Movies often portray robots as the harbingers of something bad, whether they’re evil and want to take over the world (Terminator, I, Robot, The Matrix, etc.) or are being exploited by humans (Blade Runner, Ex Machina, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, etc.). But robots aren’t all bad—they can be fun, cute, and family-friendly, too.
Children (and adults) love assembling robot toys and figuring out how different components interact and fit together. Robots have been a big part of kids’ movies for years, especially before the millennium, with films like Bicentennial Man and Inspector Gadget arriving in the late ‘90s. While they may not be the greatest, they capture the inventiveness that makes robots exciting for kids.
The Wild Robot, which tells the story of a robot who learns to live in the forest and befriends an adorable little gosling, hits theaters on September 27. It stars Pedro Pascal, Stephanie Hsu, and Mark Hamill, and will join the lexicon of children’s movies about robotic friends.
We gathered all of these movies and tried to rank them based on their quality, considering whether they are just juvenile fluff or something more meaningful that adults can enjoy, too. Let’s get into it.