Heartbeeps 1981

ValCom 17485, [Andy Kaufman], a robot designed to be a valet with a specialty in lumber commodities, meets AquaCom 89045, [Bernadette Peters], a hostess companion robot whose primary function is to assist at poolside parties. On a factory floor awaiting repairs, the two robots fall in love and hatch a plan to escape, seizing a company van to slip away.

They are joined by Catskil, [Jack Carter], a stand-up comic robot (seen, only sitting, in the entire film), whose name nods to the Catskill Mountains’ Borscht Belt resorts like Grossinger’s Resort. Together, they embark on a journey to find a place to live and to secure a reliable electrical supply for their unconventional family.

In their escape, they assemble a small robot named Philco, also called Phil, built from spare parts from the stolen van, whom they treat as their child. Phil speaks in a manner reminiscent of R2-D2, a quirk that endears him to the trio and hints at a growing family dynamic. Phil’s creation marks a turning point as the group seeks stability and a safe haven away from their factory roots.

The fugitives are pursued by Crimebuster Deluxe, a malfunctioning law-enforcement robot, voiced by [Ron Gans], who overhears the repair workers’ orders to retrieve the robots and relentlessly goes after them. With the aid of humans who run a junkyard and even by repurposing Catskil’s battery pack, the escapees manage to save Phil before their power runs out and they’re sent back to the factory for repairs.

Back at the factory, the robots are repeatedly repaired, and their memories are wiped in an ongoing attempt to curb their malfunctions. Yet the glitches persist, and eventually they are deemed beyond repair and junked. The humans from the junkyard later discover the discarded robots and reassemble them, giving the trio a second chance. In the junkyard, they find a sense of belonging, and they even welcome a new sister for Phil named Sophia. The film closes with Crimebuster, who has only pretended to have his mind erased, continuing to malfunction and being dispatched on another mission to recover the fugitive robots, underscoring the uncertain but hopeful future of this misfit robotic family.