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Astro Boy Review

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:03:00 +0000

Short Version: While the animation is excellent, Astro Boy is too intense for younger kids, too corny for teens and annoyingly political overall.

Screen Rant reviews Astro Boy

I went into Astro Boy with high hopes and nostalgia. I’m actually old enough to remember watching the original cartoon back when I was a kid, and being a sci-fi kind of geek even as a wee child, remember enjoying the futuristic show about a robot boy who could fly and had all kinds of cool weapons. Trailers and clips looked good so although I expected a kids’ film, I was looking forward to this and brought along my 13 year old daughter and a friend of hers.

All three of us were of the same opinion: It was a waste of an hour and a half.

There will be some spoilers in this review, but as it’s a movie aimed at kids, and I’m writing this review for parents, I hope you won’t mind.

I swung 180 degrees in my opinion between the time the opening credits began and ended – at first the animation and dramatic music drew me in right off the bat and it looked like we might be in for something good. But then I started seeing the names of the voice actors… one well-known name after another, after another. Kristen Bell, Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson, Charlize Theron, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, and more. Do I have anything against any of these actors? Not at all. So what was the problem?

More often than not when there is an animated film with a star-studded cast it’s a very good indication that you’re in for a very mediocre movie.

Don’t ask me WHY this so – it just is (in my experience).

As Astro Boy begins we are treated to a quick animated sequence showing how humanity has ruined the planet and we cut to what could be a TV commercial for moving to Metro City – a city literally in the clouds, where everyone is happy and robots do all the work people don’t want to do (including, interestingly enough “Nanny-bots”). They indicate that all is not rosy because while they float above the earth they just dump their trash and old robots over the edge to tumble down to terra firma. Oh, and people actually live on the ground, scrabbling amongst what looks like a vast garbage dump/junkyard.

The man who made this life of leisure possible via his robotic inventions is Dr. Tenma (Nicolas Cage), the father of Toby, a boy of about 13(?) who seems to be on his way to being as brilliant as his father. It seems that a meteorite fell to Earth and had at its core an energy source that could help restore the planet to its once pristine state – problem is that to do that it had to be split into “good” energy and “bad.” Bill Nigh plays a scientist who of course wants to use the good blue energy to bring about, well, good. But President Stone (Donald Sutherland) wants the red energy put to use to create a super-weapon robot that he can use to go to war with the surface dwellers.

In a demonstration of the robot (where things go horribly awry) Toby is killed by the evil robot. Heck of a way to start a movie aimed at kids… Anyway, Tenma is stricken with grief, takes a strand of hair from Toby and uses its DNA and the blue energy to create Astro Boy in an effort to still have his son. While Astro Boy is 90% Toby, he is different enough that Tenma shuns him. Astro Boy ends up on the surface, and is befriended by the children living there, overseen by the apparently benign robot fanatic scientist “Ham Egg” (Nathan Lane).

Eventually Astro Boy makes it back up to Metro City to battle with a giant version of a red-energy-powered robot/President Stone and saves the day.

The 1980s version of Astro Boy

For younger kids (I’d say maybe 6-7 and under) the final battle is pretty intense as the giant robot tries its best to kill Astro Boy (and seemingly succeeds). Also the death scene early on is a bit much – pretty hard core for a PG movie in my opinion. Throughout the film there were (to me) many annoying references to “starting a war in order to get re-elected” and an idiotic quote by the President: “Look at history, negative energy always wins.” Really? Last time I checked the Nazis lost World War II. But the topper for me was a stage set up for the President to speak at a political rally with a banner behind the podium that stated “Now is not the time for change.”

Seriously? In a kids’ film? I remember when movies for kids handed out moral messages, not political ones.

I did enjoy the animation in Astro Boy quite a bit, but then like I said, I’m a fan of the original character and he was portrayed well and voiced just fine by Freddie Highmore plus I’m just a fan of CGI animated films in general. There were also three goofy supporting characters that were quite funny, but I think my daughter’s friend summed it up best: The best thing about the end of the movie is that it meant it was over.

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This Week’s Collection of Movie Posters

Rob Keyes — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:32:26 +0000

As per usual, this week we have a brand new set of one-sheets for your viewing pleasure. This latest batch includes posters for Pandorum, Agora, Whip It, Astroy Boy, The House of the Devil, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant and 2012.

All of these movies open in the next three months so stay tuned for more news! Check out all of the new posters after the jump.

First up: from the IMPA gallery, a new poster for Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, starring John C. Reilly, Josh Hutcherson, Chris Massoglia and Ray Stevenson. It also famously features Salma Heyek as “The Bearded Lady.” Hot, right? I’ll pass.

This adventure fantasy film, directed by Paul Weitz, is about a young boy who meets a vampire who heads up a freak show. Of course he ends up joining and becomes a vampire himself. It is based on the 12-book series, The Saga of Darren Shan. It was set up as four trilogies so the film could have several sequels if it does well at the box-office.

The Vampire’s Assistant opens October 23, 2009.

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Astro Boy Full Trailer

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:33:47 +0000

The full-length trailer for Astro Boy has debuted online exclusively at MSN. The new trailer details more of what the plot of the film will be, as well as showing off some of the action-packed and/or humorous moments from the film, which were screened for audiences during the Astro Boy panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

You’ll have to head over to MSN to see the full-length trailer (they’re not sharing…for now) and then return here so we can discuss amongst ourselves:

Full-Length Astro Boy trailer

Astro Boy fans, did you notice some of the little Easter eggs buried in that trailer for you guys’ enjoyment? Towards the end of the trailer in particular we get to see the beloved “butt blasters” and at the very, very, end, the classic Astro Boy half-naked “costume,” which longtime fans of Osamu Tezuka’s 50s manga comic, or the various installments of the Astro Boy TV show, will surely recognize. (A lot of you were worried that Astro wouldn’t appear in his classic outfit in the movie. You can now breathe easy.)

For those of you who need more incentive than a half-naked robot boy, you’ll note that this latest trailer FINALLY introduces us to the character of Cora, a new addition to the Astro Boy universe, who is voiced by fanboy favorite, Kristen Bell. Cora (as you can see) will be a kind of spitfire love interest for Astro – though I don’t really know how a tweener robot-human relationship is suppossed to work. Guess we’ll find out.

Astro Boy also features the voices of Nicolas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy, Eugene Levy and Freddie Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as Astro. David Bowers (Flushed Away) is directing a script written by Timothy Harris (Trading Places, Kindergarten Cop). The film opens on October 23, 2009.

Let us know what you thought of the trailer.

Sources: MSN via Superhero Hype

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SDCC ‘09: Astro Boy Panel (With Kristen Bell!)

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:40:43 +0000

Just got done with the Astro Boy panel at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con, and not surprisingly, the highlight of the show was actress Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Heroes) who was in attendance along with co-star Freddie Highmore, producer Maryann Garger and director David Bowers (Flushed Away) to promote Astro Boy.

The panel featured a few clips, a new trailer and covered everything from what kind of “Easter eggs” we can expect to see in this modern version of Astro Boy, to new talk of a Veronica Mars movie. Check it out:

Astro Boy is of course a modern re-telling of the classic manga comic created by Osamu Tezuka in the 1950s. The character has appeared in two classic tv shows in the 60s and 80s and is still an enduring icon worldwide – especially in the Far East, where he is affectionately referred to as “The Japanese Mickey Mouse.”

So, the big question for Astro Boy director David Bowers was how to take on the challenge of making a “modern” film about such a revered classic character. Said Bower:

“I want people to look at this film and feel the same way people in the 1950s felt. I want them to love this character for the same reasons.”

Actor Freddie Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Spiderwick Chronicles), was under a similar pressure as the voice of Astro Boy. He stated that while he did a little bit of research on the classic Tv/manga, for this modern retelling he wanted the character to be a creation of his own. Here’s what Highmore had to say about his approach to the role:

“Astro Boy is a human trapped in a robot’s body, and I think that’s something that people can relate to, trying to fit into society – or in Astro Boy’s case, fitting into a family.”

But let’s get to what we REALLY want to talk about: Kristen Bell. As usual, the lovely actress was witty and engaging, totally working the crowd of Comic-Con admirers. After a brief shoutout to Detroit, Bell talked a bit about her character, Cora, who is a new addition to the Astro Boy universe:

“She’s kinda sassy, kinda opinionated – she’s got a tough exterior and a soft interior. She’s fun, she’s wonderful.”

Of course Kristen Bell can’t make a public appearance without sparking talk about Veronica Mars, the role which helped launch her in the limelight. Fans of the show have been clamoring for a Veronica Mars feature film ever since the series ended in 2007. When asked whether the project is something she would still be interested in, said Bell:

“F-yes I’ll do a Veronica Mars movie! Provided I’m not over the hill – and let’s be honest it’s getting close. I know I look young and all…”

She’s joking there, but Bell did get serious and said that the only thing holding back the film is Warner Bros.’ fear that the project is no longer viable. Veronica Mars fans better start sending bags of Mars Bars to the WB if you want to get your movie.

The Astro Boy clips shown during the panel included a chase sequence, a small snippet from the climatic robot-on-robot throwdown and the premiere of the final trailer for the film. Some of the animation sequences weren’t quite finished, but all and all the movie looks like it will be good fun at the very least. Bowers also revealed that in addition to some voice work from stars like Nicholas Cage, Donald Sutherland and Nathan Lane, we can expect (voice) cameos from Bill Nighy, Charlize Theron, Matt Lucas (Little Britain USA) and (because no movie is really complete without him), Samuel L. Jackson.

And die hard fans of the original Astro Boy, never fear: there will be plenty of Easter eggs sprinkled throughout this film just for you guys, including appearances from some very familiar characters. Oh, and by the end of this film, you WILL be seeing Astro Boy in his classic (non) costume.

Astro Boy opens on October 23, 2009.

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Robotastic New Images From Astro Boy

Kofi Outlaw — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:27:59 +0000

Sigh… it’s hard being the sole resident Astro Boy fan around here. Every time I turn around there are new promo materials for the film that seem to have slipped past me and I’m always end up writing a catch-up post.

Well today I’m posting two would’ve-been-new images from Astro Boy that Summit Entertainment was kind enough to send our way. So far the trailers, posters and images from the film have been more on the cutesy side of the fence – today’s images are bit more on the action side of things, which is a good look for this film, IMHO.

Check out these robotastic new images from Astro Boy (double click each image for a hi-res version):

That Giant ‘bot in the second pic is pretty gnarly. People keep knocking the animation for Astro Boy because it doesn’t have a Pixar brand slapped on it – but hey, I say “Whatevs.” That giant ‘bot is def gnarly.

Be sure to check out our entire stash of Astro Boy stuff. Then let me know what you think of the movie.

Astro Boy hits theaters on October 23, 2009.

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Astro Boy Trailer Blasts Off

Kofi Outlaw — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:46:36 +0000

The first Astro Boy trailer is already out, but we at Screen Rant never posted it because apparently I’m the only Astro Boy enthusiast on staff, and I didn’t know the trailer was out until yesterday. No matter though, for those of you who have been curious about how the CGI adaptation of Astro Boy is shaping up, I have the trailer solely for your viewing pleasure.

Ok, so a few things to talk about. First, the animation is pretty good! Certainly not better than say, the trailer for Pixar’s UP (which blew me away), but pretty good.

And ok, maybe this trailer doesn’t give you all the robot-on-robot smackdown action we’ve been promised Astro Boy is going to deliver, but it does a good job of showing you who the loveable main character is (Astro Boy), what he’s all about (roboting it up) and the sort of visual eye-candy we can expect from the film. The music (which I think might be Astro Boy’s theme) is also pretty cool. Verdict: I’m still psyched for this film.

Here’s the rundown on Astro Boy, in case you don’t know:

In a distant future, a brilliant inventor (voiced by Nicholas Cage) creates the world’s ultimate battle robot, in the guise of his dead son. Hoping to win his “father’s” affections, Astro Boy sets off on a heroic journey, battling other robot gladiators and defending Metro City from the villains who would destroy it. He even manages to find a girlfriend along the way (voiced by Kristen Bell).

Astro Boy is currently slated for release on October 23, 2009. In addition to Cage and Bell, the film will feature the voice work of Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy and Eugene Levy, with Freddie Highmore (The Spiderwick Chronicles) voicing Astro Boy. David Bowers (Flushed Away) is directing a script written by Timothy Harris (Trading Places, Kindergarten Cop).

Let us know what you think about the trailer.

Source: Hulu

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The Latest Batch O’ Movie Posters

Ross Miller — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:51:40 +0000

Today Screen Rant has a bunch of new posters for you viewing pleasure: Angels & Demons, Astro Boy and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

The first is for the prequel to The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, which is based on the book by Dan Brown. One is in English, the other is in French; The first has a strange and intriguing feel to it – I like it. The second…. hmm, not so much. It’s kind of wasted because of how prominent Tom Hanks is, although I do like the statues and the bright light behind him.

Check them out below and see if you agree (click on them for large versions):

The next is for the upcoming animated film Astro Boy, based on the ’90s animated TV series. It’s not much (although that bright thing on his chest intrigues me) but it’s effective enough as a little teaser. I prefer the poster we got a about six months ago – it’s strange that we got more from one released last October than one released now:

And the last poster is an international one for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The less-than-good quality of the image itself doesn’t help (sorry about that – it’s not our fault!), but apart from that it’s a pretty good poster. It’s interesting to note that this is the first one to give Cyclops front page placement:

Out of the three, the first Angels & Demons poster sticks in my mind the most, simply because of the strange colour tone it has – I wonder if that’s representative of the film or whether it’s just as part of the marketing.

What do you make of these posters? Which is your favorite?

Astro Boy is out on October 23rd this year, Angels & Demons on May 15th and Wolverine on April 29th.

Sources: IESB.net, MTV Splash Page and Screeninglog

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WonderCon 2009 – Knowing / Astro Boy Panel

Bruce Simmons — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 15:46:12 +0000

We were running short on time so we flew through these combined panels.

Knowing

Alex Proyas chatted to us remotely via a video about Knowing, telling us what we were about to see. They showed us the movie trailer and two scenes from the movie.

Knowing is about a teacher who examines a time capsule unearthed at his son’s school. The contents, a piece of paper, has a series of numbers that lead to predictions that have already come true and the rest of the numbers on the list presumably lead to events that will come true. This list leads Cage to believe the world is going to end at the close of the week.

The first scene involves the airline crash we catch a glimpse of in the trailer. This scene is pivotal to Nicolas Cage being convinced that the series of numbers is actually true. He’s stuck in a traffic jam and as he gets out to see what is going on, the plane goes tilting by, slamming into the ground. It’s an intense scene, and well done.

Cage reacts to the disaster by running over to the wreckage to help people. Some were on fire, some get caught up in secondary explosions and so forth. The note full of numbers showed the lat, lon and number of people who die at this location.

It’s accuracy to this event is, we’re told, what pushes Cage over into the believing side.

The 2nd clip shows Cage trying to anticipate the next disaster in a subway. He sees a suspicious character whom he pursues into a subway. I won’t tell you what happens with this suspicious character, but the ensuing subway accident, like the airplane, is detailed and devastating. Not too gross, but it’s implied well.

These scenes lead me to feel like this could be a great multi-mini-disaster-wreck-fest movie. It’s classic Cage playing a regular Joe shoved into an extreme circumstance. It could be good, but it’s what we don’t see that will either make or break the movie. Is the rest as good? Is the story compelling? I hope so.

Knowing opens March 20th.

Astro Boy

For the CGI movie Astro Boy, all we experienced today was a preview clip.

It opens with him falling down along the side of a skyscraper screaming. More screaming… a little more screaming as he goes shooting past us and suddenly his foot jets kick in. We watch him try to learn his balance on this new found skill.

He acquires it pretty quickly as he zooms up the side the building and into the clouds where he plays amongst the fluffy white things for a few minutes before zooming off saying out loud how he has to go home and tell his father.

Astro Boy features the voices of Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane, Donald Sutherland, Nicolas Cage and others.

How does this sound to you?

Astro Boy opens in October of 2009.

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NY Comic Con: Summit Entertainment Panel

Kofi Outlaw — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 05:05:01 +0000

Probably the biggest surprise at this year’s New York Comic Con had to be the Summit Entertainment Panel, which featured footage from the studio’s upcoming films, Knowing, The Hurt Locker, and Astro Boy, all three of which are looking pretty good.

KNOWING

Knowing is the upcoming film from Alex Proyas, director of The Crow. It stars Nicolas Cage as a brilliant professor who discovers a sequence of numbers in an unearthed time capsule that predict every major disaster of the last century–and a doomsday disaster that will soon occur.

There were two clips from Knowing screened at the panel. The first showed how Nicolas Cage’s character, John Koestler, coming to believe in the numbers: he’s driving home on the highway contemplating the sequence and ends up stuck in traffic. As he’s stopped, Koestler happens to glance down at his car’s GPS navigator and realizes that his current latitude/longitude coordinates appear within the sequence. And just then a Boeing jet comes crashing onto the highway in a ball of flame and carnage. It’s pretty nuts.

The second clip took place later in the film, when Koestler is desperately trying to prevent these disasters from occurring. He goes into the NYC subway looking for what he assumes is a terrorist about to strike. He chases a suspicious man through the station and onto a train, only to discover the man is just a bootlegger. And just then an oncoming train jumps the track and goes careening through the station, crushing dozens of people. Again, pretty nuts.

So far Knowing looks pretty crazy. Don’t know how the actual plot is going to turn out (I see it potentially unraveling in the third act), but we’ll know for sure when Knowing hits theaters on March 20, 2009.

THE HURT LOCKER

I didn’t know much about The Hurt Locker going into the panel, but I definitely know about it now. The film stars Jeremy Renner (28 Weeks Later) as a Sgt. William James, a badass bomb diffuser over in Iraq. Watching James’ back are his fellow members of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit, Sgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldrige (Brian Geraghty). The movie focuses on the bond between the three EOD Unit soldiers as they travel through Iraq facing life and death with every job.

The clip screened at Comic Con focused on establishing the characters of the EOD Unit members: James, the bomb handler, is reckless, fearless and ultimately brilliant at what he does. Sgt. Sanborn, the Unit leader, is disciplined, methodical and pragmatic. Sgt. Eldrige, the sidekick, is meek but brave, and acts as the buffer between the clashing wills of James and Sanborn. The three lead actors all portrayed their parts well, and showed real chemistry as an ensemble.

Renner was present at the panel and shared some amusing anecdotes about what it was like to train in the desert wearing 100lb bomb disposal suits while being forced to perform menial tasks like picking up paperclips or completing math problems. He added that his character’s renegade attitude was based in part on crazy stories real EOD Unit soldiers had shared with him.

(Side note: Jeremy Renner could use an infusion of charisma. Smile every now and again bud, your’re in the movie biz!)

The Hurt Locker was directed by Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break) and I have to say, from what I saw, she’s done a great job at the helm. The clip they screened was one of the most tense sequences I’ve seen in years: quiet, no ambient music, with intimate close-up camera work and some exceptional sound mixing (every little rip, tear, or heavy breath sounds like the precursor to an explosion). The Hurt Locker will be sure to get hearts everywhere pumping triple-time when it hits theaters later this summer. Be sure to check it out.

ASTRO BOY

One of the films I’m really looking forward to this year is Summit Entertainment and Imagi Studios’ CGI reimagining of the anime classic, Astro Boy.

The Summit panel featured some never-before-seen concept art from the film, along with an extended sequence of the teaser trailer for the film, showing how Astro Boy learns how to use his foot jets. IGN got access to the pics (they were hosting the panel, after all), but the footage was off strictly limits (and security wasn’t messing around. They were watching the crowd with night vision lenses every time footage was shown).

Guess we’ll have to make do with the pics. Astro Boy is poised to hit theaters on October 23, 2009.

Astro Boy’s Schematics: arm cannons, leg jets and mini butt cannons, check

Astro Boy takes flight over Metro City

Astro Boy gets harrassed by the man

Astro Boy tries to escape pursuit

Astro Boy’s nemisis, The Peacekeeper, in “absorbtion phase”

Astro Boy gets excited for his big film debut

That’s it for the Summit Entertainment panel at this year’s New York Comic Con. Be sure to check out more on Knowing, The Hurt Locker and Astro Boy and tell us what you think.

Source: New York Comic Con

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New ‘Astro Boy’ Images

Ross Miller — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 04:25:02 +0000

Today we have some new images for the upcoming movie adaption of the Japanese manga and television series Astro Boy. The film is produced by Summit Entertainment and is directed by David Bowers (Flushed Away). It will be voiced by Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy, Eugene Levy, Matt Lucas and Freddie Highmore.

In case any of you don’t know what the movie is about, here is the synopsis courtesy of MovieWeb:

Astro Boy tells the story of a powerful robot boy created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. Our hero journeys to find acceptance in the human world, and ultimately discovers true friendship as he uses his incredible powers to help others and save Metro City from destruction.

Since I hadn’t even heard of Astro Boy never mind having seen the TV series or read the manga series, I have to go purely on the movie by its own merits. But from the synopsis I think I fall on the “looks like fun” side of the fence. I know I won’t be alone on that one but also know that there will be countless others who will say it looks awful. That’s the beauty of film; it’s all subjective (mostly).

The above images look really cute in my opinion, and the last three depicting what I can only guess are real scenes from the movie look really cool. I also like the cast they’ve managed to get and really don’t mind the poster and teaser trailer. I hope the film turns out to be more than just the shiny look of it though, I hope it offers something more to chew than what most animated movies offer these days; looks and cheap laughs.

What do you make of these images and Astro Boy in general? Like the look of it or think it looks lame?

Sources: SuperheroHype and MovieWeb

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Astro Boy Teaser Trailer

Kofi Outlaw — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:40:13 +0000

The first teaser trailer for the upcoming CGI adaptation of long-running anime series Astro Boy has finally hit the Web and it looks…pretty cool, actually.

If you haven’t seen any of the Astro Boy TV series that have come and gone since the 1950’s, the story tells of a distant future in which a brilliant inventor (voiced by Nicholas Cage) creates the world’s ultimate battle robot in the guise of his dead son. Hoping to win his “father’s” numbed affections, Astro Boy sets off on a heroic journey, battling other robot gladiators and defending Metro City from the villains who would destroy it. He even manages to find a girlfriend along the way (voiced by queen of the fanboys, Kristen Bell).

Check out the Trailer.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Pretty cool, right? The filmmakers over at Imagi Studios definitely aren’t slacking in the CGI department. A cutesy robot who comes equipped with laser cannons and can punch a tunnel through the earth? I’m betting that if the right amount of humor and action (a la Kung-Fu Panda) gets put into this film, it’s going to be a serious crowd pleasure for moviegoers of all ages.

Astro Boy is currently slated for release on October 23, 2009. In addition to Cage and Bell, the film will feature the voice work of Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy and Eugene Levy, with Freddie Highmore (The Spiderwick Chronicles) voicing Astro Boy. David Bowers (Flushed Away) is directing a script written by Timothy Harris (Trading Places, Kindergarten Cop).

Let us know what you think about the trailer.

Source: Comic Book Movie

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Astro Boy Release Date Announced

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:37:31 +0000

We haven’t gotten much reader response to any posts about Astro Boy in the past, but maybe that will all change now that details about the film are being set in stone.

The latest news is that Astro Boy will be released on October 23, 2009. The CGI film will follow the original manga/anime’s tale about a far-off future in which a brilliant scientist creates a revolutionary new robot to replace his dead son-a robot who is able to kick major butt while searching for a meaning to his existence. Think of it as Pinocchio meets Transformers.

(Details from the official press release follow.)

Astro Boy is coming to theaters courtesy of Imagi Studios (V For Vendetta) and Summit Entertainment. It will feature the voice work of Nicolas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy and Eugene Levy, with Freddie Highmore (The Spiderwick Chronicles) in the title role. Hottie Kristin Bell will voice the part of Astro Boy’s love interest. David Bowers (Flushed Away) is directing and the script was written by Timothy Harris (Trading Places, Kindergarten Cop).

Never fear, those over the age of ten: Astro Boy is being marketed to both young and old moviegoers alike.

For those not already in the know, Astro Boy was created in the 1950’s (back when Screen Rant’s own Vic Holtreman was still the tender age of 40–Zing!) by Osamu Tezuka–a man affectionately referred to as the “god of manga” and the “father of anime.” The character of Astro Boy has been featured in three television series aired worldwide since that time.

The heart of the upcoming film will be Astro Boy’s quest to find acceptance in a human world–especially the acceptance of his “father,” Dr. Tenma (Nicholas Cage), who rejects his creation when it becomes clear that the powerful robot will never be a suitable replacement for the son he lost. Along that emotional journey Astro Boy will battle robot gladiators and other villains who threaten his home of Metro City, thereby earning his place as a hero, as well as his father’s love. (Sniffle)

If the original teaser poster for the film is any indication, I’m thinking that Astro Boy just might turn out to be a pretty cool movie. But what do you think?

Source: Slash Film

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Kristen Bell Blasts Off With Astro Boy

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:50:25 +0000

Kristen Bell, a.k.a. “every fanboy’s imaginary girlfriend,” is lending her gorgeous mouth to the female lead character in the new CG adaptation of anime cult-hit, Astro Boy, which hits theaters next year courtesy of Imagi Studios and Summit Entertainment.

Fanboys rejoice.

That is all.

Source: Variety

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Serious Looking Astro Boy Poster

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 11:00:46 +0000

I don’t remember much about the animated Astro Boy TV show I watched as a kid… only the fact that I did in fact watch it.

Astro Boy tells the story of a powerful robot boy created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. He journeys to find acceptance in the human world, and ultimately discovers true friendship as he uses his incredible powers to help others and to save Metro City from destruction.

There’s not much out on this yet and as far as I know it’s going to be a full CGI animated film. I like the poster… there’s something rather epic about it. Click on the image for a larger version.

Source: Latino Review

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