Overall Rating:
Score: 7.8/10
Grade: B
Family-Friendliness Rating: Level 4 (Great)
Kids ages 7+
Toby feels like his Dad is too busy to spend time with him. Haven't we all felt that way? And unfortunately, the statement "curiosity kills the cat" is taken quite literally here...
Based on the famous cartoon and comic books, this animated adaptation tells the story of Toby (Freddie Highmore), a 13-year old boy who excels in his studies and wants to be like his dad, Dr. Tenma (Nicolas Cage). But after sneaking into the Ministry of Science, he accidentally gets killed by his Dad's experiment, the Peacekeeper. Eager to bring his son back, Tenma builds a robotic replica of Toby, much to the dismay of the Metro City President Stone (Donald Sutherland). But after a while, Tenma realizes that the robot's personality differs in some way from Toby's. Upon finding out that he is now a robot and not a human, Toby flies away from home and seeks refuge on the surface (Metro City is a floating city in the sky), where he meets Cora (Kristen Bell) and other orphans raised by a robot slave-driver named Hamegg (Nathan Lane).
Positive Notes
As a fan of some action-themed animation such as Legend of the Guardians and How To Train Your Dragon, it was the reason why I own it today. Watching the film, I was surprised that it wasn't released in 3-D, because the effects would have been very good in that format. And while the animation isn't as complex as those two titles, its' still very impressive coming from a company who has had little experience in animation (Summit Entertainment through Imagi Studios).
In terms of story quality, it has some good morals on family, fatherhood, friendship, bravery, and self-sacrifice. Toby/Astro Boy has a true heart of a hero, and would do anything to save his friends and Metro City. His dad is sophisticated, but he learns to accept his creation the way he is.
Other than that, the cast is great, with Highmore, Bell, and Cage bringing great emotion and sincerity to Toby, Cora, and Tenma, as well as the nice beginning narration by Charlize Theron. Other notable actors are Lane (who was reminiscent of Timon from The Lion King movies) as well as Madeline Carroll (The Spy Next Door, Mr. Popper's Penguins) and Moises Arias (Hannah Montana).
Negative Notes
The film sports superhero-style action violence. And while its' cartoonish and bloodless, it still may be a bit too intense for younger viewers to handle (probably the most upsetting would be when one of the main characters is killed off-screen). The PG rating does include "brief mild language", but the dialogue only goes as far as one or two misuses of God's name, along with one or two uses of "jeez" and "freakin". Some childish name-calling.
A couple of brief statements about "leaking oil" references toilet humor and there are a couple of negative examples on Cora running away from home and Toby disobeying his father.
Conclusion
The internationally popular comic may not be remembered well in America. And if you look at things in retrospect, Astro Boy's update for the 21st century is, at times, a bit of a homage to Marvel's superhero films of the last decade. But there's more to this animated flick than looking at it from that perspective.
A lot of kids these days watch the Marvel superhero films, and while they're nicely crafted and I think some of them are good movies, they carry intense violence, blood-shed, some mild profanity and even a bit of suggestive content that parents normally would shake their heads at. This, on the other hand, clearly avoids just about all of those problems that parents would be concerned about. Sure, the animated-style violence might scare the kindergarten crowd, but for second and third graders, this is a great alternative.
Kid-friendly lessons and very little rust in the machine makes Astro Boy a good action flick that will excite both kids and parents.
