What kids movies would you consider to be cyberpunk? That is, not cyberpunk movies that happen to lack adult themes (like maybe Tron) but movies that are intentionally marketed towards kids and happen to be cyberpunk?
The best I can think of would be Astro Boy, Next Gen, or maybe Ron’s Gone Wrong. Obviously I’m using a broad definition of “cyberpunk” here considering these are kids movies. The hero really has to “win” in a kids movie so you can’t have some nihilistic world where the evil corporations can’t be stopped.
Astro Boy spends a lot of time in the floating city above the clouds, but he also spends some time in the wasteland on the ground. The setting seems pretty cyberpunk, but the plot involves the military trying to capture Astro Boy, which isn’t as cyberpunk in my opinion.
Next Gen is probably the most cyberpunk of these three. The main character even has an origami unicorn keychain on her backpack. I don’t think it’s crazy to see that as a Blade Runner reference. Plus, this movie has an evil corporation as the villain, rather than the military.
Ron’s Gone Wrong might be a bit of a stretch here. Like Next Gen, it involves an evil corporation that needs to be stopped, but the rest of the world isn’t nearly as futuristic/scifi.
What other kids movies do you think might be considered cyberpunk? Big Hero 6 takes place in San Fransokyo which is… kinda cyberpunk. And Ralph Breaks The Internat goes to cyberspace which is… kinda cyberpunk. Any others?
Based on your examples I’d suggest The Mitchells vs The Machines.
I think what needs to be looked at here is what is the defines cyberpunk from other genres. From what I’ve gathered on a quick search, it seems to be defined by high-tech advancements; such as cybernetics, ai, and other such, and low-life societal conditions usually associated with dystopia or societal decay. Of the three movies you listed, I’ve seen two. Astro Boy fits this the best, considering the stark contrast of conditions between the cloud city and the surface. Next Gen is good, but I don’t know how well it fits since it seems everyone lives a pretty decent life, at least from what I remember of the film anyway. Have not seen the last one on your list. I personally can’t think of any movie that would be considered cyberpunk for kids off the top of my head. But I’m sure it exists somewhere. Even if the story is made more palatable by having the hero win a decisive victory over the big bad corporation (or any bad guy really), it can still be cyberpunk. Just maybe a more optimistic part of the genre.
That’s why I thought this would be an interesting question to discuss. Cyberpunk is typically a pretty nihilistic genre so it’s hard to make a true cyberpunk movie that’s accessible to children, but there are other aspects of the genre that I think could still fit in a children’s movie.
San Fransokyo was definitely a cool setting… Got a special place in my heart for that movie. Mumbattan from the new spiderverse was also fun
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