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Astro Boy
EMAILPRINTSummit Entertainment
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 22 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 14 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Animation | Sci-fi
Written by:
Osamu Tezuka (comic series)
Timothy Harris
Directed by: David Bowers
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 23, 2009
Running Time: minutes, Color
Origin: Hong Kong | USA | Japan
Summary
RATING: PG for some action and peril, and brief mild language
Starring Freddie Highmore, Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy, Eugene Levy, Matt Lucus, and Donald Sutherland
Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist named TENMA. Powered by positive "blue" energy, Astro Boy is endowed with super strength, x-ray vision, unbelievable speed and the ability to fly. Embarking on a journey in search of acceptance, Astro Boy encounters many other colorful characters along the way. Through his adventures, he learns the joys and emotions of being human, and gains the strength to embrace his destiny. Ultimately learning his friends and family are in danger, Astro Boy marshals his awesome super powers and returns to Metro City in a valiant effort to save everything he cares about and to understand what it takes to be a hero. (Summit Entertainment)
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
A marvelously designed piece of cartoon kinetics.
Read Full Review >St. Louis Post-Dispatch Joe Williams
It's zippy, and the movie version has both a computerized sheen and handcrafted detailing. Because the details are cribbed from classics, parents can enjoy this 'toon as much as their kids.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
The movie contains less of its interesting story and more action and battle scenes than I would have preferred.
Read Full Review >New York Post Billy Heller
A sweet and endearing movie. Attention, kids: It's also packed with action!
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
The lighting, production design, and character modeling are excellent, and director David Bowers (Flushed Away) references "Frankenstein," "Wall-E," "Transformers," and even Abraham and Isaac. But the TV series, primitive though it was, had a sweet innocence and joyfulness that made it more fun.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan
In addition to the slick but generic computer animation, it's also got an A-list voice cast: Nicolas Cage as Dr. Tenma, the grieving inventor, and Donald Sutherland as a scheming politician.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
Astro Boy alternately soars and sputters through a story line that’s not quite sure who it’s aimed at.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen
Derivative bits aside, the pint-sized Japanese icon takes flight in vibrant CG animation -- no 3D glasses required.
Read Full Review >Variety Andrew Barker
Appropriately for a film about robots, efficiency is the primary virtue of Astro Boy, a well-oiled CG-animated superhero pic that makes up in competence and vitality what it lacks in originality.
Read Full Review >Time Out New York Nick Schager
What’s ultimately more impressive than the vigorous madcap action and innocuous humor, however, is Bowers’s willingness to address adult themes--alienation, regret, class tensions--with a directness that shows a surprising respect for his target young-adult audience
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Aaron Hillis
Corny but goodhearted, the film tries hard not to annoy parents, with animation more fizzy than frantic and nerdy references.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
It's a totally serviceable reboot for young people who are just discovering the joys of manga, but I can't help but miss the raw animation and even rawer emotional aesthetics of Tezuka's original televised animé series.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
I wish the film version of Astro Boy provided a stronger antidote to mediocrity.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
Though some scenes may be too intense for children, the action is slick, with robot clashes and airborne chases leaving the strongest impression.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
There are tiny glints of humor and intelligence at work, and the action and animation rockets along slickly and stylishly. But unlike the protagonists of almost any and all of the Pixar titles, Astro Boy's namesake lacks even an iota of soul.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Manohla Dargis
And so he zips and zags, keeping aloft in a movie that can’t always do the same.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Amy Biancolli
Purists should have a field day enumerating the differences between the original "Astro Boy" and this high-gloss reimagining. Someone has to.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Glenn Whipp
Plays like "Transformers" for tots, a "Pinocchio" story that stays true to its source material's storied past without adding much in the way of interest, outside of some clankingly obvious political subtext that will alienate people of all stripes.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
It will put some viewers in mind of yet another story with the same theme: "Pinocchio."
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter
Astro Boy definitely sets himself up for a sequel, and the overall scenario is ripe to explore many current issues. But let's hope the creators trade in the well-used parts for some fresh material.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson
Older viewers are more likely to see a muddled film full of one-dimensional characters and insultingly strident politics.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Looks so great, it may take a while to notice it's a clunky political parable wrapped in a tonally confused fairy tale.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.4 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Rhee J. gave it a10:
I was a fan as a kid, and had completely forgotten about Astro boy until my two sons came home from school, babbling on an on. Went after school last night, and loved it. It's deeper than most kids fare, and my youngest (5) shed a tear when Astro was rejected by his dad (but later happy ending). Great fun, for me and children. Dad will take them again this weekend.
Ben T. gave it a5:
Not bad could use some improvements but all in all not bad.
Harvey B gave it a7:
Astro boy is an animated film about a boy who dies and metaphysically gets reincarnated as a boy robot. Sticking true to its roots (including the butt check cannons), Astro boys goes and battles countless robots all while I yawn. The story is fairly interesting and the political slant obvious but if you finished watching "Where The Wild things are" or simply like animated action, check out Astro Boy.
Judy T gave it a7:
Wonderful animation with a story both kids and adults could appreciate.
Bryan L gave it a5:
Kids loved the movie and the plot was cute but do not underestimate the political slant.
Chad S gave it a7:
"Who's driving?" asks Toby(Freddie Highmore) to his mates in the flying vehicle's backseat, and before the reveal, the moviegoer thinks that Ham Egg(Nathan Lee) is behind the wheel, but it's the "dog", a robot named Trashcan, who leads the boy's rescue from General Stone's henchmen. The embittered scientist, to my delight, never overcomes his prejudicial feelings about robots, even though Astro Boy saved his life at the Robot Games. Sad though it may be, the moviegoer has to make allowances for the commercial obligations that a mainstream filmmaker abides by, so it should come as no surprise when Dr. Tenma(Nicholas Cage) brings his robot son back into the fold. The happy ending is a necessary evil, and as "ad nauseum", "Astro Boy" has one, but at least it's not an across-the-board happy ending. During the Robot Games, where Toby squares off with machines in a duel to the "death", Cora(Kristen Bell) can hardly meet his soulful eyes, whereas her mentor never sees the inherent cruelty in this barbaric exhibition. Toby, and all the human androids that came before him, who tried to pass themselves off as flesh and blood, are allegorical figures: light skinned blacks(like Lana Turner in Douglas Sirk's "Imitation of Life"), while the "other" robots(read: dark-skinned blacks), the revolutionaries(one quotes Malcolm X) who try to recruit Toby, don't stand a chance in the assimilation game. They look like robots. Ham Egg's unwavering bigotry keeps "Astro Boy" real, relative to a lot of other children's movies, which would stamp out all racism with expediency.
Alan S gave it an8:
Great kids film! Highly recommended. Took my boys 5 and 6 years old and they were hooked. Perhaps a bit scary for the younger one. Personally, I really enjoyed the look and feel of the film as well the interesting and quite emotional storyline. Much better than the standard Ice Age/Madagascar type schtick.
