[Movie Review] Astro Boy
Astro Boy (2009)
Imagi Animation Studio
Directed by David Bowers; Soundtrack by John Ottman
Nicholas Cage (Doctor Tenma)
Freddie Highman (Toby/Astro Boy)
Bill Nighly (Dr. Elefun)
Nathan Lane (Hamegg)
Rating: 3/5
Product description from amazon.com: [Set] in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving man's expectations, our hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before he returns to save Metro City and reconcile with the father who had rejected him.
Though it was not the old Astro Boy by the great Osamu, it is still a quirky reimagining of an old tale. Like all the previous adaptations, the story is the same but it has its differences that make and add to the legacy that Osamu has left behind for future generations.
We've all had that childish spark within us, that part of our personality we could never give up on. Maybe it's a particular eating pattern we've held since birth? Perhaps it’s a stuffed animal we still sleep with or even an old movie that we remember fondly from those days long gone.
For some, that spark is embodied in all of the above, particular from old cartoons. Astro Boy happens to be one of those relics from the past.
“Astro Boy” is the story of Dr. Tenma's desire to bring his son, Toby, back to life, after a fatal accident. The result of this mad scientist's grief is a robot replica of Toby in every physical way. However, this new Toby has his own personality and mannerisms that set him up as his own person. Tenma, feeling even more distraught than he had after his son's initial death, disowns Astro.
Up to this point, most people who are familiar with the story will be able to see where this is going very quickly. In fact, it comes as no surprise that Hamegg is present or that Atlas is absent. But, there are those few differences peppered within the movie that set it to be just a twist differently from the three previous incarnations of the robot Pinocchio.
Astro Boy's themes of self acceptance and "fitting in" are noted throughout the movie. Most would find these themes overused and even a burden, but films nowadays don't bother to explore them very well, if at all. What’s not realized is how comforting it is to hear these tried and true traditions of children’s work. The themes of morality, humanity and even the lack of graphic violence, stick close to the tradition of Osamu's work.
Astro Boy himself has a nice transition from being the bearer of those implanted memories of Toby and his current self. We grow to enjoy Astro, as a separate being from the nearly insufferable Toby, who on top of being a “smarty pants”, does not turn out to be a very interesting character. Granted, he’s only in the film’s first ten minutes, so there’s no great lose to dwell over.
The amount of action and visual effects help to carry the weight of the movie, and allows it to be enjoyed by all audiences. The soundtrack could have been much better. It is forgettable but it does what it can to carry the action. The moments of sadness however aren’t carried by the music, but by the visuals and the dialogue.
Nicholas Cage's acting is something of a hit or miss within this movie. I don’t know his history as a voice actor, but he has been known for his plodding voice. I enjoy love Cage as an actor, on screen, when I can see him with my own eyes. He can honestly get into any role and make it authentic. It was hard to connect with Tenma, who felt more and more like a caricature of his initial character. Cage turns him into the grieving scientist father (which he is) rather than a man who has gone insane to some degree (which was what I was expecting). It takes time and a few more scenes to adjust to its tone, but as soon as the audience does, Dr. Tenma’s scenes are already over and we're given more of Freddie Highmore.
Initially I didn’t think much of the choice of voice actor for Astro. Titular and familiar characters such as Astro and Dr. Elefun are difficult to cast and I must applaud Highmore and Nighly for doing what they could. While their portrayal of these characters was not bad, I would have preferred if Astro were a little younger sounding and Elefun less British.
Another aspect I had an issue with was the character design. It didn't carry the same childlike enigma that Osamu's art has been known for. Rather, this Astro is modeled after a 13 year old and has much smaller eyes than his Disney inspired original. I was impressed that he still carried that boyish charm rather than transforming into an emotional teenager. That was both refreshing and nicely done (unlike that monstrosity that was Dragonball Evolution). In other words, Astro Boy was not as cute physically as he was emotionally. He was just so so.
Relationships between humans and robots remained (thankfully) platonic. There are hints of Astro having an interest in Cara (the human girl who is defiant and sarcastic) but it never develops into anything beyond a fond friendship. Even if Astro did have Toby's memories, as a robot he no longer has those hormonal desires.
Toby's death and Astro's own meetings with the reaper, is a little more upsetting that his original. In the movie, Toby is killed right in front of his father while he is working on a new machine for the government.
The event is more traumatic for Dr. Tenma, who has even more reason to blame the death of his son on himself. His continuing spiral into depression and his brush with insanity is just as understandable but not as emotional. It may have been the "normality" of Toby's death within the manga that may have lead to it, and the message of how society cannot be controlled is a lot more obvious.
What was extremely comical (and most likely what killed the movie for a lot of people) may have been the extra robot characters thrown in there. They never failed to remind the audience that this was a children's film with darker themes. I could have done without the “Alien-from-outer-space” ending but looking back on it now, it was a nice way to transition to the rest of Astro's life. Because nearly every episode had a villain of the day. If there was no villain for Astro to fight, then what would it be? Astro being found by the mainlanders and used by them as already been shown. It ended in the same way as “The Incredibles”, with a note that no matter where he is or what he's doing, Astro will be saving people from whatever wrongs may happen.
“Astro Boy” continues the torch of most android movies like “Metropolis”, “Artificial Intelligence”, “I Robot” and others, but these three in particular share the same ideas that Astro Boy delivers. Only in the case of “Astro”, it is delivered to a much younger audience.
My opinion: I love the sci-fi genre and I grew up watching Astro Boy and other anime that dealt with robot themes like Cyborg 009 and Kikaider. It’s a nostalgic thing for me, to go back and enjoy classics such as those. Astro Boy (2009) does exactly that: bring me back to that moment of innocence when robots ruled my imagination, right beside 150 pocket monsters and the Twilight Zone. The whole movie was geared towards children and even though more mature themes like politics were included, it was done in a classical way. I would personally buy it, especially for those extras. And maybe, I’ll be able to (finally) buy the manga instead of borrowing it from the library and incur immense fines for not returning it on time.
Up next: Clash of the Titans
Imagi Animation Studio
Directed by David Bowers; Soundtrack by John Ottman
Nicholas Cage (Doctor Tenma)
Freddie Highman (Toby/Astro Boy)
Bill Nighly (Dr. Elefun)
Nathan Lane (Hamegg)
Rating: 3/5
Product description from amazon.com: [Set] in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving man's expectations, our hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before he returns to save Metro City and reconcile with the father who had rejected him.
Though it was not the old Astro Boy by the great Osamu, it is still a quirky reimagining of an old tale. Like all the previous adaptations, the story is the same but it has its differences that make and add to the legacy that Osamu has left behind for future generations.
We've all had that childish spark within us, that part of our personality we could never give up on. Maybe it's a particular eating pattern we've held since birth? Perhaps it’s a stuffed animal we still sleep with or even an old movie that we remember fondly from those days long gone.
For some, that spark is embodied in all of the above, particular from old cartoons. Astro Boy happens to be one of those relics from the past.
“Astro Boy” is the story of Dr. Tenma's desire to bring his son, Toby, back to life, after a fatal accident. The result of this mad scientist's grief is a robot replica of Toby in every physical way. However, this new Toby has his own personality and mannerisms that set him up as his own person. Tenma, feeling even more distraught than he had after his son's initial death, disowns Astro.
Up to this point, most people who are familiar with the story will be able to see where this is going very quickly. In fact, it comes as no surprise that Hamegg is present or that Atlas is absent. But, there are those few differences peppered within the movie that set it to be just a twist differently from the three previous incarnations of the robot Pinocchio.
Astro Boy's themes of self acceptance and "fitting in" are noted throughout the movie. Most would find these themes overused and even a burden, but films nowadays don't bother to explore them very well, if at all. What’s not realized is how comforting it is to hear these tried and true traditions of children’s work. The themes of morality, humanity and even the lack of graphic violence, stick close to the tradition of Osamu's work.
Astro Boy himself has a nice transition from being the bearer of those implanted memories of Toby and his current self. We grow to enjoy Astro, as a separate being from the nearly insufferable Toby, who on top of being a “smarty pants”, does not turn out to be a very interesting character. Granted, he’s only in the film’s first ten minutes, so there’s no great lose to dwell over.
The amount of action and visual effects help to carry the weight of the movie, and allows it to be enjoyed by all audiences. The soundtrack could have been much better. It is forgettable but it does what it can to carry the action. The moments of sadness however aren’t carried by the music, but by the visuals and the dialogue.
Nicholas Cage's acting is something of a hit or miss within this movie. I don’t know his history as a voice actor, but he has been known for his plodding voice. I enjoy love Cage as an actor, on screen, when I can see him with my own eyes. He can honestly get into any role and make it authentic. It was hard to connect with Tenma, who felt more and more like a caricature of his initial character. Cage turns him into the grieving scientist father (which he is) rather than a man who has gone insane to some degree (which was what I was expecting). It takes time and a few more scenes to adjust to its tone, but as soon as the audience does, Dr. Tenma’s scenes are already over and we're given more of Freddie Highmore.
Initially I didn’t think much of the choice of voice actor for Astro. Titular and familiar characters such as Astro and Dr. Elefun are difficult to cast and I must applaud Highmore and Nighly for doing what they could. While their portrayal of these characters was not bad, I would have preferred if Astro were a little younger sounding and Elefun less British.
Another aspect I had an issue with was the character design. It didn't carry the same childlike enigma that Osamu's art has been known for. Rather, this Astro is modeled after a 13 year old and has much smaller eyes than his Disney inspired original. I was impressed that he still carried that boyish charm rather than transforming into an emotional teenager. That was both refreshing and nicely done (unlike that monstrosity that was Dragonball Evolution). In other words, Astro Boy was not as cute physically as he was emotionally. He was just so so.
Relationships between humans and robots remained (thankfully) platonic. There are hints of Astro having an interest in Cara (the human girl who is defiant and sarcastic) but it never develops into anything beyond a fond friendship. Even if Astro did have Toby's memories, as a robot he no longer has those hormonal desires.
Toby's death and Astro's own meetings with the reaper, is a little more upsetting that his original. In the movie, Toby is killed right in front of his father while he is working on a new machine for the government.
The event is more traumatic for Dr. Tenma, who has even more reason to blame the death of his son on himself. His continuing spiral into depression and his brush with insanity is just as understandable but not as emotional. It may have been the "normality" of Toby's death within the manga that may have lead to it, and the message of how society cannot be controlled is a lot more obvious.
What was extremely comical (and most likely what killed the movie for a lot of people) may have been the extra robot characters thrown in there. They never failed to remind the audience that this was a children's film with darker themes. I could have done without the “Alien-from-outer-space” ending but looking back on it now, it was a nice way to transition to the rest of Astro's life. Because nearly every episode had a villain of the day. If there was no villain for Astro to fight, then what would it be? Astro being found by the mainlanders and used by them as already been shown. It ended in the same way as “The Incredibles”, with a note that no matter where he is or what he's doing, Astro will be saving people from whatever wrongs may happen.
“Astro Boy” continues the torch of most android movies like “Metropolis”, “Artificial Intelligence”, “I Robot” and others, but these three in particular share the same ideas that Astro Boy delivers. Only in the case of “Astro”, it is delivered to a much younger audience.
My opinion: I love the sci-fi genre and I grew up watching Astro Boy and other anime that dealt with robot themes like Cyborg 009 and Kikaider. It’s a nostalgic thing for me, to go back and enjoy classics such as those. Astro Boy (2009) does exactly that: bring me back to that moment of innocence when robots ruled my imagination, right beside 150 pocket monsters and the Twilight Zone. The whole movie was geared towards children and even though more mature themes like politics were included, it was done in a classical way. I would personally buy it, especially for those extras. And maybe, I’ll be able to (finally) buy the manga instead of borrowing it from the library and incur immense fines for not returning it on time.
Up next: Clash of the Titans