10 Awesome Short Circuit Facts You Probably Never Knew

Short Circuit is a comic science fiction movie released in 1986. It tells the story of a robot called ‘Johnny 5’ that comes to life after being struck by lightning. The movie was released to mixed reviews, however it did fairly well at the box office reaching the number one spot. As for Johnny 5, well he would go on to become an 80’s cultural icon.

Just two years after the release of the first movie, Short Circuit 2 (1988) was released. Unfortunately the second film did not do as well as the first, peaking at number seven in the box office. Because of the failure of Short Circuit 2, plans for a third movie were shelved. Despite the mixed reviews of both movies, Johnny 5 remains an 80’s icon to this day.

10 Short Circuit Facts You Probably Never Knew

1: The Eyebrows On Johnny 5 Were Not Made Just For Expressions

Were they eyebrows or eyelids? Either way Johnny 5’s ‘eyebrows’ were not created just to make the robot look more expressive. The main reason behind the over-sized eyebrows was to shade Johnny 5’s camera lens eyes from the light.

Too much light filtering into Johnny 5’s eyes would have meant the lens closing and making it look like he was asleep.

2: The Movie Was Shot In The Town Of Astoria, Oregon

In the 80’s and 90’s the town of Astoria, Oregon was practically a Hollywood film set. Movies such as Kindergarten Cop, The Goonies, Turtles III, Free Willy and many more were all filmed in this small town on the Oregon coast.

In 1986, just a year after The Goonies had been released, Short Circuit also used this coastal town as the backdrop for the first movie. The house that Stephanie lived in still exists today. 197 Hume Avenue, Astoria, Oregon where she lived in the movie is just 2.6 miles from the Goonies house, 363 38th Street, Astoria.

3: The Sound Of Johnny 5's Lasers Is The Same Sound Used For The Proton Packs In Ghostbusters

Movies have always taken sets, scenes and sounds from other movies. Back To The Future and Gremlins used the same set. The Wilhelm Scream has now been heard in around 400 movies, and the sound of Johnny 5’s laser isn’t original either.

The sound is actually taken from Ghostbusters! It is the same sound you hear when the Ghostbusters use their proton packs.

4: Ben Jabituya Isn't Indian, He's Actually A White Man!

Everyone who has ever watched Short Circuit will remember Ben Jabituya, the Indian immigrant scientist with a thick accent who assists Johnny 5.

Well, as it turns out, in real life, he isn’t actually Indian! Fisher Stevens is actually a white Jewish actor born and raised in Chicago who took the role during a less culturally sensitive era…..oh, and he dated Michelle Pfeiffer for three years.

Stevens was quoted as saying “I went to India and I studied Hindi. I got into Yoga. And this is in 1985. I really immersed myself. I used to be a total method actor, so I was really deep in the deep end. And I had a great time. And the malapropisms, they worked. I thought they were great. So I really loved it.”

One of the more surprising Short Circuit facts it’s fair to say.

5: Johnny 5 Wasn't Capable Of Doing Much In Real Life

Despite being a futuristic robot, Johnny 5 couldn’t actually do much in real life. Huge amounts of money were spent creating the robot, and despite that, he couldn’t flip a coin or open a car window.

All of these things in the movie were achieved using fairly simple tricks. The book reading scenes for example were done by using an air blower off screen. The blower would flip the pages quickly, making it look like Johnny 5 was absorbing the information at a rapid rate.

6: Short Circuit 2 Wasn't Filmed In New York

While it is implied numerous times that Short Circuit 2 is set in New York, the movie was actually filmed in Toronto, Canada. Throughout the movie you can see various Toronto landmarks.

7: Nobody Seems To Know Why Ben's Surname Changes

In the first movie Ben goes by the name ‘Ben Jabituya’, yet in Short Circuit 2 his name has changed to ‘Ben Jahveri’. Why Ben has a different surname in the second movie is somewhat a mystery.

Ben hasn’t got married, and doesn’t wear a wedding ring, even if he did it’s generally the female who changes name. The name change isn’t addressed during the movie at all. No mention of an Indian custom that might have made him change it, nothing. A mystery that remains unsolved…

8: Johnny 5 Gets A Memory Upgrade Between Movies

If there is one thing you can guarantee a movie will get wrong, it’s predicting the future. Johnny 5 claims he has had his memory upgraded to 500mb between Astoria and going to ‘the city’ in Short Circuit 2.

In 1986 500mb of memory (it’s assumed storage and not RAM) may have seemed very futuristic, however that sort of memory could be found just 10 years later. And 30 years on that size memory is considered minuscule. While Johnny 5 may have seemed to be futuristic, his components were definitely not.

9: Johnny 5's Real Name Is Quite The Mouthful

While he may go by the name ‘Number 5’ or ‘Johnny 5’, the robots real name is “S.A.I.N.T. Number 5”. The acronym S.A.I.N.T. stands for “Strategic Artificially Intelligent Nuclear Transport”.

10: Director John Badham Makes A Cameo Appearance

John Badham, the director of the first Short Circuit movie actually makes a cameo appearance. He plays the role of news cameraman, on-screen or off, he just can’t get away from the camera.