Astro Boy Review

A top-notch cast lend their voices to this computer animated adaptation of the popular Japanese Manga. In the enormous floating metropolis of Metro City, people coexist with robots and the Earth’s surface is a forgotten, polluted scrap yard. Government scientist Dr Tenma’s young boy-genius son Toby is accidently vaporised in a weapons demonstration. The distraught scientist creates a robot substitute; utilising Toby’s DNA and uploading his late son’s memories into the machine.

At first, Tenma is delighted with the results and attempts to bond with his substitute son. Soon though, Tenma realises that the robot cannot replace Toby and the android flees when he learns of his father’s rejection. Robot Toby, soon to be renamed Astro, travels to the surface, hotly pursued by a government that wants to use his power source for nefarious ends and looks for his place in the world.

The obvious touching point for the story is the tale of Pinocchio, but there are several interesting themes in the film, such as the role of science in society and government, a parent’s loss of a child, the ethics of robotics and the importance of questioning authority. For a children’s film, it touches on some admirably complex issues.

There are lots of things to like about Astro Boy, not least the calibre of its cast, which includes Nic Cage, Bill Nighy, Charlize Theron, Kristen Bell, Samuel L Jackson, Alan Tudyk (of Firefly, Serenity and Dodgeball), Matt Lucas and Donald Sutherland. Freddie Highmore, star of an impressive selection of recent children’s films, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Spiderwick Chronicles and The Golden Compass, voices the eponymous lead.

The animation is overtly polished and slick looking and the characters inhabit a stylised futuristic environment. The production design is impressive; Metro City looks an exciting and lively place, which has clearly been lovingly rendered.

The film does however lack some of the warmth and humour of Pixar’s most recent cinematic outings. A few more jokes could have lightened up the script somewhat. Also, Cora, the girl Astro meets on the surface, has a rather redundant subplot in the search for her own parents, which feels as though it has been either tacked on at the last minute or severely cut for time.

All in all, though, Astro Boy is a reasonably entertaining joy-ride of a film and a rare instance in which a sequel may actually be a welcome and called for occurrence. Along with the admittedly superior Wall E, it would make a good introduction to sci-fi for young kids.

http://www.blogomatic3000.com/2010/05/28/dvd-review-astro-boy/