A.i. Artificial Intelligence 

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• Photo Courtesy Of Warner Bros. Pictures
• MAKE ME REAL David (Haley Joel Osment) is an android who longs to become human, in Steven Spielberg's 2001 masterpiece, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, currently streaming on Paramount Plus.

What's it rated? PG-13

When? 2001

Where's it showing? Paramount Plus

Seeing Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio made me think about other cinematic retellings or reimaginings of the timeless puppet fable. When it comes to my own personal favorites, Steven Spielberg's sci-fi epic A.I. Artificial Intelligence will always top that list.

Haley Joel Osment plays David, an android designed to resemble a human boy sold to a couple grieving the loss of their child, who appears to be in a hopeless coma. The goal of David's creators was to replicate a human child as flawlessly as possible, with real human emotions. And once one of these robots imprints itself onto one or both of its designated parents, the feeling of unconditional love toward them is irreversible.

The only other thing I'll give away about the plot is that David is forced to go on a journey of sorts, in search of "the Blue Fairy," who he believes will have the power to turn him into a real boy. I promise I'm not exaggerating when I say this is one of the most haunting, heart-wrenching, and visually stunning films I've ever seen. Just don't watch it on Mother's Day, unless you want to bawl your eyes out. (146 min.) Δ