Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Astro Boy! Based on the comic book adventures written and drawn by Osamu Tezuka, Japan's 'Godfather of anime', Astro Boy chronicles the adventures of the young robot as he tries to find his place in the world.
The movie is a retelling of Astro Boy's origins, but purists may not like it, as it is very different from Tezuka's original story. The basic premise is the same but the movie's story and plot are a muddle of other stories, such as Pinocchio, Frankenstein, A.I., I, Robot, and half a dozen super robot animes.
There's a lot of thinly veiled propaganda here, from the Robot Revolution Front's quest for release from the humans, to the Stalin/Bush Jr-like President Stone. While it may be amusing for parents to see Russian and Chinese political posters in the robots' secret hideout, these touches will be lost on younger viewers.
Astro Boy may physically soar high in the clouds, but the film's predictable plot and slow middle act sink like a stone. It shows how big the gap is, in terms of story-telling, between Imagi and a production house like Pixar.
Hong Kong studios need to hire someone who can craft an original tale if they want to seriously take on the big guns from Hollywood.
