WALL-E is Johnny 5
Has anyone else noticed Pixar’s robot design for Wall-E is remarkably similar to Short Circuit’s Johnny 5? Just saying.
Has anyone else noticed Pixar’s robot design for Wall-E is remarkably similar to Short Circuit’s Johnny 5? Just saying.
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you think?
Gurur Sarbanoglu - February 29, 2008 at 12:26 am
Definitely. You don’t see it? I loves me some Pixar but this is just too similar not to call ‘em out.
Kevin - February 29, 2008 at 1:06 am
I see it. The comedy about a robot becoming human… without the humans. Guess the “Gutts,” Ally Sheedy, nor Fisher Stevens were available this time around. Not even for voice talent!!!
riCan - March 3, 2008 at 8:03 am
It also bears a stark resemblance to a robotic ET.
nardac - March 3, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Those swines!
Kevin - March 3, 2008 at 1:35 pm
i was being sarky…(is that how you spell it?)
Gurur Sarbanoglu - March 3, 2008 at 5:26 pm
It’s actually spelled Sarqui.
Now I am being sarky. ;-)
Kevin - March 3, 2008 at 8:38 pm
[...] I wonder how their voice will compare in 2009. And how much it’s changed since 1986. Will Johnny 5 even look like his old self considering WALL*E has blatantly stolen his look as I pointed out here. [...]
Johnny 5 is Alive … Again « kevinlehane.com - April 4, 2008 at 7:06 pm
i also agree that he resembles NO. 5 and a robotic form of E.T.
sydney - June 16, 2008 at 3:00 am
[...] itself is a friendly garbage-collecting-robot that looks strikingly like Johnny 5 in “Short Circuit” (1986). It’s the last remaining robot on Earth. It’s [...]
Disney/Pixar’s “WALL-E” Animates the Future and Mirrors the Present « blixity - June 24, 2008 at 10:30 am
I have been ranting to anyone who’ll listen the same exact thing!There are atleast 10 things that are exactly the same. Ugh!
Di - June 25, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Note to the person that runs this site: If you’re going to contribute to whining about a movie character being inspired by a past character, PLEASE at *least* choose a shot of the two characters where they look remotely similar to show pics of. Thanks.
Matt - June 27, 2008 at 6:22 am
Kiss my ass, Matt. It’s pretty evident to me and many others the similarities are pretty significant. And the choice of pictures have similarities beyond just the characters of WALL-E and Johnny 5. And the post was written in February.
And before you comment on someone’s blog, take a moment to figure out that if it’s kevinlehane.com, and the site is run by I, Kevin. Show the respect and courtesy to acknowledge that before you leave antagonistic responses. Dumbass.
Kevin - June 27, 2008 at 7:11 am
Kevin, are you aware of the word “influence”? If so, do you know it’s meaning?
Do you? Because if you think Wall*E is a rip-off of Johnny-5, you don’t know that word, or you are the spawn of George W. Bush and a female penguin.
Swan_Boob - June 27, 2008 at 9:03 am
Boob,
It’s WALL-E, actually.
Are you aware of the word “effluent?” Because that’s what you’re spewing.
Kevin - June 27, 2008 at 9:13 am
Actually, it’s not even that. It’s WALL·E. But I apologise for coming onto your blog and being an asshole, along with my asshole friend. I know it’s immature and stupid, but hey — that’s me.
Swan_Boob - June 27, 2008 at 9:18 am
Apology accepted.
Kevin - June 27, 2008 at 9:21 am
I totally noticed it the first time I saw a Wall-e Advertisement. I just couldn’t remember the name of the other movie until today. (I found this in the process.)
Kat - June 28, 2008 at 4:20 am
Who gives a Sh!t.
Rob - July 1, 2008 at 1:21 am
Not you, Rob. That’s pretty evident.
Kevin - July 1, 2008 at 9:05 am
and the music is a total copy of Terry Gilliam’s movie ‘BRAZIL’’s soundtrack.
Anonymous - July 6, 2008 at 9:21 am
Lol, this is the most ridiculous thing iv seen this year. It’s just stupid to compare them and say WALL·E is a rip-off of johnny 5. It’s like saying Catwoman is a rip off of Batman, or that Spiderman and spawn are rip offs of each other. Just because they have the same head, it doesn’t mean one is a ripoff of the other. Also, the story is as alike as every superhero story.
LameAsses - July 8, 2008 at 4:32 am
I totally agree with lame@$$€$. Might as well say Flash is a copy of Quicksilver.
not sure if this pix will show up but might as well say Wall-e is a copy of Val and Aqua’s robot baby from Heartbeeps.
[IMG]http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/banjo_45/cpoy-walle.jpg[/IMG]
WALL-E - July 8, 2008 at 6:23 am
here is a direct link to the pic from previous post:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/banjo_45/cpoy-walle.jpg
WALL-E - July 8, 2008 at 6:24 am
Sure, sure.
Andrew Stanton himself has said he regrets the comparison. And, you Lameass and WALL-E, there are a lot of us who think they look the fucking same so just deal with it. Stop getting so pissy. It doesn’t mean we like the film any less, it just means the design of the characters have way too much in common not to be derivative of each other.
Kevin - July 8, 2008 at 12:39 pm
YES !
I know it.
I told my family the same, as soon I saw Wall-e I recalled Johnny 5 !!
Nothing new under the sun…
Fajardo - July 8, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Wall-e is totally a rip off of J5 and Pixar animated films are really starting to stink.
turd nugent - July 14, 2008 at 4:56 am
Funny, I thought this the moment I saw the first Wall-E trailer.
Johnny 5 is my hero :)
Thomas Holloway - July 14, 2008 at 11:56 am
Also, I think you’ll find that EVE looks an awful like Omnibot 2000.
Thomas Holloway - July 14, 2008 at 12:15 pm
My friend and I noticed the rip-off right off the bat when we first saw the trailer in theatres. I wish people would quit burying their fat faces in their buttery popcorn and realize that their being shovel fed the same shit over and over and over again.
You mean to tell me that all the creative minds in the world couldn’t come up with their own design? Wall-E was not inspired by Johnny 5. That little Disney port-a-potty is Johnny 5’s bastard son!
Mario Salcido - July 15, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I found this page because I saw a trailer for WALL-E and told my friend about how this character was ripped off (not influenced as some suggest) from the Johnny 5 character that so many of us know and love. As a result, I was able to use this page as a one of many visuals for my friend to compare and contrast. What is amazing to me is Disney’s threshold on its own copyrights and the push to renew them once expired, but then go and regurgitate other’s creative ideas. I wonder if Sony will try to sue them. On the other hand, I have heard great things about the movie itself and the storyline does sound original. I am going to see it soon. Thanks for reading my stupid rant… :-P
The Dain - July 15, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Wall-e and Johnny 5 similarities are merely coincidences. From a design standpoint it would have been silly to design Wall-e with anything other than wheels or tracks. A flying mode of transportation (like Eve) would have been too high tech, relatively speaking, and Wall-e’s simple down to earth “character” would have suffered for it. A bipedal or other legged form of movement would have been ungainly and “creepy”. The head is really the only place a proper argument could be made. Even then, the differences are obvious. Johnny’s “eyes” were set in a single frame and bare hardly any resemblance to the binoculars which gave the inspiration for Wall-e’s head. If you think the scant and coincidental resemblances that Wall-e and Johnny share constitute a ripoff…then I think you are just searching for a reason to complain.
Micah H. - July 17, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Micah H.,
I never called it a rip-off, that interpretation was drawn by others. I just found it a distacting similarity and thus wrote this post (back in February). I even found the similarity of some of the Short Circut and Wall-E posters to be uncanny. Since then, thousands upon thousands of people have come to my blog, to this very post, having googled Wall-E, Johnny 5 or many other variations linking the two. This comparison has been made by thousands if not millions of others around the world, including some respected trade publications such as NY Magazine (which even linked here). And while I believe in your assessment, I still find it a distracting coincidence. C’est la vie.
Kevin - July 17, 2008 at 6:27 pm
I suppose I should have directed my remarks then. I was not referring to you, since as you said “…never called it a ripoff.” I was merely referring to some of the other posters. I am also not simply writing off the similarities. They are there, but to call the design a ripoff (as others have done) is simply taking things a few more steps forward than required. The similarities are coincidence at best, inspiration at worst.
Also, I was linked here by the magazine you mentioned.
Micah H. - July 17, 2008 at 7:18 pm
No harm, no foul. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t think it will diminish my love for the film, but it was worth noting when I first clapped lenses on WALL-E. But instead of lambasting Pixar for rehashing a familiar design, we should be commending the design of those who created Johnny 5. Which is in itself, a fun little movie and a great ’80s icon.
Kevin - July 17, 2008 at 7:51 pm