Formalism/Narrative Analysis: AI (Joseph Campbell)

In AI, it can be argued that our hero, David, may follow the narrative of Joseph Campbell, in which all stories adhered to the same common pattern of the hero’s journey. In the film, David departures from the forest which his mother leaves him in, which is his call to adventure to become a real boy. He has a refusal of the call when he meets with other robots like him, feeling discouraged that he will not truly become a real boy. His capture from the forest is part of the crossing of the first threshold, as he is nearly sent to his death. At the robot destruction show, he is in the “belly of the whale”, as he nearly dies, yet is reborn when he is set free and helps break free other robots. When he leaves the destruction arena, he begins his trial of finding the blue fairy, whom he hopes will turn him into a real boy. He journeys with Joe, a male prostitute mecha, who is not as “human-like” as David but nevertheless helps him in his journey.

Joe nearly turns David away from his quest in the city, but they both make a comeback when David helps Joe evade the police. Eventually, David makes his way to the blue fairy underwater, although Joe’s fate was not as jovial as he was captured. David makes his way into the sea, finally finding the blue fairy, whom he waits for thousands of years to grant his wish. When David awakes, the world is ruined, as it is frozen. David makes his return, but refuses when he is confronted by aliens studying the remnants of the work of humans. Eventually, they help him and they reconcile with him, giving him what he wants when he provides them with a strand of hair from Monica, his late mother. He returns to his house, and is granted his wish by the blue fairy (the aliens), and they make it so his mother lives for one more day as he gave them a strand of her hair, which allows them to make her animate for a day.