Dir. David Bowers, Hong Kong/US/Japan, 2009, 94 mins
Cast (voices): Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Freddie Highmore, Donald Sutherland
Review by Michelle Moore
Astroboy first appeared back in 1951 as a character in a Japanese Manga before becoming the first Japanese television series that included a visual appearance that later became known as anime. After worldwide success, an animated Astroboy film has now been created for the big screen. This film stays loyal to the real story but has been updated to suit the tastes of today's audiences, including plenty of CGI.
Based mainly in a futuristic metropolis in the sky, the film develops many relationships, emotions and morals. The story begins by focusing on a father-son relationship. Upon the death of his son Toby (Highmore), scientist Dr Tenma (Cage) creates a human like robot powered by positive blue energy with special abilities including, speed, strength, x-ray vision and the ability to fly. Dr Tenma tries to be the father he never was to his son, but realises the robot cannot replace the son he lost and rejects the robot boy, who in turn feels not only rejected but also confusion at discovering he is not human.
The remainder of the film follows Toby, who decides to call himself Astroboy, and his path to find a place in the world. He longs to be accepted and since robots are categorised as second-class citizens, it is up to Astroboy to embrace his robotic nature as well as the humanity inside of him and help others to accept the differences in everyone. He realises he is different but this makes him special, a hero with a destiny to fulfil.
Besides the action and emotional tugs, there are plenty of humorous moments to counterbalance the more serious aspects. When battling against the Peacekeeper, a robot powered by red negative energy, Astroboy finds he has machine guns in his arms and his bottom!
There are certainly similarities from previous films such as Pinocchio and A.I. but more notably Oliver Twist . The character of Hamegg is very reminiscent of Fagin the way he takes in children and looks after them as well as encourages them to bring him robot parts (while Fagin wanted wallets). It may take a while to get into, but once Astroboy captures your attention, you will certainly find enjoyment and excitement when you join this robot boy on his search for purpose.
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