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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...
| Audience: | 4th - 6th Grades |
| MPAA Rating: | Rated PG for some action and peril, and brief mild language. |
| Movie Release Date: | October 23, 2009 |
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"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?"
This is how the original Astro Boy comic begins too, and that was aimed towards kids in Japan back in the 1950s. Changing this would have ruined Astro Boy's context.
Anyway, death is not something that should be hidden from kids; kids need to learn the reality of how death hurts people. After all, Bambi's mom dies in the film Bambi (not in the very beginning, though).
However the boy's death is different in the original comic. In that comic he was driving a car and ends up in an accident.
Thanks, Tom. I know Toby is killed in the original comic, and in some versions abandoned by his father, too. And I have often said that without some peril, tension, or violence you don't have a story; you have a Barney video. I support the "uses of enchantment" view about the enduring pull of stories -- myths, fairy tales, Shakespeare -- that feature violence. But everything depends on how it is done, and I do not believe the violence in this film is appropriate for children.
Hmm... lots of Japanese fiction aimed at children has featured violence of and beyond this caliber over the decades, and yet they have such a low crime rate over there. I think American parents should worry less about how much violence their children are being exposed to and start focusing more on raising intelligent children who know how to process it.
Thanks, Alice! As you can see, I loved "Coraline" and "Monster House" and other scary movies, but it is all about context and tone, and I felt this one was way off.
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.
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