Review of 'Astro Boy'

I must admit I enjoyed the original Astro Boy cartoons as a child. Watching those same cartoons as an adult is pretty much an act of nostalgia only…Having said that, this movie is excellent in pretty much all regards. The animation is first rate, the story good and the voice acting (with the exception of Nicholas Cage as Dr Tenma which seems slightly mis-cast). Being a Hollywood production of quite a famous character, the actors cast here are quite incredible including Samuel L. Jackson as “Zog” and Bill Nighy as “Dr Elefun” (to name but two). As a Canadian, I was also pleased to hear Donald Sutherland as “President Stone”.

Toby Tenma (voiced very well by Freddie Highmore) is a typical, though highly intelligent, young boy living in Metro City which floats above the earth of the future. Sneaking into a scientific demonstration performed by his father, Toby meets with a terrible accident. His father, desperately regretting his actions, builds a robot in the image of his son – Astro Boy is born! Dr Tenma quickly realises that Astro is not his son so he is painfully turned out. Astro finds himself on the surface of earth and quickly befriends a gang of children living off the dumps of garbage rained down from Metro City (particularly, a lot of unwanted robots). The scene is set for figuring out his purpose in life and his return to Metro City.

A lot of fun, certainly aimed at children, but enjoyable nonetheless. The Robot Revolutionary Front is particularly amusing with their hopeless antics…If you are a fan of the original or just want a bit of light entertainment, this is worth a watch.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2010-06-09

Directed by: David Bowers

Studio: Imagi Studios

Year: 2009

Length: 90 minutes

Genre: Animation

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375568/