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Things I remember (vaguely, maybe incorrectly) about this movie:

  • the setting is overcrowded and we never see "outside", so it may be in space or just a dystopian future
  • it's weird, like Brazil-level weird
  • it was intended for kids, so not as dark as Brazil
  • the living space is a maze, with walls and ceiling made of pipes and tubes of all sizes
  • may have robots or aliens
  • I remember the old cathode ray TVs in use
  • I seem to recall the title somehow didn't fit the settings (very strange clue)

I watched it in a theater in America, so I'm sure it was a movie. I even vaguely recall the poster showed someone (a kid?) in the midst of this maze of pipes/tubes.

Any ideas?

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  • 7
    Sounds like Brazil to me
    – Valorum
    Commented Mar 27, 2018 at 18:56
  • 4
    @Valorum maybe you're thinking of Brazil's kid friendly TV-edit, Peru.
    – Vanguard3000
    Commented Mar 27, 2018 at 19:02
  • Where did you watch it (which country)? In English I guess? Why are you sure it is a movie, not a TV series or single episode?
    – Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
    Commented Mar 27, 2018 at 19:22
  • 1
    I watched it in the theater in America, so I'm sure it was a movie. I even vaguely recall the poster showed someone (a kid?) in the midst of this maze of pipes/tubes.
    – Bobby Cottle
    Commented Mar 27, 2018 at 19:36
  • @Valorum, I'm not going to say definitely not, because it really is similar and I could be misremembering. Need to re-watch Brazil. But from still shots and videos, Brazil seems a lot darker than this movie was, and I don't see any kids.
    – Bobby Cottle
    Commented Mar 27, 2018 at 19:41

2 Answers 2

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This is a weak match but I'll offer it anyway: Meet the Hollowheads (1989).

Matching features:

  • It's about a tube-based society
  • It's weird
  • There's no daylight in the movie. One part may be outdoors at night, but it's hard to know if the world of the movie actually has an "outdoors".

Not matched:

  • The walls aren't entirely made of tubes.
  • PG-13, not quite a kids movie.

Partial matches maybe:

  • I don't remember if there was a TV in the Hollowhead house. If there was, of course it would be a CRT - what else are you going to use to make a TV in the 80s?
  • Strange title? "Meet the Hollowheads" is a normal title if you consider the family name "Hollowhead" normal. The writers wanted to call it "Life on the Edge" but they lost control of the project and it was renamed. (The world of the movie has a place called "the Edge", often mentioned but never clearly explained or shown)
  • Tubes on poster? Relying on the IMDB images: yes, but not maze-like.
  • Robots or aliens? There's a tentacle monster, a guy who roars like a tiger, and a musical instrument that's part trombone and part chicken. (That wasn't a typo. Trombone. Chicken.) It's alien-ish at least.
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  • That is an awesome match to my description (best so far), but sadly not the right one. For clarity, the maze is the path from one place to another, not the actual arrangement of the pipes themselves. The pipes/tubes are just one of many elements to make the scenery bizarre. I am hoping I am not going crazy and simply mistaking this for the air conditioner repair scenes in Brazil. Starting to doubt myself...
    – Bobby Cottle
    Commented Mar 28, 2018 at 2:13
  • 1
    BINGO! As expected, my memory was a bit too faulty. I found the movie online and scanned it a bit and realized you were right. That's exactly what I was thinking of. Thanks!
    – Bobby Cottle
    Commented Mar 28, 2018 at 4:26
  • If you're interested, you can read the story of how this crazy movie was made
    – user18979
    Commented Mar 28, 2018 at 23:07
2

"Earth Star Voyager" (1988 TV movie)?

This was a 2 part television pilot. It did take place on a spaceship and I assume you thought it was for children because the cast IS made up of mostly children. There is a trailer from YouTube posted below.

It's not really 'Brasil' weird but just a guess. It also takes place on a post-apocalyptic Earth. It matches, but there are probably other movies and TV shows that might match it better, but will go ahead and leave this answer.

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2
  • Thanks, but no. It was definitely a movie (I saw it in theater). It wasn't nearly as focused as that, it was absurd, it featured LOTS of pipes and tubes - I'm pretty sure they were the actual walls, and there was a strong sense of claustrophobia. I don't recall ever knowing if it was on a spaceship or a planet, because you never saw anything outside.
    – Bobby Cottle
    Commented Mar 27, 2018 at 19:17
  • Ok, thanks for the quick response. I'll keep looking.
    – the guest
    Commented Mar 27, 2018 at 19:24

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