*batteries not included (1987)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Matthew Robbins

Writers:

Mick Garris (story)
Brad Bird (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 December 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Comedy

Tagline:

Five ordinary people needed a miracle. Then one night, Faye Riley left the window open.

Plot:

Apartment block tenants seek the aid of alien mechanical life-forms to save their building from demolition.

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | Grill | Construction | Pepsi Cola | Baseball Bat

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Hume Cronyn	...	Frank Riley, Owner Riley's Cafe
Jessica Tandy	...	Faye Riley
Frank McRae	...	Harry Noble
Elizabeth Peña	...	Marisa Esteval
Michael Carmine	...	Carlos
Dennis Boutsikaris	...	Mason Baylor
Tom Aldredge	...	Sid Hogenson
Jane Hoffman	...	Muriel Hogenson
John DiSanti	...	Gus
John Pankow	...	Kovacs
MacIntyre Dixon	...	DeWitt
Michael Greene	...	Lacey, Real Estate Developer
Doris Belack	...	Mrs. Thompson
Wendy Schaal	...	Pamela
José Angel Santana	...	Goon #1 (as José Santana)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:PG (Certificate #28866) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-10/7 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:6 | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

East Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The opening montage shows pictures of Frank Riley in a Navy uniform circa World War 2. Later in the movie when his wife pulls out his pocket watch it has a leather fob attached with a gold anchor with a silver "USN" on it, signifying Frank achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer during his time in the service.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the fire starts, we see it spread down into the room with all the balloons. However you can clearly see that the fire is burning on ropes, which are being dangled down to make it seem as though the fire's spreading.

Quotes:

Carlos: [seeing a floating tray of hamburgers] What the hell is that?
Faye Riley: Oh it's them. The little guys. My little munchkins.
Carlos: You stay away from me! You're not fooling anybody! Crazy my ass!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Muppet Babies: Muppets Not Included (#5.1)" (1988)

Cute, sweet, funny and warm

Okay, *batteries not included is not a great film. It's not meant to be! The makers of this movie were obviously not trying to win any awards, but make a sweet movie for all ages about love, acceptance, friendship and family.

Frank and Faye Riley (Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy)own the cafe that's located on the first floor of the building they live in. Among the other tenants is a former boxer (Frank McRae), a pregnant woman (Elizabeth Pena) and a starving artist (Dennis Boutsikaris). They band together and try to stop an angry developer (John Pankow) and his assistant (Michael Carmine (II)) out to run them from the building. They're assisted by some mechanical aliens and discover the meaning of forgiveness and family, acceptance and love.