By Marie Straub
In a future we have luckily yet to reach, part of earth floats above the planet, a supposed oasis away from the filth on the surface, which is probably where you would find my hypothetical self in this hypothetical reality. Metro City, the name of this hovering haven, is just a little too clean for me. This is where we meet the super-smart Toby Tenma, son of Dr Tenma, a legendary robotics scientist. Since, in Metro City, everyone is served by robots (alright, maybe I could enjoy that part) and most things get done by robots (even child-rearing), Tenma is a pretty important man. Toby looks set to follow in his dad’s footsteps until a freak accident – set off by the idiocy of villain-of-the-moment, President Stone – kills Toby. A devastated Tenma creates a robot replica of his lost son, and even programmes it with Toby’s memories (yes, a bit of a creepy concept). At first, the little replica has no idea that he is a robot. Replica Toby is devastated when his father rejects him, having realised that he cannot replace his son. A rejected Toby, soon to be re-named Astro by a group of robot misfits called the ‘Robot Revolutionary Front’ (a few laughs to be had here over a diabolical plan involving tickle torture), goes on a journey of self-discovery, which will take him down to earth’s surface. All the while, he is hotly pursued by the dictator-like President Stone, who is trying to guarantee re-election in Metro City by starting an unnecessary war with those on the surface (George Bush, anyone?). To achieve this, he needs Astro’s power source – he wants to use it to power his big weapon-robot-thing, ironically named ‘The Peacekeeper’.
The story has great potential, and with an astonishing cast including Freddie Highmore (of
Finding Neverland fame) as Astro; Kristen Bell (
Veronica Mars, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) providing a great Cora, Astro’s friend from the surface; alongside the legendary Bill Nighy; Nathan Lane (voice of Timon from
The Lion King); Donald Sutherland (voicing the evil President Stone); and Nicolas Cage as the Dr Tenma, this film could have amounted to a lot more.
There are animated films which thrill everyone from age 3 to 65+, but
Astro Boy is not on that list. It’s sweet enough, but this is one you’re going to want to convince the kids to watch on video so you don’t have to be in the room with them. The script falls short of the kind of wit that animated films like this need to appeal to all ages, and is without the jokes that go over the heads of the popcorn-guzzling nine-year-olds to tickle the funny bones of their popcorn-buying elders. Even so, perhaps
Astro Boy’s discovery that he has a machine gun in each butt-cheek – such a useful place to aim from – deserves a small mention in the “may provoke the odd giggle” category.
In the end, director David Bowers, has played it a bit too safe for my liking. The film has a lot of potential for darkness – it kicks off with a kid getting killed and his dad replacing him with a robot replica, after all. Obviously, one cannot engage with gory details in a children’s film, but the film glosses over it in a candyfloss manner. Children can handle a little darkness, just ask Roald Dahl – and this film really needs some. Evil President Stone seems more over-the-top caricature than credible villain. Instead of the fantastic middle-ground found in films like
The Incredibles – where Syndrome is both threatening and an often entertaining joke, President Stone is just not funny. It’s not just him either - attempts at wit often fall short, with a number of jokes not taking off at all. It’s also a little heavy-handed for adults – featuring such subtleties as “pure positive energy” and “pure negative energy”, because we all know things are just that simple.
It’s hard to judge what children will like, although I do think this film has underestimated them somewhat, I predict that Astro Boy will score two-and-a-half stars in most adults’ books and three-and-a-half for those under-12. After all, what kid doesn’t like the idea of rockets under their feet enabling them to soar through the air, and beating bad guys with the bullets they unleash from their butts?
Astro Boy is at cinemas from 4 December.