ASTAR

ASTAR is a fictional golden humanoid robot. The character was created in the 1980s by H. Clifford Chadderton for the Canadian amputee charitable organization The War Amps and is featured in material for their PLAYSAFE program to educate children about safety.[1]

The original televised segment featured a performer in an elaborate costume as ASTAR performing acrobatic stunts in a world full of dangerous machines. After evading various threats such as electrical hazards and moving blades, ASTAR eventually makes a mistake causing his arm to be amputated by a large rotating saw. He then picks up his severed arm and reattaches it with ease. The segment ends with ASTAR giving the warning: "I am ASTAR, a robot. I can put my arm back on. You can't. So play safe!"

The above warning is now part of Canadian popular culture for those who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s. In a 2000 remake of the segment produced with computer graphics, ASTAR had a higher voice, and his warning is altered slightly, with ASTAR noting that he is "a robot from Planet Danger." ASTAR was phased out of War Amps advertising in the 2000s in favour of commercials featuring and appearances by real children who had suffered amputations, but was featured in their PLAYSAFE program and as an optional icon for their address label service as recently as November 2013.

See also

References

  1. ↑ King, Andrew (August 16, 2014). "Astar the robot turns 30: War Amps safety icon was born in Ottawa". Ottawa Citizen. Postmedia Network. Retrieved June 24, 2017.


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