Astro Boy (2009)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

David Bowers

Writers:

Osamu Tezuka (manga), David Bowers (story),

Stars:

Charlize Theron, Freddie Highmore, Nicolas Cage

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlize Theron	...	'Our Friends' Narrator (voice)
Freddie Highmore	...	Astro / Toby (voice)
Ryan Stiles	...	Mr. Moustachio / Burning Robot (voice)
Eugene Levy	...	Orrin (voice)
Nicolas Cage	...	Dr. Tenma (voice)
Donald Sutherland	...	President Stone (voice)
Bill Nighy	...	Dr. Elefun / Robotsky (voice)
David Alan Grier	...	Mr. Squirt / Math Cowboy / Boxer Robot (voice)
Alan Tudyk	...	Mr. Squeegee / Scrapheap Head / Stinger Two (voice)
Newell Alexander	...	General Heckler (voice)
Bob Logan	...	Stinger One (voice)
Dee Bradley Baker	...	Trashcan (voice)
Kristen Bell	...	Cora (voice)
Moises Arias	...	Zane (voice)
Sterling Beaumon	...	Sludge (voice)

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

robot | scientist | orphan | pizza | flying robot | 

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Taglines:

Have a blast.

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Family | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some action and peril, and brief mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [cn]

Country:

Hong Kong USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Astroboy

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,091,872 (UK) (5 February 2010)

Gross:

£3,378,087 (UK) (26 February 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Imagi Animation Studios, Imagi Crystal, Tezuka Production Company Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was not a success in Japan, opening at the bottom end of the top 10 films of that week. Conversely, it broke box office records for a CGI animated movie in China, in much the same way that two other US produced Japanese based films had done. Both Dragonball: Evolution and Speed Racer had tanked in Japan but went on to be hugely successful in China.

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Goofs

According to Dr. Tenma, Astro was programmed with all of Toby's memories (which is a crucial part of the plot), but it is never explained where those memories came from. Although it's implied that the memories came from Toby's hair, this isn't possible, because memories are not encoded into DNA.

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Quotes

Astro Boy: [to Dr. Elefun] You know, I tried to find my place in the world. I - I thought I found it, but I guess fitting in can be a lot more complicated than it seems, huh?

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Crazy Credits

After the end credits, a card stating "When in Hong Kong, visit Imagi Studios" The art is the same classic style as the opening, with a tram touring a back lot. This is much like what Universal studios did at the end of their films.

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Connections

References Astroboy (1963)

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Soundtracks

"Breezy Day"
Composed by Roger-Roger (as Roger Roger)
Courtesy of APM Music LLC

User Reviews

Charming story and visuals, give it a try.

For some reason my expectations were not high for this movie, the IMDb rating was pretty average and there was not much hype surrounding it's release. It seems any computer animated movie that is neither Pixar nor Shrek has a difficult time getting noticed. Having seen this movie now I can whole heartedly say that this movie is as fun and action packed as any movie from the Pixar stable.

The visuals are excellent and on a par with the latest computer generated movies, the story is heart warming and touches on philosophical themes often related to more adult titles like Blade Runner or even Ghost in the Shell, the action is well handled and true to the cartoon origins of the title and ultimately there is enough depth and charm in this movie to satisfy both kids and adults. The only drawback I feel this movie has is the somewhat out of place voice acting of some of the main characters, it seems that the producers wanted the film to be attached to some big name actors rather then finding voice actors that would suit the specific characters,specifically I felt that Bill Nighy voice was out of place as the Professor and perhaps Nic Cage could have brought more energy to the role. It did feel as though the voice work was done after visuals and not vice versa which led to a somewhat flat performance by some actors. That, however is just me being ultra critical, overall this is a top draw movie and worth a look. Give it a try.