own mother was too busy to give Mai attention. But 7723 has some limitations, especially because it was damaged while escaping from the laboratory. The film explores themes such as family, loss, the nature of friendship, and morality.
33. Zathura: A Space Adventure
Young brothers Walter and Danny have resigned themselves to having a boring time when their father has to attend to some work, and they’re all alone in the house. All that changes when they realize that the old board game they found is actually influencing real events such as launching their home into space and landing them amongst aliens, robots, and other dangers. As they navigate these obstacles to find their way home, they run into an astronaut from Earth who is equally lost. If you liked Jumanji or science fiction, you would definitely enjoy this one.
34. Spaceballs
Spaceballs tells the tale of ace pilot Lonestar and his companion Barf as who help rescue a princess and her loyal robot from the “Spaceballs” chasing her. Their leader not only wants to kidnap the princess but also intends to steal the atmosphere from her home planet. With the odds stacked against them and an evil alien race on their tail, this movie is packed full of wacky action scenes, over the top characters, and a lot of references to the Star Wars franchise, which it routinely parodies. If you are a big fan of Star Wars, this one is for you.
35. Treasure Planet
This film is adapted from “Treasure Island” by R.L Stevenson. When young Jim discovers the location of “Treasure Planet” from the dying pirate, he and his doctor friend Doppler go on an expedition to find its location to save his mother’s inn. However, a large part of the crew of the ship is disguised as pirates, and they plan to take the treasure for themselves. When they escape from the pirate crew, they encounter an abandoned navigation robot named B.E.N, whose help they need to find the treasure.
Robots can play almost any role like a human character. They can become best friends, evil opponents, and even pets. Decades before the first robots appeared, writers of novels were fascinated by robots and their significance to mankind. With the rise of robot toys, cartoons, and artificial intelligence, the fascination with robots is bound to grow. We hope this list will help you pick out some movies to watch with your kids.
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