 |
I am in shock.
I am in awe. I cannot believe what I am
about to say. I… loved… “Astro
Boy.” That’s right. I’m
a guy that isn’t all into manga or
anime, only knew a little about the original
character and his history, and thoroughly
expected to be underwhelmed by this new
high-def, star-studded version of the popular
character. I was wrong. From the opening
minutes of the film, which told (in a rather
amusing way) the ‘history’ of
this future world, to the action packed
chase and battle scenes, to the emotionally
charged pieces that made up the whole…
I was enraptured.
“Astro Boy” has been around
since the early 1950’s, originally
created by Osamu Tezuka. This ‘robot
in boys’ clothing’ has a popularity
is unmatched by nearly every other manga
character ever created and has been the
subject of numerous comic adaptations as
well as animated TV series.
|
His fan base is huge, which is a credit to the
character, but unfortunately a hindrance to the
newest big screen version. My understanding is
that fans have not been kind to the film, citing
how badly it strays from the original concept.
To them, I can only say “phhhpbbhpt.”
I say this is the best version of the character
ever created.
I know very little about the original character,
so I have nothing to compare it to. What I can
tell you is that the big screen adaptation introduces
us to a world separated by the haves and have-nots.
The haves live in the beautiful Metro City, which
floats miles above the Earth’s surface.
Here the everyday lives of the haves include being
pampered by an ever progressive array of robots.
When the robots get old, they are unceremoniously
scooped over the edge, building an unending landscape
of scrap. Heading up the scientific community
behind the robots are Dr. Tenma (Nicolas Cage)
and Dr. Elefun (Bill Nighy). Geometrically opposed,
Tenma works tirelessly for the good of General
Stone (Donald Sutherland), while Elefun prefers
science to be for the betterment of mankind.
Elefun has also discovered an alien energy and
split it into two opposing forces, the ‘blue’
positive energy and the ‘red’ negative
energy. During one disastrous test, where Stone
insists on placing the negative energy core into
a ‘peacekeeping robot’, the ‘bot
goes out of control. In the ensuing chaos Tenma
loses his only son, Toby. Tenma is devastated
and in his grief he decides to use his knowledge
to bring back his son, or at least a replica of
him. He builds a robot that looks exactly like
Toby and infuses him with every memory saved in
the DNA of a single hair. His experiment is a
success, but Tenma realizes too late that you
can never fully replicate a living person. It
is in these quiet, painful moments that “Astro
Boy” finds its heart.
Toby/Astro soon finds himself on the Earth’s
surface, trying to survive a world he doesn’t
fully understand. He befriends a band of orphans
and runaways and meets Hamegg (Nathan Lane), a
scientist who loves rebuilding robots (though
none of them know Astro is a robot). Hamegg becomes
a surrogate father to Astro, but again life drives
a hard bargain and Astro learns a difficult lesson
in that all is not what it seems. Throughout the
film there are very strong emotional scenes, which
was the last thing I expected from “Astro
Boy.” Even better, then entire movie is
filled with political commentary about the environment,
the government and the military. I loved this
because I agreed with the points of view as they
were presented here. Most were not heavy handed,
but they were not at all disguised.
I thought that the voice cast did an excellent
job with their respective roles, the standouts
being Freddi Highmore as Astro Boy and Bill Nighy
as Dr. Elefun. Both actors delivered powerful
performances. The only weak link to the otherwise
wonderful cast was Nicolas Cage. His vocal inflections
were extremely monotone and rarely matched the
movements and expressions of Dr. Tenma. He nailed
it in a couple of scenes but the rest of the time
was very flat.
Summit Entertainment has released a terrific
Bluray edition of “Astro Boy.” The
High Definition transfer is gorgeous, with all
of the details and colors almost jumping out of
the screen. I had to watch it a second time just
to see all of the tiny details. The sound mix
was perfect as well, with all of the loud action
sequences as perfectly balanced as the quiet moments.
The animation in this film is superb and the Bluray
really shows it off.
As for extras, there are a couple of newly animated
sequences as well as a couple of featurettes focusing
on the animation of the city and Astro in particular.
The best extra though featured a look behind the
scenes at the cast running their lines and discussing
their characters. It was quite a lot, but I wanted
more.
As surprised as I am to say it, I HIGHLY recommend
“Astro Boy” to all lovers of science
fiction and animation. It may not have appealed
to hardcore fans of the character, but I loved
it!
Directed by: David Bowers
Starring (the voices of): Freddie Highmore, Kristen
Bell, Nathan Lane, Eugene Levy, Matt Lucas, Bill
Nighy, Donald Sutherland, Charlize Theron, Nicolas
Cage
Extras: Two All New Animated Sequences; Inside
the Recording Booth; Designing a Hero; Building
Metro City; The RRF In; Image Gallery; Getting
the Astro Boy Look
Specification: Widescreen 1080p High Definition
(2.35:1); 5.1 DTS-HD MA
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Release Date: 3/16/2010
MPAA Rating: PG
http://www.summitent.com
We'll give Astro Boy (Bluray) an A.
|
