To begin with, let us review the history of the franchise. The original Astro Boy was a Japanese anime that appeared in some US markets in the early 60's. Since that time it appeared as a revamped cartoon in the 80's and now a movie.
The character itself has endured in Japan - indeed, the Japanese have put a great deal of effort into building humanoid robots (think Honda's Asimov) partially as a result of the popularity of Astro Boy. So, having said this - how does this compare to the original? Well, frankly, it's disappointing. First the movie is nothing more than an expanded version of the first Astro Boy cartoon. In the original Astro Boy is built to replace a human boy who was killed in an auto accident. He is rejected by his father, and in the original, he winds up in a robot circus. He is given his freedom (along with the rest of the robots) as a result of saving humans when the circus tent catches fire.
In the movie, we see somewhat the same plot. Astro is built, rejected, winds up as a robot gladiator, and then is redeemed when he saves humans from a bad situation.
Where the movie departs from the original is in Astro Boy himself. In the original, Astro is very much aware he is a robot. He has some emotions, mostly loyalty to his fellow robots, and generally doing good. In the movie version, Astro doesn't appear to understand he's a robot. He doesn't have any indications about his ability to fly or his weapon systems for instance. I find this odd and is really a disappointment .
The movie also departs from the original in that it does have strong ecological and peace overtones and messages. These messages were largely absent from the original.
To give the movie credit, it does stay true to the original in key aspects. Professor Elefun is portrayed in a manner similar to the original. There are bits of fun thrown in from time to time – most particular, when the giant evil robot at the end walks up to a microphone, taps it, and asks – "Is this thing on?" And Gourdski makes an appearance – he was a running gag in the original, being a large jug shaped object with pig-like figures who would appear at odd places – in the movie he is on the side of a building at the end.
Overall, then, I find the movie to be disappointing. To be sure, it is directed at juvenile audiences, and for people who are not familiar/interested in the original, it's a reasonable piece of entertainment. And to be sure, the movie underwent a difficult birth if I recall correctly. The concept of the movie changed constantly, with directors coming in and leaving – most notably Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter's Lab and Samurai Jack), who was associated with the project and then left.
So, I'd recommend this to anyone with kids – but if you're looking for a re-image if the original – sorry, it isn't and you may want to give it a miss.
The character itself has endured in Japan - indeed, the Japanese have put a great deal of effort into building humanoid robots (think Honda's Asimov) partially as a result of the popularity of Astro Boy. So, having said this - how does this compare to the original? Well, frankly, it's disappointing. First the movie is nothing more than an expanded version of the first Astro Boy cartoon. In the original Astro Boy is built to replace a human boy who was killed in an auto accident. He is rejected by his father, and in the original, he winds up in a robot circus. He is given his freedom (along with the rest of the robots) as a result of saving humans when the circus tent catches fire.
In the movie, we see somewhat the same plot. Astro is built, rejected, winds up as a robot gladiator, and then is redeemed when he saves humans from a bad situation.
Where the movie departs from the original is in Astro Boy himself. In the original, Astro is very much aware he is a robot. He has some emotions, mostly loyalty to his fellow robots, and generally doing good. In the movie version, Astro doesn't appear to understand he's a robot. He doesn't have any indications about his ability to fly or his weapon systems for instance. I find this odd and is really a disappointment .
The movie also departs from the original in that it does have strong ecological and peace overtones and messages. These messages were largely absent from the original.
To give the movie credit, it does stay true to the original in key aspects. Professor Elefun is portrayed in a manner similar to the original. There are bits of fun thrown in from time to time – most particular, when the giant evil robot at the end walks up to a microphone, taps it, and asks – "Is this thing on?" And Gourdski makes an appearance – he was a running gag in the original, being a large jug shaped object with pig-like figures who would appear at odd places – in the movie he is on the side of a building at the end.
Overall, then, I find the movie to be disappointing. To be sure, it is directed at juvenile audiences, and for people who are not familiar/interested in the original, it's a reasonable piece of entertainment. And to be sure, the movie underwent a difficult birth if I recall correctly. The concept of the movie changed constantly, with directors coming in and leaving – most notably Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter's Lab and Samurai Jack), who was associated with the project and then left.
So, I'd recommend this to anyone with kids – but if you're looking for a re-image if the original – sorry, it isn't and you may want to give it a miss.