| Audience: | 4th - 6th Grades |
| MPAA Rating: | Rated PG for some action and peril, and brief mild language. |
| Profanity: | Brief schoolyard language |
| Nudity/Sex: | None |
| Alcohol/Drugs: | None |
| Violence/Scariness: | Intense peril and violence for a PG movie, many guns, (offscreen) death of child |
| Diversity Issues: | None |
| Movie Release Date: | October 23, 2009 |
A show of hands, everyone. If you think it's a good idea to begin a movie for children by killing off a young boy in an industrial accident as his father looks on, raise your hand. Anyone?
I didn't think so. And yet, that is how Astro Boy comes to be in this updated version of the Japanese animated series that achieved popularity in the U.S. as a television series in various versions over the years and more recently as a computer game. The title character (voice by an Americanized Freddie Highmore) is a robot re-boot created by brilliant scientist Dr. Tenma (voice of Nicolas Cage) to replace his son Toby, who was killed at Dr. Tenma's lab when he tried to get in to see an experiment. Devastated by the loss, the scientist creates a super-robot programmed with the memory and mind of his dead child. And then he rejects the robot as an inadequate substitute. Even if the rest of the movie were "The Care Bears Meet My Little Pony," the loss and grief of the first 20 minutes are so totally dissonant that the film cannot recover.
It's like "Pinocchio" crossed with "Blade Runner" as Astro Boy goes through an existential crisis in discovering that he may have Toby's memories and emotions, but he also has hands and butt cheeks that turn into artillery. He ends up being treated as a human by robots and a robot by the humans he meets, abandoned children living on the planet that everyone else has left because it is deemed no longer habitable (and yet somehow they are able to order pizza). In the midst of all of the shoot-outs there are some moments that have charm and some images that show some wit, especially an enormous junked robot that Astro brings back to life with a charge from his blue power source (unfortunately carrying the initials of an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory). But then the President (voice of Donald Sutherland) wants to use Astro's technology for evil, and everything comes down to shooting. Any nuance or imagination or point is lost in the battle, and so is any reason to see this film.
Parents should know that this film has a lot of violence and peril for a PG, some graphic, with many guns and explosions. A child is killed (off-camera) and his father is devastated. There is brief schoolyard language.
Family discussion: How was Astro Boy like Toby and how was he different? Which of Astro Boy's powers would you like to have?
If you like this, try: the original series and "Jimmy Neutron"
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
I think this movie is different from others pixar movie, it has lot of japan style added to it. Too bad this movie shows a little boy who died at the beginning of the movie. But somehow this movie is very cool and I've been waiting for long time for this movie. I hope You enjoy it.
Hi, Ms Nell Minow. I am always looking forward movie mom talk on Cost. I love it! I listen to Cost only Friday to listen to your reviews.
I watched the movie with my 10 years old daughter and my husband. It was great!
I was born and raised in Japan, so I used to watched Astro Boy TV series when I was kid. I was 5 years old when I watched it (now 37). Astro boy was using cellphone in the sky in 2003 and it was make-believe. Original stories were created 60 years ago.
I am so happy to be able to watch Osamu Tezuka's animation in US. He created so many good stories that I want everyone lives in US to watch.
The good thing in story is that the Astro boy has warm heart that is difficult for real human to have. He forgive even bad guys at the end.
Did you know Osamu Tezuka created original "Lion King" 60 years ago. Somebody stole the story and sold it to Disney. However, Tezuka didn't sue Disney, instead he said "The most important thing is that many people enjoy the story." I think "forgiveness" used to be Japanese culture even though many Japanese forgot.
Tezuka passed away few years ago, however, I think he is happy in the heaven that Disney made Tezuka's movie now...
Thanks so much, LA Mom. What a magnificent comment! I thought the animation in this film was excellent, and a great tribute to Tezuka's original. Astro Boy is a wonderful character, and I like his Japanese name better: Mighty Atom, and his message of forgiveness, in the post-war context, is inspiring. Thank you for this reminder, and best wishes to you and your family.
Tezuka didn't "invent" The Lion King. He had another story about lions that was completely different. There are far more similarities between the original Tezuka Astroboy and Disney's "Pinocchio" which had came out 20 years earlier--did Disney "invent" Astroboy?
Hi, Ms. Minow. I gave you a wrong info. (Maybe you noticed though)
Tezuka passed away 20 years ago and the comment was from his family or production.
I remember the scene from Tezuka's lion story that the a sacred baboon raised baby white tiger at the top of the hill and many kind of animals were celebrating. At least the scene is exactly same. Story was very similar. However, I did not blame about it since he learned lots of things from Disney before he created the story. I admit that the he copied Pinocchio. You are right.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.