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Astro Boy suffers from an identity crisis that channels stories from "Pinocchio" to the love-starved robot child in "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" to, well, "Astro Boy."
The boy robot has been the comeback kid since he first appeared in a Japanese manga series in 1951 and pioneered TV anime in the early 1960s.
In the latest adaptation, this time for the big screen, the super-strong robot can do lots of cool stuff -- battle robots 10 times his size, shoot machine guns from his butt -- but what he really wants is what most humans want, too: love and acceptance.
- Starring: Voices of Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell, Nicolas Cage, Nathan Lane.
- Rating: PG for some action and peril and brief mild language.
- Web site: www.astroboy-themovie.com/
When we meet the real boy who will become Astro, he's a mischievous genius who takes after his robot-scientist dad, Dr. Tenma (unmistakable voice of Nicolas Cage). In quick order, the boy is killed when he sneaks into a demonstration-gone-wrong of the giant Peacekeeper robot, and the grieving father makes like a futuristic Geppetto. He creates an indestructible replica of his son, with memories downloaded from DNA and an alien power source that keeps the kid ticking.
That power is coveted by the ambitious Gen. Stone, voiced with mustache-twirling glee by Donald Sutherland.
Just as it dawns on Astro that he's not a real boy, Dad rejects the idea that a robot can replace his son and decides to dismantle him. The boy robot flees his gleaming home in the sky, Metro City, for the planet below -- Earth, a robot junkyard inhabited by misfit humans and their metal counterparts.
In an "Oliver!" twist, Astro falls in with a group of kids and Hamegg (Nathan Lane, hamming it up in the Fagin role). Astro keeps his robot identity a secret and makes friends, although trouble looms ahead.
It doesn't take too much brainpower to guess that a threat to both worlds will put Astro's might to the test.
From a visual perspective, this "Astro Boy" is awash in vibrant color and occasional 2-D wizardry. Humans and a certain boy robot are captured in smooth, big-eyed anime style by Imagi Studios and animation artist-turned-director David Bowers ("Flushed Away"), while technology and landscapes get more detailed attention.
That said, it was strangely disturbing to see a murderous giant robot bring down skyscrapers as easily as a child's building blocks. A more intimate and menacing scene, in a gladiator-style robot arena, is meant to grab our compassion by the heartstrings, unlike the mindless destruction on a much grander scale.
But perhaps that's a soap-box rant for another day.
The voice talent in "Astro Boy" is top-notch, including Brit Freddie Highmore, fine with Astro's American accent, and Kristen Bell, who elevates his pal, Cora. Charlize Theron and Samuel L. Jackson have cameos, and Bill Nighy gets to tone down the crazy as Dr. Elefun.
Their presence makes this a noteworthy entry in the franchise's long legacy. Overall, though, the film has an identity crisis of its own.
"Astro Boy" gets bogged down in issues and homages until the too few flashes of fun come to along to save the day.
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