Film

D.A.R.Y.L.

Name: D.A.R.Y.L.
Genre: Family, Science Fiction, Adventure
Released: 1985
Cast: Barret Oliver, Mary Beth Hurt, Michael McKean, Kathryn Walker, Colleen Camp

A 1985 sci-fi adventure about a boy-shaped AI escaping his creators. It's earnest and unpretentious, built on genuine warmth between Daryl and his foster family rather than spectacle. The film trusts its premise without winking, and moves with the gentle pace of a genuine coming-of-age story wearing a robot suit. For viewers who want heart in their science fiction.

TMDb rating

3.2

If you liked this

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial1982

The obvious DNA ancestor. Spielberg's mastery of child wonder, suburban normalcy punctured by the extraordinary, and the emotional heft of being fundamentally alien. If you loved Daryl's longing to belong, this is essential.

But Its ubiquity can numb you to it. The sentimentality has been so thoroughly absorbed into culture that watching it feels like watching a meme of itself.

The Iron Giant1999

A boy and a giant machine learning to love each other. Animated, visually stunning, and genuinely moving about what it means to be made for one purpose and choosing another. The emotional core is even purer than Daryl's.

But The Cold War allegory is quite heavy-handed. Some find the animation style dated now, though others see that as part of its charm.

Short Circuit1986

A robot escape narrative released just months after Daryl, with similar warmth and humor. Johnny 5's quest for sentience and friendship has genuine sweetness beneath the comedy. More fun, less melancholy.

But It's cheerier and broader than Daryl—if you're seeking that specific quiet ache, this pivots toward slapstick. Some humor hasn't aged well.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from D.A.R.Y.L.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Stalker1979

Both are science fiction films about an outsider seeking belonging and meaning in a world that wasn't built for them, but Stalker approaches it as philosophy rather than adventure.

Soviet science fiction about a guide leading travelers into a mysterious zone. Slow, hypnotic, about the yearning for something you can't define. It shares Daryl's core question: what does it mean to want something you're not made for? But it's meditative rather than narrative—pure mood.

But Three hours, minimal plot, Soviet pacing. It's a film that asks you to sit inside longing without resolution. Many find it profound; many find it glacial.

Explorers1985

Same year, same earnestness, different engine. Three boys build a spaceship from scrap and wonder. It captures that specific 1985 sci-fi optimism and the electricity of childhood friendship with real tenderness.

But The third act loses the thread somewhat. It's a little messy and uneven, which is part of its charm but also genuinely frustrating.

Flight of the Navigator1986

Boy, spacecraft, the uncanny made beautiful. Combines wonder and dislocation—a kid who's been away and doesn't belong anymore has to navigate a strange new world. Visually inventive and oddly lonely.

But The plot is a bit slack. It exists more as a series of beautiful images than as a tightly wound story, which some find lovely and others find draggy.

Splash1984

A mermaid learning to be human; a human learning to be in love. Same emotional DNA as Daryl—the outsider character's gradual discovery of what it means to belong, with real poignancy beneath the rom-com trappings.

But It's a romantic comedy first, which means different tonal registers than Daryl. The humor and sentiment can feel at odds depending on your mood.

WarGames1983

A boy hacking into a military computer and accidentally starting a thermonuclear war. Smart, tense, surprisingly moving about responsibility and consequence. Matthew Broderick's earnest panic carries the whole thing.

But The Cold War paranoia is very of its moment. If you're looking for intimate character drama, this is more thriller-procedural than Daryl's family warmth.

*batteries not included1987

Tiny aliens help save a tenement building. It has Daryl's precise frequency—whimsical but sincere, about community and belonging, with real stakes beneath the magic. Weirdly moving.

But The tone is slighter and more whimsical. It aims for crowd-pleaser magic rather than genuine emotion, which works or doesn't depending on your tolerance for that register.

Cherry 20001987

A man searches the wasteland for his robot lover. It's absurd on the surface but carries genuine melancholy about what we program ourselves to want. Underrated and strange.

But It's campy and uneven, and some find it ridiculous in ways that undercut the emotion. The production design is deliberately cheap, which bothers some viewers.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence2001

The same filmmaker, same question—a child-machine learning to be human—but 16 years later and much more willing to suggest that the ending might be tragic.

Spielberg finally returned to Daryl's premise with David, a child-robot who loves unconditionally. It's darker, queerer, stranger—a fairytale about obsolescence and longing that breaks your heart methodically. Seriously ambitious.

But It's Spielberg's most divisive film. The sentimentality some find devastating, others find maudlin. The ending especially splits viewers. It's bleak for a Spielberg film, which is saying something.