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''Romie-0 and Julie-8'' is a 1979 Canadian animated television special, inspired by
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
''. Set in the future, the two romantic leads in this version are
androids An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids were completely within the domain of science fiction and frequently seen in film and television, but advances in robot techno ...
who fall in love despite a taboo against their kind having such relationships. The special premiered in Canada on CBC and in the USA in syndication on April 14, 1979. The special is the third television special in the 1977 to 1980 series of specials produced by the Canadian animation studio
Nelvana Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...
. The special is also known as ''Runaway Robots!''.


Plot

In the future, two rival robotics firms are hard at work trying to create the next major leap in robotics. Both tout their wares at the latest robotics convention. The Mega Stellar Company has released their Romie-0 model of robot, while Super Solar Cybernetics has released Julie-8. However, unforeseen by their creators, Romie-0 and Julie-8 begin to fall in love, harbouring feelings for the other. After the convention, Romie-0 comes to Julie-8, and admits that due to their company's rivalry, they most likely cannot be together. The two decide to run away in order to keep from being broken up. Unsure where to go, they come across a rather shifty individual named Gizmo, who agrees to help them find a safe haven. Meanwhile, both of the two robots' creators (Mr. Thunderbottom and Ms. Passbinder) find that their creations are gone. At first they blame the other for stealing their creation, but then agree to work in tandem to find their robots when it turns out that neither one knows what has become of them. Unknown to the two creators, Gizmo has transported Romie-0 and Julie-8 to a planet of junk named Trash-0-Lot, where the two come face-to-face with an enormous Junk Monster named Sparepartski. The monster has Romie-0 transported to the other side of the planet, but imprisons Julie-8 for his own purposes. Gizmo appears to her shortly afterward, and suggests that she offer to marry the Junk Monster in exchange for Romie-0's freedom off the planet. Julie-8 decides to try this offer, and Sparepartski accepts, much to the girl's displeasure. While happy for Romie-0's release, Julie-8 is saddened over her fate, and removes a necessary circuit, causing her to "die". In the meantime Sparepartski has found Thunderbottom and Passbinder's ship nearby, and taken them prisoner as well. Unknown to Julie-8, Romie-0 has managed to escape from the other side of the planet, and has made his way to her chambers. Upon finding her with her circuit removed, Romie-0 reinstalls it, and the two attempt to escape. Along their way out, they encounter their creators trussed up, and set about freeing them. However, their escape does not go unnoticed, and Sparepartski soon starts to chase them across the junkscape. The two robot lovers carry their creators in hopes to get them to safety, but end up locking up when they run into a "rust storm". The immobilization of the two robots causes their creators to carry them out of harm's way. The rust storm also claims Sparepartski, who it is then revealed was a giant scrap concoction created and operated by Gizmo. Gizmo reveals his love for machines, and after seeing Julie-8 at the robotics convention, wanted to make her his bride. Romie-0 and Julie-8 then convince Gizmo that with the amount of trash on the planet, he could very well fashion his own sweetheart. Meanwhile, Mr. Thunderbottom and Ms. Passbinder (who have fallen in love with each other) have reconciled their differences, deciding to unite their robotics houses in a merger, much to the delight of Romie-0 and Julie-8.


Voice cast

* Greg Swanson as Romie-0 * Donann Cavin as Julie-8 *
Max Ferguson Max Ferguson, OC (February 10, 1924 – March 7, 2013) was a Canadian radio personality and satirist, best known for his long-running radio programs ''Rawhide'' and ''The Max Ferguson Show'' on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Bi ...
as Mr. Thunderbottom * Marie Aloma as Ms. Passbinder * Bill Osler as Junk Monster * Nick Nichols as Gizmo


Music

Songs for ''Romie-0 and Julie-8'' were composed by
John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969The Devil and Daniel Mouse ''The Devil and Daniel Mouse'' is a 1978 Canadian animated Halloween television special, based on the 1936 short tale ''The Devil and Daniel Webster'' by Stephen Vincent Benét. ''The Devil and Daniel Mouse'' is the second television special produ ...
''.
Richard Manuel Richard George Manuel (April 3, 1943 – March 4, 1986) was a Canadian singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter, best known as a pianist and one of three lead singers in The Band, for which he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and ...
of The Band is also credited.


References


External links

* * * {{Romeo and Juliet film adaptations 1979 films 1979 animated films 1979 television specials Animated television specials Canadian television specials Modern adaptations of works by William Shakespeare Films based on Romeo and Juliet Films directed by Clive A. Smith Animated films about robots Nelvana television specials 1970s Canadian films