A.i. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

A.i. Artificial Intelligence (2001) Full Recap

After rising sea levels caused by global warming wipe out several coastal cities and alter the Earth's climate, many people are displaced from their homes while millions more in poorer countries are left to starve. In a bid to control population and ensure that the world's resources remain sufficient, governments of developed countries decide to create humanoid robots called Meccas to fill various roles in society. At a robot manufacturing company named Cybertronics, a professor named Hobby tells his colleagues about how far the development of matures has come. He says that the company has managed to produce several meters to satisfy humans and help them with their daily needs.

After this, he proposes that they build a robot child who can genuinely love the parents it imprints on. Hobby's colleagues don't sound sure about this, and one of them asks if humans will be able to love such robots back. Hobby doesn't really have a response for this, but he insists that the robot child will be able to satisfy the needs of childless couples. 20 months later, a couple, Henry and Monica, head to a cryionic facility to check up on their son, Martin, who is in suspended animation after contracting a rare disease, even though Martin is unconscious inside the cryogenic chamber. Monica still reads him a book while Henry talks to a doctor who mentions that he's worried about Monica.

Elsewhere, Hobby and his colleagues finish building the prototype for the robot child, and they begin a screening process to identify one of the employees at Cybertronics who will be the best fit for the baby. Interestingly, Henry is one of the workers at Cybertronics, and he's selected to be the one who will take the robot child home. The next day, when Henry arrives home, he tells Monica that he has a surprise for her. As she looks confused, he shows her the robot child, whose name is David.

Monica looks shocked and takes Henry to her room to scold him for trying to replace Martin with a robot. She doesn't seem really happy about having a robot child and Henry says he'll return David to the factory if that's what she wants. Only Mecca are safe. After thinking about it, Monica decides to keep David around for a while because he looks just like a boy.

Henry then tells Monica that his company really put a lot of faith in him. He adds that if Monica decides to keep him permanently, there's an imprinting protocol consisting of seven words that needs to be spoken to David. He also mentions that the imprinting is irreversible and David's love for them would be sealed forever. Henry says the imprinting process is why no Mecca child can be resold and if a parent decides not to keep it, they must return it to Cybertronics for destruction.

He also warns that Monica shouldn't imprint if she isn't sure about keeping David. Every day, a h 100 times a day that she loves me. The next day, after Henry leaves for work, David watches Monica closely as she does different things around the house. Monica doesn't like this because she thinks it's creepy, and she eventually gets David to go to his room.

The next day, Monica decides to keep David permanently because he reminds her of Martin. After going through the imprinting protocol and reading the code words to David, he suddenly feels different and calls Monica his mom. He also hugs her and this makes her happy. Days later, Monica is now used to having David around, but Henry seems bothered because the robot child looks creepy.

Monica defends David and says he's just a child, but Henry tells her not to forget that he's a toy. Just as Monica says he's a gift, David shows up and asks if he smells lovely. Monica immediately realizes that he has used her special perfume and she heads to her room to find the bottle. As she looks sad because she really liked the perfume, David asks if she'll die one day.

Monica says she will, but that David doesn't have to worry much because she might still live for 50 years. David looks sad and says he loves Monica and hopes she never dies. This makes her emotional and she decides to give David a super toy named Teddy. She tells David that Teddy is Martin's toy and she wants him to take care of it.

David says he will. And he talks to Teddy, who can also speak. Days later, Monica gets a call informing her that Martin has miraculously gotten better. She looks quite happy about this. And when she brings Martin home with Henry, she introduces David to her real son. David doesn't say anything, and he just stares at Martin, who is still unconscious.

A while later, Martin gets much better and seems jealous that David is around. Martin also makes sure to remind David that he's just a toy and not a real boy. He tries to get David to break a toy, but David refuses to do this. [screaming] Later that day, Martin begs Monica to read him a bedtime story about Pinocchio, saying David would love it. Monica agrees to do this and after putting Martin to bed, she reads the story.

David also listens to her and seems particularly interested in the part where a blue fairy transformed Pinocchio from a puppet into a real boy. The next morning, while the family is having breakfast, Martin sees David pretending to eat at the table. He then provokes David into actually eating some vegetables, and this causes a slight malfunction in David's system. Henry and Monica immediately take David to Cybertronics to remove the vegetables from his system and clean him up.

Monica looks quite worried about David, and Martin seems jealous when he sees how attached his mom is to the robot. When they get back home, Martin tells David to cut off a piece of Monica's hair because it will make her love him more. David doesn't want to do it, but Martin forces him to change his mind. David then sneaks into the room of his adoptive parents and tries to cut off a piece of Monica's hair.

He hesitates a few times because he doesn't want to hurt Monica, but just as he's about to do it, Monica turns toward him, and he accidentally pokes her eye with the scissors. Henry quickly grabs David and scolds him for trying to hurt his wife. David then says he only wanted to make Monica love him more, just like Martin advised. Interestingly, David actually managed to cut off a piece of Monica's hair just before he was caught, and it lands next to Teddy, who decides to keep it.

The next day, Henry suggests taking David back to Cybertronics, but Monica says she doesn't want that. She adds that it's normal for young boys to be jealous and that she doesn't think David really wanted to hurt her. Henry says they can't be too sure and that if the robot was taught to love, they have to assume that it can also hate them. Monica insists that she's not taking David to Cybertronics, and Henry doesn't know what else to say.

Shortly after, David tries to play with Martin and his friends. However, they only see him as a toy, and one of them pokes his hand with a knife. David looks scared and immediately hides behind Martin while holding on to him. Unfortunately, he ends up pulling Martin into the pool and everyone looks shocked.

Martin is saved before he drowns and everyone leaves David at the bottom of the pool. Shortly after, Monica and Henry have another conversation about David and they come to a conclusion on what to do about the robot. As Monica enters David's room, he hugs her and calls her his mom. She then sees some of the things he wrote about loving her and Martin.

This makes Monica sad, but she eventually tells him that they'll be going somewhere tomorrow. David asks if Teddy will come along and as Monica says he will, he hugs her. The next day, Monica leaves the house and heads to Cybertronics. On the way, Monica feels bad about giving David up to be destroyed, and she turns into the woods.

She then drops him off with Teddy and says he can't come home with her anymore. David looks confused, but Monica looks sad as she says she doesn't want him to be destroyed. David begs Monica to take him back and says he's sorry for everything he did. Monica insists that she can't take him with her.

And David asks if he can come home when he becomes real like Pinocchio. Monica says it's just a story, but David believes it's real. As Monica is about to leave, David follows her, but she stops him and gives him some money. She then tells him not to walk toward Cybertronics and that he has to ensure that they don't catch him.

She also warns him to avoid flesh fairs and humans in general and he should only look for Mecca's like himself so he can be safe. David still doesn't want to be left alone. But Monica pushes him away and says she's sorry for not telling him about the world. She also cries and returns to her car before leaving the scene.

Let's meet him in, boys. David looks disappointed by this, but he tells Teddy that he'll try to be a real boy so that Monica can love him. Teddy asks how he plans to do that, and David says he'll find the blue fairy that turned Pinocchio into a real boy. He says there has to be someone who knows where the blue fairy lives.

Shortly after, they see a truck dumping some Mecca parts in the woods. Suddenly, some damaged Mecca's show up at the scene to pick up what they need. David looks confused and he just watches them as they try to replace their old parts. Almost immediately, a flying ship shows up in the woods and all the makers look scared.

One of them tells David that it's the flesh fair, which is like a traveling circus that captures makers and destroys them in front of a big audience. Teddy tells David that they have to run and they quickly try to leave the woods. Unfortunately, David gets caught along with some other Meccas and Teddy follows them. Shortly after, they're taken to the circus where the makers are locked in cages and dragged out one by one to be destroyed.

As David sees what's really happening in the circus, he looks scared and holds the hand of a Mecca named Joe, who is actually on the run because he recently got framed for murder. Meanwhile, Teddy tries to find David in the cage, but is grabbed by a young girl whose dad works in the flesh fair. Almost immediately, David spots the girl carrying Teddy, and she looks surprised to see him inside the cage. She then goes to tell her dad that there's a boy inside the cage.

Her dad looks confused, but decides to check it out. When he gets to the cage, he sees David and wonders if he's a real boy. David says he is, but as the man uses a device to scan David's face, he realizes that David is a robot child. This leaves him shocked because this is the first time he's seeing a Mecca child.

He immediately informs his boss and suggests keeping David because he's one of a kind. However, his boss doesn't support this and he says that David is probably a custommade robot made for a rich family that wanted a child. David says he's a boy and that his mom is Monica. The wicked boss doesn't seem to care and he drags David out of the cage.

David quickly holds on to Joe, who looks confused and is forced to follow David. They hate us, you know. After the organizers tie David and Joe up to a metal object, their boss tells the crowd that it seems the robot companies are now making children. The man seems to have a strong distaste for robots, and he says that humans can't allow robots to replace them and their children.

David begs for his life, and someone in the audience looks surprised and says that makas don't beg for their lives. The wicked boss doesn't care about this. And as he insists on bathing David and Joe with acid, the audience starts throwing things at him and calling him names. Before things escalate, David and Joe quickly escape and return to the woods.

Elsewhere, Hobby looks sad in his office as he stares at the pictures of his late son, who looks just like David. Almost immediately, some of his colleagues enter the office to inform him that David is still fully functional, and he was seen at a flesh fair a while ago. Hobby looks relieved and leaves the office with his colleagues to find a way to get David back. Meanwhile, Joe asks if David is running away from something, and he says he is.

He adds that Monica told him to run away, probably because Henry didn't like him. Joe asks why, and David says it's because their real son, Martin, came home. He adds that when he finds the blue fairy, he'll make her turn him into a real boy so that Monica can love him again. Joe asks if the blue fairy is a woman, and David says she is.

Joe then says he knows a lot about women and that he's sure they'll find whoever they're looking for in a place called Rogue City. David asks how they'll find the blue fairy in a place with many women, and Joe says they'll ask someone named Dr. Shortly after, Joe and David head to Rogue City. And when they get there, they visit Dr.

No's place. It doesn't hurt. Interestingly, Dr. No happens to be a holographic answering engine, and Joe tells David that they have to pay to use the service. David then drops the money Monica gave him and asks Dr. No about the blue fairy. After producing several weird answers, Dr.

No eventually directs David to find Professor Hobby at the end of the world where the lions weep. Joe looks shocked and tells David that no Mecca has come back alive from the end of the world. He adds that it's why the place is called Manhattan. David doesn't seem to care and he says he'll go there to find the blue fairy.

Joe then asks if David is sure that the blue fairy is real. He adds that it might just be a setup because humans hate Mikas. David says Monica loves him, but Joe insists that humans can't love robots. He says that David was designed and built for a specific purpose, just like the other Meccas.

And if he's currently alone, it's because his owners are tired of him or displeased about something he said or broke. He adds that humans made robots too smart and too many and it now scares them because they know that when the end comes, all that will be left is Meccas. Joe says it's why humans hate robots and that David has to stay with him. David still seems bent on finding the blue ferry and he says goodbye to Joe.

As he heads out of Dr. No's place, he sees some cops who have arrived to arrest Joe. After they grab Joe, David sees a helicopter nearby and tries to fly it so he can continue his search for the blue ferry. David struggles to control the helicopter and as he distracts the cops, Joe escapes and offers to help.

Following this, David opens the door and Joe comes in to fly the helicopter. Shortly after they reach Manhattan and realize that it's a meah restricted area. They also notice that the city is flooded and most of the buildings there are buried underwater. Sir, it's a late generation love mecca.

Almost immediately they see some lion statues and figure out that it's where they'll find Hobby. They eventually stop in a nearby building and David starts looking for Hobby. When he finds Hobby's office, he looks around and sees another boy who looks just like him. David looks shocked and asks if the other boy is real.

The boy says he thinks so and that his name is David. This leaves David shocked and he says he won't let the other boy have Monica. He then grabs an object on the table and smashes the boy's head while saying he's special and unique. Joe looks shocked when he sees this and he eventually heads out with Teddy.

Suddenly, Hobby shows up and David asks for the blue fairy. Hobby looks amazed and says that the first time he heard about the blue fairy was when Monica said something about it. Hobby then asks what the blue fairy can do for him and David says she can make him a real boy. Hobby says David is already a real boy and that David is his best work.

The bear told him I told her as he calls himself the blue fairy. David says it can't be him because Dr. No said she'd be at the lost city in the sea. Hobby says that's what Dr. no needed to know to get David to come home to meet him and the other scientists who built him. He then mentions that before David, robots didn't dream or have a strong desire to do something.

He looks excited and asks if David even knows how much of a success story he has become. David looks confused, but Hobby says that David found a fairy tale and was inspired by love and fueled by desire to make the blue fairy real. He says, "The most amazing thing about the entire situation is that no one taught David how to think like that." He adds that the blue fairy is a human flaw, which involves wishing for things that don't exist and chasing down big dreams. Hobby says it's something no machine has ever done until David.

Towards the moon. David then says he thought he was one of a kind. Hobby says he is, and that his son, whose face was used for David, was also one of a kind. David still looks worried, but Hobby asks if he'd like to meet the team of scientists who built him. David doesn't respond, but Hobby tells him to wait while he goes to call the rest of the team because they're excited to meet their creation.

As Hobby walks away, David looks around the lab and sees several replicas of himself. David realizes that he's not really special, and he's just one of many robots who look just like him. He also notices that Cybertronics has made many copies of himself and a female variant named Darlene, which they plan to sell really soon. This makes him sad, and he heads out and sits by the edge of the building.

As he continues thinking about Monica, he suddenly jumps into the sea, and Joe looks shocked when he sees this. While David is underwater, he sees something that leaves him amazed. But before he can reach for it, Joe saves him and takes him back to the surface. David then mentions that he saw the blue ferry underwater, but Joe looks confused.

Before David can explain further, the cops arrive at the scene and use an electromagnet to pull Joe toward their helicopter. David looks scared, but Joe wishes him good luck and says he wants David to tell people about him when he becomes a real boy. After Joe gets pulled up, David takes the helicopter back into the water to find the blue fairy. Teddy also stays with him and after looking around for a while, they see a statue of the blue fairy, which is actually from an old amusement park.

David doesn't realize that it's a statue, and as he stares at the blue fairy, a wonder wheel suddenly falls on the helicopter. David doesn't really seem bothered about this, but Teddy points out that they're trapped. David then stares at the blue fairy and begs her to grant his wish and make him a real boy. He continues making this wish until the ocean freezes and his power source goes off. 2,000 years later, humans are now extinct and Manhattan is buried under glacial ice.

A group of advanced creatures called specialists are now living above the ice. And after years of exploring the area, they find David and Teddy inside the helicopter and revive them. When David wakes up, he sees the blue fairy still in front of him. As he walks toward the statue, the specialists look amazed because he's a real robot.

They also seem quite pleased because they believe that David must have known real people. Meanwhile, as David touches the blue fairy, the statue collapses and he looks shocked. Before he can do anything else, the specialists approach him and use their advanced powers to read his mind. David passes out in the process and wakes up in a replica of Monica's house.

David looks shocked and wonders if he's back home. He goes around to look for Monica, but he only sees the blue fairy, who says she knows David has been looking for her. David's going to love it. David confirms this and says he wants her to make him a real boy so that his mom can love him and let him stay with her.

Interestingly, it turns out that the specialists actually reconstructed the house and the blue fairy based on David's memories. They then control the blue fairy to tell David that she can't make him a real boy because it's not possible. David looks confused and asks where he is. He says the house looks just like his old one, but that it feels different.

The blue fairy confirms that it's different, but she says it's also his home. The specialists then communicate through her and mention that they read David's mind and found out about his past. They add that they want David to be happy because he's so important to them and he's also unique. David then asks if Monica will be coming home, but the specialists inform him that she can never come home because 2,000 years have passed and she's no longer living.

Get in. David looks sad, but the specialists mention that when he's lonely, they can bring back other people from his time in the past. David asks why they can't just bring Monica back, but they explain that their procedure only works for people whose bodies were dug up from the ice. They add that they need some physical sample of the person, like a bone or a fingernail.

A.i. Artificial Intelligence (2001) Ending Explained

Just then, Teddy shows up and reminds David that he still has Monica's hair from when David cut it years ago. After collecting the hair from Teddy, David gives it to the blue fairy and tells her to bring Monica back. The blue fairy says she'll grant his wish and he heads back to sit with Teddy. Shortly after, someone rings the doorbell.

And as David opens the door, he sees one of the specialists who comes in. The specialist talks about being fascinated by humans and how he and his team began a project to recreate a person after death. He says the only problem they encountered is that anyone they recreate can only stay for one day before they die again. He also mentions that he wants David to know that if they bring Monica back, it will only be for one day and he'll never see her again.

Ask him again. David says he believes Monica might stay longer, but the specialist mentions that he didn't expect David to understand him because he was built to be young. He adds that David is the enduring memory of the human race and they just want him to be happy. David says that if they really want him to be happy, they know what they must do.

Following this, the specialists bring Monica back and tell David to go and meet her just as she's waking up. David looks really happy to see Monica, who also smiles when she sees him. David quickly makes a cup of coffee for her, and he spends the day doing a lot of fun things with her. Since he has been told not to explain anything about the past to Monica so that she won't get frightened, David only talks about people she hasn't met, like Joe.

After a long day, Monica feels sleepy and gets back in bed. She says she loves David and has always loved him. This makes him happy. And as Monica falls asleep, David lies down next to her and holds her hand before closing his eyes. After a married couple adopts a robot child named David, he grows fond of them and shares a special connection with his adoptive mom, Monica.

Unfortunately, Monica's real child, Martin, doesn't like this. And as her husband Henry also grows tired of having David around, he tells her to take the robot back to the manufacturer so it can be destroyed, Monica is unable to bring herself to do this, and she leaves David in the woods so he can escape. David assumes that Monica abandoned him because he's not real, and he sets out on a quest to find a blue fairy who can make him a real boy. He eventually gets stuck underwater for 2,000 years.

And when he wakes up, he meets some advanced creatures who give him the chance to spend one day with a reconstructed version of Monica.