A.I. Teddy Bear ?

I think the movie should have ended with him being trapped under the water, and then powering down.

The tacked on movie with the robots, not aliens, was nice and all, but all it did was interrupt you from being sad, and catapulted you to being sadder.

I wonder what the movie would have been had it been a truly Stanley Kubrick film?

It might not have been as human had he made the movie.

I agree this is one of the saddest SF movies ever made (Silent Running is another). Which gives it a lot of power, in my opinion.

I never thought though, that the movie should have ended underwater, with the boy robot powering down. Because all that ending is is a kind of Twilight Zone ending -- an ending that says it's ironic that the boy thought he finally found his fairy godmother... except we know that all he really found was an amusement park statue. If that was the ending, i'd feel it was shallow and didn't say much.

I like the actual ending to the movie because it completes a circle of thought.

By this I mean the movie starts off when a mother loses her real-life son and receives an artificial (robot) son to take his place.

The movie ends (SPOILER ALERT)
with a robot son who loses his mother and receives an artificial (clone) mother to take her place -- if only for one day. The robot boy has now traded places with humans in terms of his importance to the world.

This, to me, is the more interesting idea. Because now we're asking questions about what it means to be human. And the ending shows us a different perspective -- a different way to regard the value of human life. This, again, to ME, is a much more intriguing and satisfying ending.

Alan

*****Spoiler*****

All I want to know is, what the hell became of Teddy after the other two went to sleep???????

Is he still sitting there waiting for them to wake up?????

Now, THAT was the sad part!! :cry

I worked on A.I. as an extra in the Flesh Fair scene. In one patricular scene I was suppose to start from these lunch tables walk about 20 paces in between the camera and a non-exisitng Teddy.
The scene required the little girl to pick Teddy off the ground. Everything grounded to a halt, because Dennis Muren and Stan Winston couldn't find a refernece object to use for Teddy. From a distance I saw Dennis Muren and Stan Winston discussing this problem of having no reference object. No practical placeholder. They would of been stoked if someone were to bust out an A.I. Teddy bear to use but the merchandising wasn't available yet. Next thing I know Dennis Muren and Stan Winston were starring right pass me discussing objects to use from the lunch tables right behind me. They were far enough away from the tables where it made more sense to ask me to grap something for them to use. I picked up they were surveying the tables behind me so I started pointing at varioius objects they wanted me to run over to them. So for a split second they non verbally pointed to the ketchup and mustard bottles for me to fetch. Then one of them nodded decided that it wasn't going to cut the mustard. :lol They pointed to something else for me to fetch. I was going back and forth like a keystone cop. I then found some bean bags (these were used to throw at the robots, reference objects for acid packs) I shouted, "How about these?" They both stared at me and went back to work. :confused I was kind of confused :confused because they non verbally illicited my help to run things over to them, but I didn't end up running anything over to them. Latter on I asked some other PA what they ended up using. He told me beangabs. I was like that's wierd I found some and was wiling to run them over. PA told me it turned out they had some at their feet the whole time, but thought for a split second that something better with a higher profile was around me. It ended up being a split second good enough for government decision.
So thus my mind was racing more then my feet were.

Wow, Congrats!

madrobot said:

Wow, Congrats!

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Thanks, I was shock to learn that Stan Winston passed away since it was only 5 years ago. He look very healthy to me on set. It was probably because he was in the zone and passionate about the work. Full of life.

This is all I have so far:

I loved A.I. I bought a Teddy from you back when you were offering that service (BIG thanks!). I am, of course, a big Blade runner fan.

My lack of appreciation for Tom Cruise (started long before he was making a specatacle of himself) has kept me from watching Minority Report. I guess I'll have to grin and bear it, get it, and finally watch it.

philippes said:

A.I. and Minority Report are two of my favorite films of all time. Because the production of both overlapped there are many similarities between the two. Minority Report's production was actually halted to make A.I. due to Stanley Kubrick's unexpected death and Spielberg's consequent imperative to get the project done.

And yes. Both works are currently underappreciated. In time, however, I think they'll be seen as visionary future noire masterpieces.

Phil

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Just an idea about the film: I think the biggest failing of the film is the edit. The natural way to organize this kind of story is non-linear.

Telling a heart-rending story then asking the audience to take a 2000 year leap is a bit too much.

If the story had been presented as an unfolding mystery beginning with the very Kubrick-esque archaeology dig sequence, the film would have found its audience.

Starting with the A.I. solving their history would have more fully integrated the ending into the story. This lack of integration is why many people felt it was tacked-on.

Of course the Mock-Disney fish sequence didn't help the film either.

I HAVE ONE!! Yes, I have had Teddy for 11-12 years now. The box has seen some days but Teddy friend is still 100% in tact. It's ironic I found this site while looking for a value on it for home insurance purposes. Yes...it will go on my policy if he doesn't find another home. It's funny...we have had him in our yard sale three or four times as a collectible priced at $20.00 the low.....I bet quite a few people would have liked to have known that! :lol

Put him on the bay and see what will happen

That would be so awesome to find one at a yard sale for such a low price! They go for way more on the net...if you can find one now a days.

I have a few different A.I. Teddy's, in at least 2-3 sizes, including the bigger talking one. I also probably still have some Flesh Fair posters somewhere. (I did PR for the flick). I need to go digging in my storage unit one of these days.

I bought one of these for my wife at Christmas when the movie first came out and she threw the box away. still got it...

Did anyone ever tried to replicate this bear?
I like to try it myself, with a few electronic parts in it aswell

Ronculus did a few
years ago .

Surprisingly quite a few people know where he is from when they see him in my den

Wow, didn't realize somebody made custom replicas of Teddy. Would love to see any photos if anyone is willing to share.

I was glad and surprised to know Peter Jackson nabbed multiple versions of the screen used filming puppet. I only found out when Tested posted one of the videos where Adam Savage visited NZ and showcased PJ's collection. And in one of the later Tested videos one of the Teddy dolls was seen in the background at Adam's shop. So I am guessing maybe he acquired it (perhaps temporarily) as reference to make his own replica.

I have a couple of the lifesize teddy toys (the speaking kind) I hear they are valuable these days? Also, MOPOP in seattle have one of the animatronic teddy's on display.

THStudio said:

I would do whatever it took to get an AI Teddy. Thats one of my favorite movies and it often goes unappreciated.

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Just looking for a good place to put this, I have a new plan for Teddy, Tiger made a great looking animatronic "FurReal Friends Polar Bear Luv Cub Interactive" That in theory could be died to look like teddy. At least this will be good enough for my robot collection! Now I just need to find someone who can die fur.

Here's my folder of reference images from the film and behind the scenes in case anyone esle wants to try this.
Teddy Photo References - Google Drive

Today's tech allows for the potential of a walking/talking autonomous Teddy if you are up to the challenge.