9 Awesome 80s Kid's Movies You Probably Forgot
5. D.A.R.Y.L. (1985)
Running close to themes included within Pinocchio (am I a real boy?), D.A.R.Y.L. sees a military experiment in Artificial Intelligence go awry when the Data Analysing Robot Youth Lifeform of the film’s title is set free and is subsequently fostered by the Richardsons, with his origin initially remaining a mystery to them. He starts to display extraordinary talents and abilities, but it’s not long before the military are trying to terminate their failed experiment…
This movie throws up some really interesting questions about morality and what it is to be human, taking influence from the Turing Test. These are questions and themes that have been echoed in more recent film and TV, such as the excellent Ex Machina, showing how ahead of its time it was.
Ultimately, It’s a feel good film and there can’t be many kids that watched this back in the 80s that didn’t feel a bit jealous when Daryl got to fly a Blackbird – it’s the fastest plane in the world and it’s the X-Men’s plane of choice! Pretty darned awesome.