8 Greatest Robot Sidekicks in Movies

4. T-800

He might not be the sweetest robot sidekick on this list, but Schwarzenegger’s killing cyborg is definitely the one you would most want on your side in a fight. After being the villain of the original Terminator, it was a genius move in Terminator 2: Judgement Day to make him the guardian of young John Connor and have him humanized by the boy. If only the franchise had stopped after that installment.

3. R2-D2 and C-3P0

Probably the most famous robot sidekicks in all of cinema, Artoo and Threepio did their bit to save the galaxy from the evil Empire numerous times. Along with Darth Vader, they are the faces of the Star Wars franchise. Their success is probably down to their classic comedy double act pairing – with their difference in stature and temperament, they are like a sci-fi Wallace and Gromit or Laurel and Hardy.

R.I.P. Kenny Baker.

2. BB-8

Sorry, Artoo, this even smaller, even cuter droid stole our hearts in The Force Awakens. BB-8 is a terrific use of the increased technology since the first Star Wars to create a robot who can show a wider variety of emotion. With a sad roll of his head or a thumbs up with a firelighter, this little guy becomes a proper character just through his silent gestures.

1. The Iron Giant

Our top pick, though, goes to the title star of Brad Bird‘s perennially underrated 90s animated classic The Iron Giant. In many ways, the film is like a more kid-friendly Terminator 2 – as a boy befriends an alien war machine who has turned good. It’s the Giant’s internal battle between his programming and his soul that is the real heart of the movie. Just one word is enough to make any fan of the film well up – Superman.