Astro Boy is a computer animated film based loosely on the Japanese series of the same name.
SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Astro Boy
Set in futuristic Metro City, a small city that floats on top of Earth, Toby Tenma (Freddie Highmore) is an 11-year-old boy genius whose father is the Head of Ministry of Science. Toby sneaks into the demonstration room when his father and other scientist are experimenting with the two cores of energy, a “positive” (good) blue core and a “negative” (evil) red core and he ends up evaporated by a robot called “The Peacekeeper” which is powered by red core.
Devastated by the lost of his son, Dr. Tenma (Nicolas Cage) works day and night to create a robot that reassembles his son and has all of Toby’s memory by using the hair strand of his son left on the cap. He powers him up with the blue core and is excited to spend time with his son, he soon realizes it isn’t the same and the new Toby reminds him that his son is gone.
By accident, Toby learns that he is actually a robot and can fly but President Stone also discovers Toby’s blue core energy and tries to capture him. He ends up on the surface of Earth and finds a group of kids led by a caretaker named Hamegg as well as some robot friends to learn the purpose and true meaning of life only to be forced to fight ala Roman style with other robots in a stadium with robots after Hamegg reveals Astro as a robot. Astro forcefully wipe out all the robots but refuses to fight Zog, a giant construction robot which he revives using his blue core energy. The military then arrives and captures Astro.
Back in the lab which Astro is created, Dr. Tenma takes out the blue core and apologizes to Astro but Astro apologizes for not able to be a better son. Dr. Tenma’s conscience comes to mind when he almost gives the blue core to President Stone. Instead, he puts it back in Astro and tells him to escape. Stone uses the red stone to activate The Peacekeeper but is absorbed into it. The Peacekeeper then goes on rampage, destroying everything in its path in order to get Astro. In the end, Astro sacrifices himself to stop the Peacekeeper and dies since the blue core was drained from the explosion.
Zog then arrives and revives Astro with some of the blue core energy Astro gave him previously.
Overall, Astro Boy is a brilliant animated film with great morale value. The film is suitable for kids and adult alike and is a great way to introduce the original Japanese manga to everyone. Astro Boy may be a robot, but he certainly has a great heart, or more like a “positive” core. So, is the movie.
My ratings: 8 out of 10.
Popularity: 1%
