“Serve the public trust. Protect the innocent. Uphold the law” Three directives that Robocop lived by. There was a fourth one that was “Classified”. We soon learn that this directive prevents him from turning on any member of OCP. However I was very young when I first saw Robocop and didn’t know what classified meant so I just attributed the word to what happened to him when he tried to arrest main baddie Dick Jones. It’s not until Robocop 3 that directive four is no longer classified, but instead appears on screen when we, the viewer, see in Robo vision. No one gave a shit by then as the truly terrible film hit an all time low when Murphy (sans Peter Weller) learned how to fly.
Classified was indeed a big word for someone whose age hadn’t even reached double figures yet. Thankfully the plot was pretty straightforward, good guy cop gets brutally murdered only to come back from the dead as a machine and exact his bloody revenge on the most horrendous bunch of criminals the eighties could produce. Even children's cartoons had their fair share of villains, however as much a bastard as Mumm-ra was he drew the line at blasting Liono’s hand off with a shotgun while Slithe and Jackalmen stood about laughing.
Actually, why the hell was I watching Robocop at such at a young age? Arguably it still stands as one of the most brutal and violent films ever made so what made him so what made him so marketable to kids? I suppose the main thing about Robocop was his look. If ever a character was designed to be an eighties toy it was this guy. As the film was clearly intended for adults an animated series was released where the violence was considerably toned down, most notably firearms being replaced by lasers (because it 80's cartoons taught us anything it was that lasers were cool and more non violent than real guns).
In 1994 Robo was repackaged as a TV show aimed at a younger audience. The key difference between this Murphy and the original was that he never killed anyone opting to instead use non lethal force and actually arrest the bad guys. Recurring characters were a good thing because who want to buy a toy of someone who gets killed easily?Robo would often shoot the scenery, often causing it to fall on the bad guys, neutralising them that way. It was ridiculous, but I was still young enough to like it plus it was better than the fucking Roboteer, streaming through the air in his Jet Pack that was probably only attached to him to sell more action figures.
Not that Robocop was alone in the inappropriate toys for kids game. His cyborg cousin the Terminator got his own range off the back of Terminator 2 – Judgement day. I was too young to remember how they marketed these toys, I do remember having an Arnie figure that came with a detachable rocket launcher for an arm. I never liked this accessory as it made no sense, but hey I’m not supposed to have seen the film so what the fuck should I know about faithful representation? At least the team behind Robocop neutered their product for children, the people behind Terminator did no such thing. No animated series followed, they didn't seem to care if you had seen the film. Just buy the fucking toy.
Having toys about machines that killed people is one thing but there was one children’s toy that really pushed the boat out so far that you felt lke you were in Waterworld. The Freddy Krueger fancy dress for kids? When everyone else is dressed like a Ninja Turtle or their favourite Ghostbuster, you can be the envy of all your friends by celebrating Halloween as the dead incarnation of a murdered child killer. At least Robocop was the good guy.
Classified was indeed a big word for someone whose age hadn’t even reached double figures yet. Thankfully the plot was pretty straightforward, good guy cop gets brutally murdered only to come back from the dead as a machine and exact his bloody revenge on the most horrendous bunch of criminals the eighties could produce. Even children's cartoons had their fair share of villains, however as much a bastard as Mumm-ra was he drew the line at blasting Liono’s hand off with a shotgun while Slithe and Jackalmen stood about laughing.
The Eye of Thundera didn't see this shit coming
Actually, why the hell was I watching Robocop at such at a young age? Arguably it still stands as one of the most brutal and violent films ever made so what made him so what made him so marketable to kids? I suppose the main thing about Robocop was his look. If ever a character was designed to be an eighties toy it was this guy. As the film was clearly intended for adults an animated series was released where the violence was considerably toned down, most notably firearms being replaced by lasers (because it 80's cartoons taught us anything it was that lasers were cool and more non violent than real guns).
Seriously, what the fuck?
In 1994 Robo was repackaged as a TV show aimed at a younger audience. The key difference between this Murphy and the original was that he never killed anyone opting to instead use non lethal force and actually arrest the bad guys. Recurring characters were a good thing because who want to buy a toy of someone who gets killed easily?Robo would often shoot the scenery, often causing it to fall on the bad guys, neutralising them that way. It was ridiculous, but I was still young enough to like it plus it was better than the fucking Roboteer, streaming through the air in his Jet Pack that was probably only attached to him to sell more action figures.
Not that Robocop was alone in the inappropriate toys for kids game. His cyborg cousin the Terminator got his own range off the back of Terminator 2 – Judgement day. I was too young to remember how they marketed these toys, I do remember having an Arnie figure that came with a detachable rocket launcher for an arm. I never liked this accessory as it made no sense, but hey I’m not supposed to have seen the film so what the fuck should I know about faithful representation? At least the team behind Robocop neutered their product for children, the people behind Terminator did no such thing. No animated series followed, they didn't seem to care if you had seen the film. Just buy the fucking toy.
Having toys about machines that killed people is one thing but there was one children’s toy that really pushed the boat out so far that you felt lke you were in Waterworld. The Freddy Krueger fancy dress for kids? When everyone else is dressed like a Ninja Turtle or their favourite Ghostbuster, you can be the envy of all your friends by celebrating Halloween as the dead incarnation of a murdered child killer. At least Robocop was the good guy.
Child Killiing fun for all the family
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