Thoughts on the Film

[AprilSeven]

Stripes makes some interesting observations, and perhaps the bottom line is that Astro Boy, as a story and a "franchise" is very difficult to fit into a genre.

We all know that Shrek is a silly, funny bit of make-believe. But the Astro Boy story - although it contains comedic elements and characters - is also riven with emotional conflict, disturbing violence, and heartbreaking/thought-provoking ethical issues. How were they going to turn THAT into a family-friendly, fun movie?

Astro Boy is not a bang-bang, shoot 'em up, good vs. bad cartoon. Tezuka uses the violence to reinforce the other messages and questions. Maybe one reason Astro Boy hasn't become a world-wide phenomenon is because it is very complex, and not simplistic enough for most people to "get."

Perhaps the efforts to turn Astro into a one-size fits all character (like Shrek, Micky Mouse, Superman) is what ruined the movie. People familiar with the anime or manga seem to chafe under the overtly present-day political commentary in the film (especially that US red/blue core stuff), and the brand new set of friends, and the happy-ending with Tenma and Astro back together as bonded father and son (for that matter, why not Nora instead of Orrin?).

People who know/love Astro were looking for these things. Newcomers to the story were in some ways, at an advantage. I have mixed feelings about the movie. It was "cute" (Freddie was just amazing as Astro, I thought), and seemed to me to be a way to take something rather "dark" and brighten it - change it to deliver a positive message, but unload the brooding parts. If it brought people to get to know Astro/Tezuka, then that's a good thing. But I don't think it was especially true to the story Tezuka was telling the world.

[Dr. Jerk]

What AprilSeven said, my disappointments mostly came from the number of changes and how American'ized it was.

Heck, when Toby got into the limo, I thought to myself "Oh, so is this where Toby gets in that car crash, except that he is not the one driving it?" Turns out not quite what I had expected.

[cybotron]

It's perfect....
To me it's perfect as it is...
Sytart to fininsh. It's like the hand of God writing on the wall at the last supper of the Babylonian dynasty.
I've never seen such sociopolitico perfection in a film. Even Fritz Langs "Metropolis" is no match.

[avatargirl]

hi- i love the film very much and cry watching it - was i too girly doing that? if i was i felt right crying the movie was so serious to me

[InsaneAstroBoyLover]

I loved the movie but I Cant say it was disappointing now because when i saw it i hadn't seen the old series. Its the movie that got me into astro boy in the first place! Now that Ive seen the 1980's and 2003 series i can see why people don't like it.

[The Tawashi Bus Hat]

I think that, when you are going to make an updated movie about something with such a history and image as Astro Boy has, you either have to be freakin' Studio Ghibli (by that I mean you have to be the god of film) or it will only end up sub-par.

Is the movie bad? No. It's not fantastic, but it certainly isn't bad.

Is the movie bad when you compare it to the franchise it's based on?

Oh lord, where do I begin? (That's a yes, BTW)

If I may be a bit of a brat, these are the things I really think made this movie fall short of its glorious heritage:

1. Actors. Just because you fill your film to the brim with a cornucopia of stars doesn't mean the movie won't flop. Nicholas Cage had no business being Tenma. Period. (Although, I thought the guy who did Ochanomizu and Robotski did a good job.)

2. Added Characters. Many people may disagree with me on this, but I think that, with the wide universe of characters in the Astro series, adding new characters was not needed at all. Hell, ever heard of a cameo? Instead of Cora, why not that chick from Marine Express? Or Sapphire? SERIOUSLY! And Stone - WTF? Should have been Lamp! (Not to mention Shunsaku Ban got...like...3 lines? Pfft.)

3. The story. GHAAAAA! As soon as I saw Tobio die in an explosion, I knew that there was going to be trouble. With a history as strong as Astro's, messing with his origins is the wrong way to go. Yeah, some people might not see it as a big deal, but COME ON! How did he die in all three series?

...Yeah. Cars. Nerr.

And, honestly, I think Tenma just telling him that he doesn't want him anymore isn't as impacting as it was to see him freakin' sell his kid to the circus. I guess they wanted it to seem more like the feel good family film of the year...but really now.

...I shall now leave before I am pelted with tomatoes. *flees*

[avatargirl]

hi- i love the movie- hugs sweetly

[Astro Boy2866]

I loved the movie but I Cant say it was disappointing now because when i saw it i hadn't seen the old series. Its the movie that got me into astro boy in the first place! Now that Ive seen the 1980's and 2003 series i can see why people don't like it.

Same here, I watched the movie and then I wanted to see more, so I watched the '03 series and still wanted more and it continued to until I saw the '80s and '60s series and now I really want to see that movie that was based on the '03 series made in 2005.

I wouldn'd say that the movie was terrible or horrendous, but it wasn't amazing. It was a decent movie in my opinion and I just wish that there would be a sequel.

[Laughing Dragon]

Well, as I've stated here before, I think the Astro Boy movie is the best adaptation of the character and story to date. I loved it. Still do. A great deal was accomplished in it - Astro was made fully "human" and fully sympathetic for the first time IMO, he was beautifully animated, his animators/designers struck the perfect balance between cute and boyish (Astro didn't come off at all androgynous - I know some people like that about the Astro character, but that would not have worked for a family film), and the manga's basic storyline was successfully updated for the 21st century. In the manga, the story revolved around Astro becoming a superhero, albeit one with a tragic origin: Dr. Tenma created him, then dumped him, then faded into the background, and then Astro was adopted by Dr. Elefun. But in the movie, the story revolved around Astro being accepted by the father/creator who rejected him. I think that by focusing on that aspect, Astro became much more sympathetic, as did Dr. Tenma, and I think that general audiences (who may not be "up" on Astro Boy) had a much easier time identifying with the story.

To me, the movie's only flaws were making President Stone too much of a buffoon (a pity, since he was so strongly voiced by Donald Sutherland) and the brief political jabs, which turned off at least a few people (check the reviews at Yahoo! Movies. Some people there were really angered by them). But overall, I think the movie was great, and it still bugs me that it was so overlooked by audiences, while inferior junk like Yogi Bear is doing better at the box office. Life isn't always fair, even for nuclear-powered little robot boys.

[Androids101]

This one is just to too funny to be ignored.



And the film would be much better if this was a reality! ROFL XD