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Apple TV+ has recently finished streaming their dark comedy drama series, Sunny. The show is developed for the screen by Katie Robbins, basing it on Colin O'Sullivan's 2018 sci-fi novel, The Dark Manual.
Sunny premiered on Apple TV+ on July 10, 2024, and streamed 10 half-hour episodes before concluding the season on September 4, 2024. The show starred Rashida Jones, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Judy Ongg, Jun Kunimura, and You, aka Yukiko Ehara, in pivotal roles throughout the series, with Joanna Sotomura lending her voice to the titular character.
Set in a futuristic Tokyo, the series tells the story of Suzie Sakamoto, a grieving woman who has just lost her husband and son to an airplane crash. When she receives Sunny, a domestic robot designed by her late husband, it helps her deal with the loss of her family and even takes her through an unexpected conspiracy involving the Japanese underworld.
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Sunny has received positive feedback from the audience and critics for its cinematography and set design, along with the brilliant performances from its cast members. If you loved watching the dynamics of a human-robot relationship as portrayed in Sunny, then we have exactly what you are looking for.
This article consists of a carefully curated list of sci-fi movies that deal with themes of human-robot interaction across genres. If you loved Apple TV+'s Sunny, then the following titles are perfect to add to your watchlist right now.
Her, Finch, and 5 more movies similar to Sunny
1) Her
Her is an American sci-fi romantic drama from Warner Bros. Pictures. The film is directed by Spike Jonze, who also wrote the screenplay and co-produced the film. The film premiered at the 2013 New York Film Festival before releasing in theaters in 2014.
The cast featured Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Chris Patt, Matt Letscher, and Olivia Wilde in pivotal roles alongside Scarlett Johansson, who lends her voice. The film was a huge success, receiving widespread critical acclaim for the performance from the lead cast. Her also received numerous accolades, including an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Jonze's screenplay.
Set in a near future Los Angeles, Her follows a man as he goes through a painful divorce and finds his peace while interacting and developing an intimate relationship with an AI system, Samantha. Similar to Sunny, Her also explores themes of loneliness and the impact of technology on human relations.
2) Big Hero 6
Big Hero 6 is an animated adventure drama from Walt Disney Studios. Directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams, the screenplay for the film was written by Jordan Roberts, Robert L. Baird, and Daniel Gerson, with inspiration from Man of Action's superhero team of the same name. The film premiered at the 2014 Tokyo International Film Festival before releasing in theaters across the U.S.
The voice cast featured Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Jamie Chung, T.J. Miller, Daniel Henney, Damon Wayans Jr., Maya Rudolph, and others as pivotal characters. Big Hero 6 was a critical and commercial success, receiving praise for its script and emotional depth. It also won an Oscar for the Best Animated Feature and was the highest grossing animated film of the year.
Big Hero 6 is set in the fictional city of San Fransokyo, with its focus on the bond between a young boy and Baymax, a robot created by his late brother. The two team up with more of their friends in their quest for justice against a masked villain terrorizing their city.
Both Big Hero 6 and Sunny explore themes of dealing with grief and human-robot relationships.
3) Finch
Finch is a dystopian survival drama from Apple TV+. The film was directed by Miguel Sapochnik with a screenplay written by Craig Luck and Ivor Powell. Initially titled BIOS, the film was originally supposed to be released by Universal Pictures in 2020. However, the pandemic delayed the release, prompting Universal to sell the rights to Apple TV+, where it was then renamed Finch.
The film starred Tom Hanks in the lead role, Seamus as his dog Goodyear, and Caleb Landry Jones in the role of Jeff, the humanoid robot.
Finch is set in a dystopian San Francisco, where extreme radiation has wrecked the world. The story follows a robotics engineer, the titular character, as he makes a humanoid robot and trains it to take care of his dog after his death while teaching it about the concepts of life and relationships.
Although with starkly different approaches, both Finch and Sunny deal with themes of mortality and human-robot relationships.
4) A.I. Artificial Intelligence
A.I. Artificial Intelligence is a sci-fi drama film from Warner Bros. Pictures. Steven Spielberg directed and wrote the screenplay for the film, with Ian Watson adapting the plot from Brian Aldiss's 1969 short story, Supertoys Last All Summer Long. The film was released in 2001 to become one of Spielberg's best works.
The cast featured Haley Joel Osment, Frances O'Connor, Sam Robards, Jude Law, Jake Thomas, and others in pivotal roles. The film received widespread praise from critics and the audience, earning numerous accolades under its name and being hailed as one of the best films of the century.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence follows an abandoned android that was programmed to love unconditionally. In a quest to win back his mother's acknowledgment and love, it tries to become as "human" as possible.
While Sunny features a human relying on a robot for her stability, A.I. Artificial Intelligence turns the table and has an android vying for human acknowledgment.
5) I Am Mother
I Am Mother is an Australian sci-fi thriller film from Netflix. Directed by Grant Sputore, the screenplay for the film is written by Michael Llyod Green from a story the two of them had developed. The film premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival before its release on Netflix in June 2019.
The cast features Clara Rugaard, Hilary Swank, Tahlia Sturzaker, Luke Hawker, and Rose Byrne playing recurring characters through the ages. The film received widespread praise from critics for its plot and pacing.
Set in another dystopian world where humanity is on the brink of extinction, I Am Mother focuses on humanity's last hope of living on as an AI robot cares for and rears a girl. However, the girl's perception changes when she uncovers the truth about humanity's extinction and the robot's true intentions.
Contrary to Sunny, I Am Mother portrays the complexities of having blind faith and trust in something starkly non-human.
6) Robot and Frank
Robot and Frank is a sci-fi comedy drama from Samuel Goldwyn Films. The film was directed by Jake Schreier, with a screenplay written by Christopher D. Ford. The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize, before releasing in theaters later that year.
The cast featured Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, James Marsden, Liv Tyler, Jeremy Strong, Jeremy Sisto, and others in pivotal roles, with Peter Sarsgaard lending his voice to the titular Robot. The film was a favorite among the critics, especially getting praise for the themes it explored and Langella's performance.
Robot and Frank tells us the story of an aging ex-convict, Frank, suffering from dementia as he warms up to his robot caretaker. In a bid to relive his golden days, Frank makes the robot help him do multiple heists.
Just like Sunny, Robot and Frank dives into the themes of human-robot companionships and how it can help with loneliness and despair.
7) I, Robot
I, Robot is a sci-fi action thriller from 20th Century Fox. Directed by Alex Proyas, the film had an original screenplay written by Jeff Vintar and Akiva Goldsman, taking inspiration and elements from Isaac Asimov's 1940s sci-fi short story collection of the same name.
The film starred Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, Chi McBride, and others in pivotal roles alongside Alan Tudyk and Fiona Hogan, who lend their voices. I, Robot was a commercial success and praised for its visual effects and performances.
Set in 2035, I, Robot follows Detective Spooner as he investigates the suicide of Dr. Alfred Lanning, the father of modern-day robotics, while suspecting one of his creations to be responsible for the death.
While both I, Robot and Sunny delve into human-robot relationships, the two titles offer very different experiences. This makes I, Robot one of the more interesting picks on this list.
These were our top picks of films that you can watch if you loved watching the Apple TV+'s sci-fi drama series, Sunny.
