IMDb RATING
5.3/10
1.7K
YOUR RATING
A ten-year-old boy and Robby the Robot team up to prevent a Super Computer from controlling the Earth from a satellite.A ten-year-old boy and Robby the Robot team up to prevent a Super Computer from controlling the Earth from a satellite.A ten-year-old boy and Robby the Robot team up to prevent a Super Computer from controlling the Earth from a satellite.
Jefferson Searles
- Prof. Foster
- (as Jefferson Dudley Searles)
Rayford Barnes
- Capt. McLaren
- (uncredited)
Helen Kleeb
- Miss Vandergrift
- (uncredited)
Marvin Miller
- Robby the Robot
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRobby the Robot's appearance in the film was partly because it was so expensive to build him for Forbidden Planet (1956) that MGM felt obliged to use him in another project.
- GoofsRobby the Robot travels freely between the Merrinoe home and the science lab, frequently in broad daylight, yet no one ever sees him.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits are shown over an entry gate to someone's lovely, expensive home, and towards the end of it, we hear and see a motorcade enter the property.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Shock Theater: The Invisible Boy (1958)
Featured review
As others have said, this movie is definitely weird. If you're in the right mood, that's great. Otherwise you might just find it ridiculous and unrealistic.
Although I can't deny that "Forbidden Planet" is a superior film when it comes to acting, set design, visual effects, a more consistent tone & clearer message - I think I kinda enjoyed it's low-budget follow-up, "The Invisible Boy"...more. For one thing, I prefer this brand of humour - the spoofing of 50's sitcom families, the parents' deadpan reaction/nonchalant acceptance of amazing events such as their son's invisibility, etc - much funnier than the booze-seeking shenanigans of the Cook, whose eye-rollingly lame scenes pass for comedy relief on "Forbidden Planet".
The bizarre shifts in tone and plot absurdities/illogic in "The Invisible Boy", can be seen as weaknesses, but at least they make the movie less predictable. One can argue that "Forbidden Planet"'s script ties everything up *too* neatly, that there is too much foreshadowing, and the clues a bit too obvious, as to the origin of the monster. I figured out what was going on there, long before the climax (and I didn't need a brain-boost!) "The Invisible Boy" had more surprises.
Another point in this film's favour - Robby The Robot gets to show more personality, express a wider range of emotions (I'm not kidding!), and is even more lovable than in the first film. It probably helps that Robby didn't have to compete with any great actors like Walter Pidgeon here. But I do think he has more screen time and more opportunities to shine in "The Invisible Boy". He tugs on the ol' heartstrings and really steals the show.
This film loses a few points for it's irritatingly-voiced child star, and some plot holes/contrivances that strain credibility (such as the scientist deducing the Evil SuperComputer's master plan out of...nowhere) Of course, I had to dock "Forbidden Planet" as well, for different reasons (predictability and rampant 50's chauvinism)...so, somehow, they end up with the same rating. Keep in mind my how-much-was-I-entertained rating is more like 7/10 for both...this is my harsh-brutal-analysis rating. 5/10 implies they're only average movies, but they're really above-average entries in the sci-fi genre.
Although I can't deny that "Forbidden Planet" is a superior film when it comes to acting, set design, visual effects, a more consistent tone & clearer message - I think I kinda enjoyed it's low-budget follow-up, "The Invisible Boy"...more. For one thing, I prefer this brand of humour - the spoofing of 50's sitcom families, the parents' deadpan reaction/nonchalant acceptance of amazing events such as their son's invisibility, etc - much funnier than the booze-seeking shenanigans of the Cook, whose eye-rollingly lame scenes pass for comedy relief on "Forbidden Planet".
The bizarre shifts in tone and plot absurdities/illogic in "The Invisible Boy", can be seen as weaknesses, but at least they make the movie less predictable. One can argue that "Forbidden Planet"'s script ties everything up *too* neatly, that there is too much foreshadowing, and the clues a bit too obvious, as to the origin of the monster. I figured out what was going on there, long before the climax (and I didn't need a brain-boost!) "The Invisible Boy" had more surprises.
Another point in this film's favour - Robby The Robot gets to show more personality, express a wider range of emotions (I'm not kidding!), and is even more lovable than in the first film. It probably helps that Robby didn't have to compete with any great actors like Walter Pidgeon here. But I do think he has more screen time and more opportunities to shine in "The Invisible Boy". He tugs on the ol' heartstrings and really steals the show.
This film loses a few points for it's irritatingly-voiced child star, and some plot holes/contrivances that strain credibility (such as the scientist deducing the Evil SuperComputer's master plan out of...nowhere) Of course, I had to dock "Forbidden Planet" as well, for different reasons (predictability and rampant 50's chauvinism)...so, somehow, they end up with the same rating. Keep in mind my how-much-was-I-entertained rating is more like 7/10 for both...this is my harsh-brutal-analysis rating. 5/10 implies they're only average movies, but they're really above-average entries in the sci-fi genre.
- crispy_comments
- Jan 9, 2007
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Details
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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