ASTROBOY

Summit Entertainment
In theaters 10.23.09

The story begins with the tale of the place which Astro Boy (voiced by Freddie Highmore of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) calls home, Metro City, a utopia risen up and floating far above a world below that man littered into a filthy and unlivable state. In this Metro City, society lives a life of ease in which robots are manufactured to take care of all the needs of mankind, from service to cleanup. Responsible for a majority of new robot innovations, Dr. Tenma (Nicholas Cage) finds the money for his research by providing robot technology to the military and to the President of Metro City (Donald Sutherland). One day, when giving a demonstration of a new and particularly unstable advancement, Tenma's son, Toby, sneaks in and is killed when the experiment goes out of control. Stricken with grief over his son's death, the doctor begins work on a robotic recreation of his son, implanting it with all the memories from his lost child. All goes seemingly well as the boy is brought to life with no memory of the accident as well as no idea of what he has become. Though that doesn't last long, as Toby eventually discovers his ability to understand robot language, as well as other things far from ordinary, such as flight (via rocket feet) and incredible strength. Though as excited as Toby is at his new found powers, Dr. Tenma is not as pleased, claiming that what he has created is not Toby, and wishes nothing to do with it. Faced with no home, Toby finds himself cast to the scrapheap world that Metro City flies above. In this world of scavengers and discarded robots, he meets orphans including Cora (Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars and Heroes), a blue haired and plucky girl who with her friends search the wasteland for robot parts for Hamegg (Nathan Lane), the man who runs the orphanage and repairs discarded robots for gladiatorial combat. Pretending to be human among his new companions, Toby must find his place in the world, while the world around him learns that it is in need of a hero like him.

Based on the world renowned comic by Osamu Tezuka, AstroBoy is fun and entertaining, AstroBoy competently handles its source material, proving itself to be as entertaining to longtime fans as well as new audiences.

- Greg / Movement Magazine