Live Action Anime

The bad news: I didn’t get the opportunity to see Astro Boy during its brief theatrical run.

The good news: I found someone to do my job for me instead! So credit for today’s review of Astro Boy goes to friend and follower of liveactionanime.org and The Thrasher’s Word, Tasunara, also known as ZeroKyohaku. Without further ado, then:

Astro Boy:

“It’s a bit late to be doing this, but what the hell? I’ll write it, anyway. It’s not like any of you actually went to see it, which is a damn shame.

Osamu Tezuka’s classic anime series Tetsuwan Atom, AKA Astroboy, has struck the nation of Japan since its inception back in 1952. The wildly popular series has spawned numerous types of merchandise, from toys, games, apparel, and food to numerous anime series and films, however, back in 1999, an announcement was made for a live action/animatronics/CGI feature-length film was too come, the first of its kind, this time, from the United States. It was to be produced by Jim Henson studios, and had several big names attached to it, including Eric Leighton (Dinosaur), Genndy Tartokovsky (Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack), and Colin Brady (Animator for Toy Story). It wasn’t until 2008 that things seriously left the ground for the film. And let me tell you, as a long-time fan of the classic franchise, I was extremely excited. I was also, however, extremely cautious as to what Hollywood would do to this classic series.

I’m so glad that Hollywood didn’t screw this one up. The movie was an amazing spectacle of beautiful animation, interesting and fun characters, great voice work, and a brilliant script.

First thing I want to cover is the over-all design of the film. Now, this is the only thing that I have slight complaints about: The design didn’t remain entirely true to Tezuka’s artwork, which is something I was really looking foreword to seeing pulled off in a film like that. I loved the way Tezuka’s artwork looked so classic and timeless, with the intriguing character designs and the humorous expressions. Even then, it was cool to see the newer take on the initial design of the film. What I found particularly strange was that all the characters seemed to look like the actors they were being portrayed by; Particularly Hamegg (Nathan Lane) and Tenma (who looked just like Nick Cage with a huge nose). The way they made Metro City look like an even more Neon version of Tokyo was also really cool, and sort of reminiscent of Wall-E. The surface world was pretty cool, too, and the way they re-invented the first episode of the series by incorporating the different design styles of the three different series while sort of updating them made for a pretty cool look for the film. And I’m glad that Astro was only in his trademark garb (pretty much nothing but his undies, belt, and boots). And the animation was just beautiful. The way everything flowed and the way it was done with the characters actually worked extremely well, and it was extremely engaging.

As far as script goes, it’s a simple adaptation of the first episode of the original series. The film follows Astro, who is the perfect robot replication of the son of Dr. Tenma, the most famous robotics engineer in Metro City, as he discovers his place in the world. As far as accuracy to the source material, the film pulls this off extremely well and even the changes made to the film are made so that the plot holes that the original first episode contained could be filled for a feature-length film. The story is well-written, and had some things that I didn’t expect to see that paid homage to the source material, as well. One thing I thought was cool was that they included a throw-back to the source by calling Astro “Toby” (his name in the Japanese version Tetsuwan Atom was Tobio before he became Atom, whereas in the English version, he was Aster Boynton… Couldn’t make that up…) The script was also well-written in terms of dialogue, and the story plays out really well. There were also humorous bits spread throughout the movie that made me laugh. I thought that, in particular, the Robot Liberation Front was a funny throw-back to the good-old Monty Python days. Most of all, the story, coupled with the animation, keeps you fully engaged. The only thing I really didn’t care for was the fact that Dr. Elefun doesn’t seem to take on the fatherly role in the film that he has in the source, and Tenma ceases to be the dickhead that I don’t care too much for.

As far as voice work goes, the only character I didn’t care to much for was Tenma, voiced by Nick Cage, who’s lackluster voice work didn’t exactly add to the film, but other than that, the cast was aptly chosen, particularly Freddie Highmore as Astro, who’s voice work seemed to be nothing short of the perfect casting for the titular character, although he is backed by an awesome supporting cast. I liked Kristen Bell and Donald Sutherland, too, and I thought that Nathan Lane as Hamegg was so perfect that it was scary.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this one, from the casual moviegoer to hardcore fan. The film was definitely a fun experience that I wish I could have had the money to experience again, and I’m definitely picking this one up when it comes to DVD. Thinking about it, I kinda wish they would have gone with they original plan and shot it live with animatronics and CGI. It would definitely have been interesting to see it happen. I also wish it was more recognized during its theatrical run (which is basically over here), and I hope that we get a sequel, regardless, because it would definitely be interesting to see Astro go up against Pluto and other classic villains.”

Voice Work – 4
Animation – 5
Design – 5
Script – 5
Overall – 4.75