Seen at: Metrolux 14 in Loveland, Colorado at 2:00 p.m on Nov. 18.
Except for Disney/Pixar releases, I've come to dread going to any animated feature. I know from experience that it's most likely going to be uncreative and derivative, and, as I've mentioned, probably feature goofy aliens in a gratuitous manner.
Well, there were no goofy aliens in Astro Boy, but it did indeed feel quite derivative.
First off, the good points. The three-dimensional animation was superb, as it often is. It is not technical skill which is lacking in this genre. Rather it is storytelling (the most important thing).
The derivative aspect is apparent right off. We're in a "trash-heap" Earth, where technology has allowed humans to escape the surface. "Oh, it's the Wall-E world again," I thought to myself in the Metrolux. Ho hum.
That's probably a bit harsh. The story was interesting enough (side note is that I used to watch the Astro Boy cartoons on television when I was very, very young). There was just enough freshness to keep it going.
What really bummed me out was the casting of the voice actors. Nicholas Cage was just plain wrong for the part of Astro Boy's dad. It just didn't work for me. I was distracted by the Cage-ness of the character throughout the entire movie. Likewise Donald Sutherland felt wrong as the villain here. But Nathan Lane was pretty good, as the second villain.
Yes, a second villain. The adult character you think is sympathetic turns out to be a bad guy too. This is an odd movie---it's very much a kids vs. adults theme. There are almost no good adult characters in this movie, none with any real honor or courage. Even the dad character is deeply flawed only comes around at the end. The only adults who don't betray the children are spineless cowards. The kids are really on their own, to fend for themselves, with the help of benevolent robots. If nothing else, the whole premise gave me food for thought, especially considering it was made in Hong Kong.
Like I said, if you're an animation fan, you might appreciate the technical aspects of this movie. Otherwise, it's sort of, well, boring and bleak. For me the most interesting part were the closing credits, which were actually in English and in Chinese characters.
Verdict: It'll do if you need an animation fix.
1 comment:
Well I thought Astro Boy was awesome. You're griping about the dad, Dr. Tenma? Dude he was toned down for the movie! In the manga he went nuts after his robot son couldn't grow and started physically attacking him. In fact the whole story of Astro was how he never fit in with human society but tried to protect it anyway. As for the trash heap Earth, you thought Wall*E invented that idea? I've seen it in comics before Wall*E ever came out. Anyway I thought Astro Boy was awesome, sooo much better than I expected, in fact I've seen it twice. Anyway that's my opinion.
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