| Robotboy | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Dog-Ra (Pilot) |
| Last appearance | Momma's Boy |
| Created by | Prof Moshimo |
| Voiced by | Laurence Bouvard |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Ro, Roboto, RoboDude, Robert Realbie, |
| Aliases | Tommy, Lola and Professor Moshimo |
| Species | Super Advanced Battle/Fighting Robot |
| Gender | Male proggraming |
| Title | Hero |
| Family | Professor Moshimo(creator/father) Protoboy (older brother) Robotman and Robotbird (younger brothers) Robotgirl (sister) |
| Relatives | Protoboy's wife (sister-in-law) |
Robotboy is the titular character in the animated television series Robotboy.[1]
Contents |
The Robotboy character is a battle robot with three modes of operation: Deactivated, Activated, and Superactivated. Deactivation mode is Robotboy's standby stage, where he becomes compact enough to fit into a backpack. Activation mode is the standard stage of Robotboy's active modes, where he is able to use most of his non-battle technology. Superactivation mode is when Robotboy transforms into his battle stage of operation, where he has access to a broad arsenal of weaponry to deal with any and all enemies.[2] Robotboy has an unbreakable body which he uses to his advantage when in battle.
Robotboy is mainly a fun-loving robot, with the ability to have human-like emotions and actions despite being machinery. In later episodes, he acquired unbreakable armour. Robotboy was created by Professor Moshimo and is currently under the care of Tommy Turnbull[3]. Tommy and his friends Gus and Lola try to teach Robotboy what it means to be a real boy. He also had the power to predict the future, but because Gus let kamakazi find out and took it to his advantage [Gus did the same thing] tommy was forced to take it out of him because kamakazi would keep on making robotboy tell him what he would do next and other things that would help him defeat robotboy and take over the world.
Most of the time, Robotboy has blue drums protruding diagonally on either side of the head. While Superactivated, they become horns. Deactivated and Activated forms look very much the same, except the deactivated form's head drums are withdrawn into the head, and his limbs are also withdrawn into his body. While activated, Robotboy has mechanical tentacles concealed in his palms and thrusters on the soles of the lower part of his legs, enabling him to fly. While Superactivated, Robotboy's fists and feet and head are much larger and now have all kinds of lasers, homing missiles and machine guns[4]. Briefly seen is an ink spray that can identify invisible targets and, of course, dramatically increased physical strength. Robotboy's most common Superactivated weapon is the machine gun arm. Many random weapons appear, and many are rarely seen twice, even in the same episode. Robotboy is amphibious and his armour is Unbreakeable.
The Activation controls for Robotboy are built into a special, orange watch that Tommy wears. The watch is in the shape of Activated Robotboy's head. In the episode "Robot Rebels", Robotboy smashes the watch after being tricked by Kamikazi. It is unknown how Tommy gets another watch, but it is safe to presume that Professor Moshimo had a spare one.
Robotboy has been compared to other shows with similar characters numerous times. First Astro Boy, of which it has been referred to as a clear rip-off by some people.[5] The similarity may be related to the fact that Astro Boy had also run on Cartoon Network about two years prior to RobotBoy. Secondly, it's also been labeled rip-offs of "My Life as a Teenage Robot", a show on Nickelodeon, and "Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?", another show on Cartoon Network. On MLAATR, Jenny Wakeman is a robot who acts like a normal teenager and is a superhero, which RobotBoy is, while Robot Jones is learning about the very basics of human behavior, which RobotBoy is doing as well. Lastly, Robotboy shares several very close similarities with the popular video game character Mega Man, the current mascot of the company Capcom, including a completely identical color scheme and body appearance scheme save for the face and the use of a "Brother" robot as a plotline. Also, in the episode, "Sweet Revenge", the pilot of the helicopter is seen bearing the symbol of the rebel forces from the Star Wars series.
Despite Robotboy being known as a television show intended for children, it has caused controversy in the United States and United Kingdom. This is especially due to certain words used by characters like Gus, Dr. Kamikazi and Tommy’s older brother. Although the words are often spoken by the modern generation, they are usually censored on television . Robotboy is probably the first children's/teens TV-show (In America, at least) to use them.
Robotboy is Tommy's best friend, and they have been accompanied in many adventures which improves their attachment. In the episode "Robot Rebels", Kamikazi broke that friendship. In fact, there are many times in which the villains ruin their friendship, only for them to mend fences later on.
Gus is always a fool when he wants candy; effectively, this means that if Kamikazi offered him a million tons of candy in exchange for giving him Robotboy, he would quickly do it. But he wasn't always a candy maniac, in the episode "Tummy Trouble" he was first anorexic due to Kamikazi's tapeworm.
Robotboy's friendship with Lola is as just as the same with everyone else, except she is a little unfair, to somethings like in the episode "The Manchurian Robot". She is also in love with Tommy Turnbull.