Where was Short Circuit filmed?

Towards the start of the film, we see the thought behind the robotics program at Nova Labs, and Newton and Ben’s real intent. As scientists, they’re just pushing the limits of artificial intelligence and machine learning. The military sees robots that could be killing machines in war zones. Those are two very different purposes.

When asked about the origins of the project, Newton jokes, ”Originally I had non-military purposes in mind. I designed it as a marital aid.” Classic Newton.

The filming location for Nova Labs is used throughout the movie as a home base for Ben, Newton, and the military goons that want to exploit Number Five and the other robots. In reality, Nova Labs is the Bonneville Dam, Columbia River Gorge, Washington, located just over the state border.

You’ll find the lab building itself, just off Evergreen Highway. Immediately, you’ll recognize it as the spot where all the buses park outside the lab. With this filming location being so far out of the city, you’re going to have to drive, but as there are a lot of great hikes in this area, there is also plenty of parking.

When Number Five first escapes from Nova Labs towards the start of the movie, he’s in hot pursuit. This leads to a stand-off on the Astoria bridge, where Number Five makes the choice to leap off and parachute down the river towards the city.

He comes to land on top of an unsuspecting food truck, owned by a very startled Stephanie, who automatically assumed that Number Five is an extra-terrestrial. Naturally, she invites him to her house to rest and make a plan.

“Why don’t you come to my house?”. That’s obviously a completely normal thing to do.

The spot where Number Five lands on Stephanie’s food truck can be found along West Marine Drive, Astoria, Oregon. This faces Youngs Bay and it’s also where you can find the Gas Station location that’s featured in the film.

If you’re traveling via public transport, you can get the number 10 bus which stops along this road, or you can cycle or drive it. It’s a decent road with expansive views of the bay, so it’s well worth dropping by to check out yet another Short Circuit filming location that’s right in the heart of Astoria, Oregon.

During the course of the film, Number Five either gets captured or cornered quite often, but somehow he always manages to escape. In this particular scene, we see Number Five having just been captured by Newton and Ben, who have deactivated him so they can transport him back to Nova.

Somehow, Number Five reactivates himself and steals the Nova van, leaving Ben and Newton stranded on the side of the road. He also remembers that he has a tracker on him which is how they found him the first time. During the drive, he looks down and sees a flashing and beeping box – the tracker.

“Uh, oh”, he says, and promptly throws the tracker out of the van.

The scenes that follow revolve around Number Five careening along the streets, not really able to drive, but trying to get back to Stephanie’s house. It’s less the Fast and the Furious, and more of a bumper car vibe.

For these scenes, the Short Circuit production team used 185th Avenue & NW Germantown Road, Beaverton, Oregon. This corner in particular is where Number Five does his very last-minute turn down a side road – apparently now realizing where he is!

You’ll find this road in between highways 26 and 30, and to reach it, you’re definitely going to have to drive.

Given how much running around Number Five does throughout the film, it’s no wonder that he’s running out of juice. As he can’t go back to Nova for fear of being reprogrammed, Number Five decides to try out some alternative methods of fuel.

First on his list? A gas station. Unfortunately, no one at the gas station has ever seen a robot, much less knows how to recharge one.

“Need input”

Number Five rolls up and asks for help, but no one knows what to do.

This particular gas station can be found at West Marine Drive 710-842, Astoria. It’s right along Youngs Bay, so for a gas station, it’s pretty picturesque! So, if you’re in need of a fill-up, why not check out a Short Circuit filming location at the same time!

The nearest bus stop is a couple of roads back and is served by the number ten route, but you can easily pull in off highway 202 to check out this Number Five hotspot!

When Stephanie finds Number Five, her first instinct is to send him back to Nova to be tuned up and sorted out. She tells Number Five who spirals into a series of synonyms for disassembled.

He then spots a grasshopper which he mimics, jumping across Stephanie’s lawn, before accidentally squishing the bug. Here, he gets his first taste of existential crisis and realizes what a return to Nova labs might mean for him.

Number Five: “Grasshopper disassembled” Stephanie: “Yeah dead, as a doorknob”

Stephanie’s beautiful bridge-side home can be found at 197 Hume Avenue, Astoria, Oregon. It was recently bought by a movie enthusiast who plans to turn it into a film-based museum. These plans haven’t come to fruition yet, so keep your eyes peeled if you want to see the inside of Stephanie’s house.

As this road is located just off Astoria’s main road, it’s fairly close to the number 24 bus stop. From here, you just walk around the corner and can see the house on top of the hill, just like in the movie! It has beautiful views over the Columbia River so if you can stand on the road outside, you should be able to get the iconic sweeping view!

After having his minor existential crisis over the dead grasshopper, Number Five does the rational thing and tries to escape by stealing Stephanie’s food truck. She soon gets in the passenger seat, but it’s still Number Five at the wheel.

As they careen through the streets, bashing parked cars, driving on the wrong side of the road, and losing half of Stephanie’s mobile kitchen in the process, the pair come up to a low bridge. You can see what’s about to happen, but you still can’t look away.

Despite Stephanie shouting, “Look out!”Number Five still continues onwards, leaving the top of the van on the road behind them.

This iconic Short Circuit filming location can be found along Southwest Portage Road at Cascade Locks. This is just across the water from the Nova Lab filming location so you can easily make a day trip to both. With the number of hikes and outdoor adventures in the area, if that’s your thing, you can combine a Short Circuit filming location with a long weekend break.

You can access Cascade Locks via bus from Vancouver, Washington, or you can drive. There are plenty of shops, cafes, and restaurants in the area if you want to have a day trip or make a weekend out of it!