Astro Boy (Film): Another Classic Comes to Theaters

Many elements contributed to the success of animation in the United States. Characters like Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, and names like Walt Disney all played their part to establish America as a powerhouse of cartoon excellence. The land of the rising sun, Japan, boasts a tradition of animation, too, owed in no small part to the success of a show called Astro Boy.

Astro Boy began as a manga, as most Japanese animated features do, roughly the Japanese form of comic books. Astro Boy was the brainchild of Osamu Tezuka. In 1952, Tezuka released his vision to the Japanese market. The work, named Tetsuwan Atomu ("Mighty Atom") and subsequently renamed "Astro Boy" for English audiences, told the story of Doctor Tenma, who lost a son in a car accident.

The story took place in a futuristic world, making the work science fiction. Androids and humans formed a peaceful co-existence where technology abounded. Proficient in robotics, Dr. Tenma built an android boy to take the place of his lost son Tobio. The creation became Astro Boy. Dr. Tenma treated the robo-child with love and affection for a time, but Astro Boy could not age and did not embrace the same ideals of beauty and aesthetics as humans. Tenma later sold his creation to the circus.

But after some time, the new head of the Ministry of Science saw Astro Boy in the circus and convinced the owner to deliver him to the Ministry. Astro Boy's new owner treated the child affectionately and learned the child possessed special abilities, due to his robotic nature, like flying with his rocket-boots. In spite of his constant youth, Astro Boy could learn and grow in his own way. Thus, Astro Boy became a super-hero of sorts. The Ministry of Science sent on missions to fight crime, capture malfunctioning robots, or defend Earth from alien encounters.

The manga was a success, running for 16 years, spanning 23 volumes. The character and story were adapted into an animated series in 1963. It was the first Japanese animated franchise to broadcast outside Japan. Many viewers and fans are familiar with this incarnation of Astro Boy. The show only ran for four seasons, but the mark it had made on Japanese animation lasted. Astro Boy embodied the physical aesthetics that became the hallmark of Japanese animation. The big eyes, bean-shaped heads, pattern of light and reflection, launched a trend that transformed Japanese animation into what we now call anime.

At the 1964 World's Fair, Osamu Tezuka met American animator Walt Disney. The great Disney himself said he hoped to make "something just like" Tezuka's masterpiece, testifying to the franchise's critical approval on two continents.

Attempts to bring this classic to the big screen have transpired several times in the past, only to fall through almost every time. Finally, in 2009, the dream will become reality. Imagi Animation Studios has shouldered the work since their announcement in 2006. This studio produced the animation for 2007's TMNT, the most recent film addition to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Like TMNT, Imagi's Astro Boy will be fully CGI, computer-animated. This keeps the film animated while updating the look if just slightly to our more modern age.

Freddie Highmore has been revealed as the voice of the titular character. A few plot specifics have been released. The film will describe Astro Boy's creation by a scientist who lost a son and later rejects his own creation. Thus, the film will mainly follow the adventures of Astro Boy as he searches for acceptance and fulfillment in the futuristic world.

Set for release on October 23, 2009, Imagi's Astro Boy promises to honor its classic lineage, while realizing the dreams of the past.