Don't worry, he's just a prototype

October 29, 2010 4:22 AM

"The boy insisted for months that he wanted to be a robot for Halloween. His sister was a robot when she was his age. We looked at various robot images on the computer and he was most intrigued by Robocop. After I showed him the trailer, there was no convincing him otherwise. He was going to be Robocop."
posted by Katemonkey (59 comments total)

This isn't going to be nearly as cute next year, when he dresses his daughter as Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct.

Seriously though. So. Fucking. Cute.
posted by felix betachat at 4:27 AM on October 29, 2010 [6 favorites]

incredibly cute, and such an awesome thing to do for/with your son.
posted by facetious at 4:33 AM on October 29, 2010

So I decided just to make it out of crap I had in my basement.

I like that.
posted by marxchivist at 4:36 AM on October 29, 2010 [12 favorites]

Come quietly or there will be... trouble.
posted by three blind mice at 4:38 AM on October 29, 2010

Awesome. Can't wait to inflict this on do this with my kid in a few years.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:41 AM on October 29, 2010 [2 favorites]

Found out recently that Peter Weller is now doing a PhD in Italian Renaissance art history which kinda blew my mind
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:50 AM on October 29, 2010 [8 favorites]

Does he still eat baby food?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:56 AM on October 29, 2010 [4 favorites]

Too cute for words. Bonus points for the kid getting to sit inside the police car, and for the photo being sent to Peter Weller.
posted by Forktine at 5:01 AM on October 29, 2010

very cool. if only every kid had a parent like that ...
posted by msconduct at 5:07 AM on October 29, 2010

Unbelievable charming, adorable and cute. This has got to be the precursor of defence agencies developing child-sized adult soldiers. Like the Neotenic Infantry from Century Rain:

"…it was almost impossible to turn our weapons on them. They looked like children. We were fighting four billion years of evolution telling us we shouldn’t squeeze that trigger.”

He's adorable! What the- ow!
posted by malusmoriendumest at 5:08 AM on October 29, 2010 [6 favorites]

Fearfulsymmetry, clearly you haven't been watching enough bad history channel-type shows! For a while he was hosting some ancient history thing where he'd spit out all kinds of facts in a most Robocop-like manner...educational AND hilarious!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 5:14 AM on October 29, 2010

Please give me some candy. You have 20 seconds to comply.
posted by Hlewagast at 5:26 AM on October 29, 2010 [46 favorites]

A few more cops came out to talk with us, joking that they were going to have to call their union because it looked like they were being replaced. "Don't worry," I said. "He's just a prototype."

Snark deactivated.
posted by JaredSeth at 5:35 AM on October 29, 2010 [3 favorites]

If his arms were bare he'd almost look Starship Trooperish.
posted by bwg at 5:35 AM on October 29, 2010

Dead or alive, you're coming with me.
posted by blue_beetle at 5:41 AM on October 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

All costumes should be handmade from junk kept in your basement. It was the way of the household when I was a child (thanks, mom), and it shall be when I die. Yes, even the machines will need to go to their basements and find lame spare parts to try to convince their friends that they're TI-83's like Great Great Grandpa for Hallowe'en.
posted by mccarty.tim at 5:41 AM on October 29, 2010

The picture of him sitting on the train with the wetsuit riding his legs…. THE CUTE.

man I wish my son liked robots as much as me….but then he is awesome, he is (and going to be when he grows up) a "Formula 1 race car driver" (yes totally that specific)
posted by ShawnString at 5:41 AM on October 29, 2010

I'd buy make that for a dollar $5.49 (plus $7 shipping).
posted by 23skidoo at 5:45 AM on October 29, 2010 [2 favorites]

Waiting to hear/see that Peter Weller posts that picture somewhere.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 5:48 AM on October 29, 2010

You know, between the great recession and the Tea Party wanting to privatize everything, we could use a RoboCop right about now. This costume couldn't have come soon enough.
posted by mccarty.tim at 5:49 AM on October 29, 2010

The mom should totally sell this on Etsy.

No, Ebay. It's a one-of-a-kind collectible now.
posted by mccarty.tim at 5:50 AM on October 29, 2010

Detroit's finest were there to help protect a movie or TV Show that was filming on that block. While we were talking, some Hollywood-type rushed over to take a picture of the kid with his camera phone. "I'm good friends with Peter Weller, the guy who played Robocop on the movie," he said. "He's gonna get a kick out of this." The guy proceeded to e-mail the photo to Weller, so chances are the real Robocop has seen my little Robocop.

Ha, that's pretty awesome.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:51 AM on October 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Murphy, It's You from RoboCop: The Musical
posted by Anything at 5:54 AM on October 29, 2010

Adorable. But people seriously need to stop referring to their son as "the boy." The faux nonchalance sets my teeth on edge.
posted by palliser at 6:08 AM on October 29, 2010

I love Sweet Juniper. That dad has lots of interesting stuff going on all the time. He's the guy who takes the haunting photos of the decaying buildings in Detroit.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:10 AM on October 29, 2010

The series of pictures just keeps the "awwwwwws" going. Terrific!
posted by xingcat at 6:17 AM on October 29, 2010

Most excellent.
posted by joe lisboa at 6:21 AM on October 29, 2010

This is why those stupid Target commercials make me want to kick advertising people in the teeth.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:22 AM on October 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

More from Sweet Juniper
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:22 AM on October 29, 2010

Thank you for this. All month, I've been talking to Boy MonkeyToes about the virtues of the homemade costume vs. storebought. He went trick-or-treating last night, dressed as Darth Vader...in his Tie Fighter (yoga ball + chicken wire + papier mache + duct tape). The boy complained a bit, but brightened up as more and more people complimented him on his cool costume. He saw these pictures and said "How about if I be Robocop for the party tomorrow night? Let's see what's in the barn!" Thanks for helping me show him that handmade is a Good Cool Thing.
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:23 AM on October 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

We need to check back later today/tomorrow:

"This was just sort of a test run, but it was a pretty fun and epic father-and-son adventure. I should have a movie of him in the suit done by Halloween, and today the girl and I are going to go out to do a photo shoot in her Mama-made costume. Those should be up by Friday. So stay tuned for more Halloween fun."

posted by ericb at 6:28 AM on October 29, 2010

That made me smile.
posted by OmieWise at 6:34 AM on October 29, 2010

This is adorable, and the movie quotes sprinkled throughout just seal the deal. I never trick-or-treated in my youth and reading stuff like this is one of the few times I actually feel like I missed something.
posted by Monster_Zero at 6:36 AM on October 29, 2010

Found out recently that Peter Weller is now doing a PhD in Italian Renaissance art history which kinda blew my mind.

And Dexter.
posted by Billiken at 6:38 AM on October 29, 2010

There are people who haven't heard of RoboCop? What is the world coming to?
posted by XMLicious at 6:38 AM on October 29, 2010

A futuristic dystopia where corruption is the rule and crime runs rampant?
posted by No-sword at 6:44 AM on October 29, 2010 [3 favorites]

Yeah, that was good... makes up for all the "sexy whatever" costumes being sold....

Made me want to buy a 4 year old to facilitate photo-ops.

or just dress the Husky up... maybe that
posted by HuronBob at 6:48 AM on October 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

heh... dressed up Husky

office casual day
posted by HuronBob at 6:52 AM on October 29, 2010 [5 favorites]

I don't even like kids, so much that I'm one of those assholes who craps on kid-related discussions to say how much I don't like kids (case in point) and even I thought this was adorable.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 6:53 AM on October 29, 2010

SON OF ROBOCOP
An oedipal thriller

APRIL, 1999

*beep*
Hi, RoboCop? It's Sarah. Uhh yeah- soooo I'm pregnant.
So yeah. Give me a call. 555-2345, in case you lost my number.

Interleave opening credits with horrifying childbirth scene.

APRIL, 2003
RoboCop Jr is playing trucks in the back yard of his adoptive home. The shadow of a man creeps across the scene. Servos whir as the boy looks back over his shoulder...
posted by Casimir at 7:10 AM on October 29, 2010 [2 favorites]

I used to put Pringle tubes on my boy's arms and legs and make him walk like a robot but this is super-awesome.
posted by longbaugh at 7:19 AM on October 29, 2010

More, just posted: Kid Robocop demonstrates his excellent room-clearance techniques.
posted by bonehead at 7:20 AM on October 29, 2010 [2 favorites]

"Aren't you a little short to be a stormtrooper cyborg police officer?"
posted by mikepop at 7:44 AM on October 29, 2010

In any of the pictures where you can't see his face, he kind of looks like a giant Lego Mini-Fig of Robocop. Especially in the room-clearance pics. This is a plus, I assure you.
posted by explosion at 7:48 AM on October 29, 2010

Awesome. Can't wait to inflict this on do this with my kid in a few years.
posted by robocop is bleeding

Hopefully not completely eponysterical.
posted by kmz at 8:01 AM on October 29, 2010

All costumes should be handmade from junk kept in your basement

No. Costumes are a source of income for my wife, and she makes costumes a helluva lot better and fantastic then something you could throw together with crap from your basement. Don't worry, you get your money's worth. This year's standouts: Murloc, Link, and Treecko.

Plus, there are no basements in California!
posted by Brocktoon at 8:23 AM on October 29, 2010

But people seriously need to stop referring to their son as "the boy." The faux nonchalance sets my teeth on edge.

I assume he's doing this because you don't want to advertise your 5 year old son's name on the internet and attract the nasties.
posted by numbskeleton at 8:48 AM on October 29, 2010 [8 favorites]

"Don't worry. He's just a prototype"
posted by arnicae at 9:42 AM on October 29, 2010

A futuristic dystopia where corruption is the rule and crime runs rampant?

More like a futuristic dystopia where cute runs rampant.
posted by Sreiny at 10:38 AM on October 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

The hottest thing my wife ever said was "Do you have a movie called Robocop?" to the local video store guy.

I knew she was the right one, right there.

This sounds like a great costume for our kid next year.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 11:57 AM on October 29, 2010

So I decided just to make it out of crap I had in my basement.

Whereas I would have just shown him the scene where Peter Weller gets his limbs blown off one at a time and said, "That's how you become Robocop. Still interested?"
posted by straight at 11:59 AM on October 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

> Plus, there are no basements in California!

What's wrong with you people?
posted by ardgedee at 12:35 PM on October 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

A prototype? But I thought kids were supposed to be v2.0.
posted by Xere at 1:36 PM on October 29, 2010

straight: "So I decided just to make it out of crap I had in my basement.

Whereas I would have just shown him the scene where Peter Weller gets his limbs blown off one at a time and said, "That's how you become Robocop. Still interested?"

"Well give the man a hand!"
posted by bwg at 5:08 PM on October 29, 2010

I assume he's doing this because you don't want to advertise your 5 year old son's name on the internet and attract the nasties.

Uh. So. The name? Of the site? Is Sweet Juniper. HIS DAUGHTER'S NAME IS JUNIPER.
posted by kate blank at 6:42 PM on October 29, 2010

I'm not sure that's her real name, is it?
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:45 PM on October 29, 2010

I assume he's doing this because you don't want to advertise your 5 year old son's name on the internet and attract the nasties.

"My son" or "our son" would serve the same purpose, without the ironic distance. I know "the boy" is a popular way of referring to a single son these days, I just dislike it.

Also, his son is more like two, I think, judging from his size (and sweet little baby face).
posted by palliser at 7:00 PM on October 29, 2010

"The boy" is what Homer Simpson calls Bart. It's, um, pretty harmless?
posted by Brocktoon at 8:27 PM on October 29, 2010

Peter Weller is a class act.
posted by bonehead at 11:41 AM on November 23, 2010