Johnny 5 on Auction Block

July 30, 2007 by BrianBoyko | 3 comments

The irony here is that you’d need to be as rich as Steve Gutenberg in order to own it – bidding starts at $100,000, but the original Johnny 5 robot from 1980s geek movie “Short Circuit” has been put up on the eBay auction block.

946. Original full-size “Johnny Five” hero robot and control apparatus from Short Circuit and Short Circuit 2. (TriStar 1986 & 1988) From the delightful family comedy of the mid-1980s, this is the original hero Johnny Five robot who, in the film, is electrocuted and suddenly becomes self-aware and intelligent, then escapes into the world outside of the research lab – the only home he’s ever known. This hero robot is the film’s main character, and cost over $175,000.00 to construct in 1983. Standing fully 5 ft. tall, the robot is constructed of machined aluminum and steel, with vaccu-formed styrene panels which conceal the intricate gearing that brought the robot to life. The eyes and eyelids are activated with servo-controlled electric motors. To animate the robot, a specially designed exo-skeleton apparatus was made to control all of the mechanical features of the robot during filming, which is also included. This Johnny Five was used in both Short Circuit and the sequel, Short Circuit 2. Although fifteen such robots were made for the films, most of these were mock-ups, half-robots and other non-animatronic pieces. This is the only complete Johnny Five that survived, and is the only one known to exist. It is accompanied with a letter of authenticity from Eric Allard, the robotic special effects supervisor who made this robot for the film.