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Review: Astro Boy

By Common Sense Media - Fri Oct 30, 2009 5:42pm PDT
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Action-packed adventure a fun bet for young superhero fans.

See trailers and clips from "Astro Boy."

"Astro Boy" chronicles the adventures of a weaponized robot (voiced by Freddie Highmore) created by grieving scientist Dr. Tenma (Nicolas Cage) in the exact likeness of his deceased son, Toby. The distraught scientist, whose son died during a dangerous demonstration for Metro City's war-mongering General Stone (Donald Sutherland), allows Astro Boy to believe that he's really Toby ... until the boy accidentally falls out of a window and realizes he can fly.

Escaping from a now-remorseful Dr. Tenma before he can shut him down, Astro Boy lands in the "garbage heap" below Metro City that is the over-polluted Earth. He runs into a band of orphans led by Cora (Kristen Bell) and Sludge (Moises Arias), who live with Ham Egg (Nathan Lane), a seemingly kind pseudo-adoptive father who runs a Coliseum-like show where robots battle to the death. When Astro Boy is outed as a robot, he must fight for his life again -- and summon the courage to save everyone from General Stone's nefarious plans to start a bloody war.

Director David Bowers ("Flushed Away") isn't revolutionary in his approach to animation, but he has a keen eye for action sequences and for capturing the comedy and tragedy of a robot who thinks he's a boy who realizes he's a superhero.

Highmore has the perfectly sweet, emotive voice to play Astro Boy, and Cage sounds appropriately haunted as Dr. Tenma, who really just wants his son back. The scene-stealers are Sutherland and Lane, both of whom provide the movie's laughs by playing their characters as amusing and incredibly twisted egomaniacs.

Equal parts "AI," "Pinocchio," and "WALL-E," "Astro Boy" strongly recalls each with its themes of a robot clone made for a grieving parent, an artificial boy wanting to become real, and the scary prospect of a future in which Earth becomes nearly uninhabitable and people must live somewhere else completely dependent on technology. But kids will be mostly unaware of these heavier themes, except for those who understand the obvious allusion to "Pinocchio."

Older viewers will get a kick out of the deceitful, hawkish General Stone, whose campaign slogans ("It's Not Time for Change") and outright desire for war are reminiscent of George C. Scott's General Turgidson in "Dr. Strangelove." "Astro Boy" may not launch a thousand sequels, but its humor and boy-friendly superhero premise make for an entertaining diversion.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this animated robot superhero adventure based on the 1960s anime series "Astro Boy" is age-appropriate for elementary-schoolers.

It has fairly sophisticated themes (grief, loss, and war), as well as plenty of cartoon action violence -- including the death of a child, the destruction of several robots, explosions, and robots armed with heavy artillery. But language is limited to mild insults like "idiot," and there's no product placement to worry about.

A war-obsessed military man is presented as a humorously negative character; on the opposite end of the political spectrum is a trio of revolutionary robots who call each other "comrade" and have a poster of Lenin in their meeting place.

Families Can Talk About

Families can talk about how Astro Boy compares to other superheroes. He's created as a robot with special powers, rather than born or accidentally transformed. How does Astro Boy accept (as Spider-Man says) that with great power comes great responsibility?

Do you think the movie's more mature themes will resonate with kids? What other movies touch on issues related to technology, pollution, war, and the like? Is this appropriate material for a kids' movie?

How is Toby's death handled? Many children's movies feature the death of a parent, but it's rare for the death of a child to be included. Kids: Would you have preferred for Toby to be transformed into Astro Boy rather than die?

Studio: Summit Entertainment Director: David Bowers Cast: Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson, Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell Genre: Family and Kids Run time: 94 minutes
Theatrical release: 10/23/2009 MPAA rating: PG MPAA explanation: some action and peril, and brief mild language

Reviewed by Sandie Angulo Chen.

See more about "Astro Boy" at Common Sense Media.

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Other Parents Say…

Showing 1-5 Comments of 5

Posted by Tivona Mon Nov 2, 2009 8:59am PST

I'm not usually one to urge people to boycott something I don't like. I try to reserve that for the super serious issues, and keep the attitude that for the average stuff, "to each his own". But as a fellow parent, I would be grossly remiss to not warn you to at least THINK TWICE before taking your kids to see the movie ASTRO BOY! Most of us with small kids don't get to go to the movies often anyway, but every now and then a good animated film is advertised, captures our kids' attention and seems worth the risk to attempt a trip to the cinema. My kids are usually great at theatres, so when a fun cartoon comes out we jump at the chance to see it and get some movie-theatre popcorn. So was the case with Astro Boy. My warning to you is that this movie is highly inappropriate for young children. It was deceivingly advertised and marketed to young kids. Firstly, it's a cartoon, with a kinda bubbly animation form that usually translates to "safe for kids" content. Secondly, it's about a kid. Thirdly, they pushed it at little kids with Astro Boy toys in HappyMeals (those are for young kids, right) But most importantly, it got a PG rating. And it really is not for kids. WHAT'S INAPPROPRIATE ABOUT ASTRO BOY? In a nutshell: -There is a ton of GUN violence -The words "kill" and "die" and "dead" are said constantly throughout -The young star of the film is KILLED in the first 15 minutes of the movie. (it's an explict scene as he cries to his father to save him) -It's full of abuse, neglect, and violence towards children or child-like characters. -The fight scenes are long, scary, and gruesome -There's a ton of political messaging I'm assuming this movie managed to get a PG rating because, technically, there is no explicit foul language, nudity, or sex. But it baffles me because there is a great deal of explicit violence that is very scary for young children. And since when did kid's movies replace moral messages with political ones? I know that sometimes, there's a gray area between the two, but this movie was clearly more political than moral. And despite what my own political opinions may be, I don't want political innuendo constantly reiterated (literally over and over) to my 3 year old during a cartoon. I want my kids to be happy-go-lucky little kids for quite a while longer. It was uncomfortable for me to watch this movie with my kids, and by the end, my 3 year-old was wailing. His heart was heavy, he was sad and scared, and saying he did not like this movie. It was sad without being redeeming and violent without being exciting. Now, personally I'm a free spirit who feels that all forms of entertaiment have a place, because no one brand of entertainment fits all people. Again, I have always had a "to each his own" view of this, and still do, even with regards to this film. I believe it's a parents responsiblity to protect their own children from inappropriate content in media and elsewhere. And in that spirit, that's what I tried to do. Ideally, I would have spent the (excessive) $11.00 for a movie ticket (and 2 hours of my life) to go the the movie by myself and pre-screen it before taking my children, to make sure it was appropriate. But, is that realistic? No! Instead, I did the best I could as a parent (who had already had this movie over-marketed to my 3-year-old before I even knew about), I read the summary, I read reviews, and I looked at the rating. None of which gave any clue of the violence or death contained in the movie. So after being begged by a kid who had recieved an Astro Boy toy with his Happy Meal, and saw commericials that did not hint to any of the violence, I spent $50 to take my family of 4 to an early matinee. And so that's why I'm writing this message, now. As parents we need to look out for eachother, right? When product marketing becomes our nemesis, when rating systems fail us, and when reality just does not allow for us to "pre-screen" everything, we need the help of fellow parents! It's why we band together for mom's clubs and playdates, and why we give recommendations on everything from car seats to cribs. I wish someone had warned me about this movie before I traumatized my own kids with a so-called "treat to the theatre." Unfortunately, my husband and I both think that this "mis-rating" of movies is a growing trend. Since animated movies tend to do better in the box offices, it seems like producers are pushing through "adult" themed movies in animated form. Maybe I'll just have to start doing that $11 self-screening, afterall. Having said all this, I'm not advising anyone NOT to see it, I'm just warning you to think twice before you take your kid(s).

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Posted by Yabadabadoo Thu Nov 5, 2009 8:41am PST

I understand your feelings about Astro boy but have you seen some of the other stuff on TV that kids are exposed to?! If you really want something your kids will love then Check out the book The Adventures of Charlz from Marz. I came across it and let me tell you that my kids love it so much, they will not put it down.

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Posted by eparkstx Sun Nov 15, 2009 5:16pm PST

I just took my daughter to see this movie and I am totally disappointed by what I saw. The dad was completely unsupportive and the child died three times. Twice was the dads fault. It was a terrible picture and had my daughter crying. I would not recommend this movie to anyone and we definitely will not purchase this one when it comes out on DVD.

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Posted by kaycee Tue Nov 17, 2009 5:37am PST

my only

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