The Rotunda

Issue date: 11/18/09 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: costumzee.com

Well, this was bound to happen. With Hollywood churning out retreads of old childhood staples, an Astro Boy film was only biding its time until splattering across silver screens. For the unaware, Astro Boy is a Japanese manga series published first in 1952, with a television series coming out in 1963. It was the first television show to be drawn in what we now call the "anime" style, spawning an entire genre of television shows and movies.

Speaking as somebody who has never read the manga or seen the show, I can't point out the fact that the titular character's underpants are the wrong color or his hair isn't pointy enough. So if you're looking for the rant of a jilted fan, you're in the wrong place. I can, however, discuss Astro Boy's merits as a film.

And generally, Astro Boy accomplishes what it sets out to do. The visuals are bowel-evacuatingly awesome, with simple character designs and bright colors. Epic battles in the sky give off the feeling that you're right there with Astro Boy, and I recall having several sympathy cringes for the main character's physical pains throughout the movie. The many robots that appear throughout the film are all unique and creative in design, though this should go without saying - Japan is the home of giant robots.

The plot is simple enough to not trip over its own feet, allowing for high-flying adventures and silly kid jokes to make up the backbone of the film. Toby Tenma is the son of famous scientist Dr. Tenma. When a robotics demonstration goes bad thanks to the meddling of the power-hungry President Stone, Toby is killed, leaving Dr. Tenma to blame himself for the accident.

The scientist becomes obsessed with replacing his son, and so builds a robot in his likeness. While he's successful, Dr. Tenma refuses to accept the robot as his Toby, leaving the boy to wander the flying Metro City. Robot-Toby eventually falls to the junky surface world, where he meets a troupe of misfit orphans that embark on merry adventures involving old pizza and a trash can that acts like a dog. Eventually, Robot-Toby must fight to save a city that rejected him, and everybody learns a lesson about friendship, togetherness, and acceptance.

To me, Astro Boy had two major flaws. The first is that it's too freaking busy. There's a lot going on in this movie, which clocks in at a brief 94 minutes. Now I understand not wanting to keep children in the theater for too long, but you need to make some plot concessions to keep things from getting cluttered.

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