Even though the remake of Tron won’t be released for another year, Disney has already decided to mine the pop culture artifacts of my childhood for another movie. This time, it’s The Black Hole, a 1979 movie that swung wildly between being cartoonish and terrifying. The basic plot concerns a spaceship crew that encounters another ship in a close proximity to a black hole (the movie wasn’t big on scientific accuracy). There’s a mad scientist. There’s a menacing red robot and a friendly robot that sounds like that guy from Planet of the Apes. Bad stuff happens.
Done right, a polished remake could be fun for us grownups who remember the cheesy original. But the evil, silent robot must stay evil and silent. Children need to be reminded that not every robot has to turn into a sports car with an unfortunate tendency to mimic racial stereotypes.
So when do I get my Short Circuit remake?
