Ok, I’m done. I’m hereby declaring that there should be a moratorium on any more Short Circuit/Johnny 5 comparisons to Wall-E.
Seriously.
At the WonderCon panel, someone brought the question up to Andrew Stanton, who wrote the script for the new Pixar movie, won and Academy Award for his work on Finding Nemo, and has been involved with writing pretty much ever Pixar movie that’s come out.
His demeanor indicated that he’d already heard the question ad nauseum, and here’s what he had to say:
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The inspiration for the character came from two places:
1. The original Pixar Luxo Lamp used in their logo.
No, Wall-E doesn’t look anything like the lamp, what Stanton went on to say is that he wanted the character to be a machine first and a character second, much like the famous lamp. The lamp doesn’t look even remotely human or animal yet its personality comes across brilliantly:
“I wanted to believe that a robot is really there. I wanted to believe he is really a robot and not just a human in a robot shell.”
The initial design concept was that of a robot that was low to the ground so it would have a low center of gravity, a method of locomotion that could get it over any terrain or obstacle, and a way to compact trash efficiently, hence the cube shape.
2. A pair of binoculars at a baseball game.
Yes, folks: binoculars. He said he was at a stadium watching a game when he asked someone to pass their binoculars to him. He started playing with them and seeing how they could be used to express emotion.
He did go on to say that he’d only seen the movie Short Circuit once, and he supposes it could have influenced him on some subconscious level. Really, I thought that statement was just throwing a bone to those who claim he ripped off the design, which is a ludicrous idea IMHO.
The Johnny 5 robot is tall and slender with a thin body elevated high above the treads, with long arms coming off the “shoulders.” While Wall-E is short and stubby, with a cube-shaped body which squats directly on the treads and short little arms that come off the body itself. Maybe while folks are at it they can accuse James Cameron of ripping off Short Circuit for the design of the HK Tank from Terminator 2 (shown here).
Anyway… that’s enough of a rant. To end on a happy note, here’s the latest poster for Wall-E. 
Wall-E opens on June 27, 2008.
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92 Comments
Oh yeah and in SC2 Johny 5’s battery and circuitry gets damaged just like Wall-E’s did and Johny broke into a store and used circuits boards etc to fix him just like EVE looking through the trash to find a replacement but she failed… I’m sure there’s tons more being missed but that’s all just off the top of my head…
I can’t believe how much effort you all put into your little two cents on the topic. Ya Wall-E came from J-5, ya the writer is lying thru his teeth. Binoculars at baseball, pffft. We need hobbies.
It’s funny how you mentioned Wall-E doesn’t look anything like the lamp, because the first thought I had when I saw Wall-E was that “This littl guy remind me of something.” and this “Something” is the lamp.
I also believe the similarities are numerous, and realize not only does Wall-e resembles Johnny-5, but also does “Auto” resembles “Hal” from “2001:A Space Odyssey”, also an Auto-pilot gone bonkers in a long term mission across the universe… Series of Rip-offs, or series of tributes?
Who cares if he’s similar or not. He’s cute and the movie was great.
When I ran across WALL·E’s model at GUM (Moscow) last year, I was absolutely convinced by his (its) appearance that the movie is a continuation… next adventures of Short Circuit’s Johnny/Number 5. Apropos. I think it might be not bad idea, might not it? (NOTE: The author of this comment is not English native speaker.)
Wall-e, Johnny five, does it matter? Both are sweet robots that do well at getting people’s sympathy. I did not get to see Short Circuit until just a few years before the Wall-e previews began. I do not care that one was before I was born. I don’t care that Wall-e is the J-5 clone. I love both robots and both movies. One question. Are they still making a Short Circuit remake? I would prefer a Short Circuit 3, but I will take what I can get. FYI, everyone who does not know well will be claiming that J-5 is a Wall-e rip off. Imagine the irony.
Alisha,
On that fine note I think I’ll close the comments on this post.
Regarding your Short Circuit 3 question, I haven’t heard anything since last July when it was announced that the writers of the original film were working on a screenplay for another one.
Vic