AstroBoy Online Forums

Now I understand!
What happened to Astroboy the movie! Those that made it knew nothing of Hollywood magic! Thus they could not get an american audience! They had the money but not the knowledge of american Psyche! They pasturized and purified Astro right out of pop culture! It's like they never played a video game or saw "Night of the living dead" or sat through a Chris Lee Dracula movie or never saw a schlock movie poster and waited for a movie to come out based on a poster! Like they never worked the theaters! Never saw "Creature from the black lagoon" chase a girl! Or any monster chase a girl! "Green slime" "The Blob" or any movie violence! Since they never went to any Sci fi or horror movies or played any violent video games, Doom,L4D, zombies,etc... They have no connection with todays youth! Except forced thought control like in school situations! So they could never get a hollywood educated audience to pay attention! Not Roger Cormans and Wm Castles and Vincent Prices and Clive Barkers fans anyway! And that's the entire Sci Fi audience!They can't make a monster! They dare not scare anyone. And maybe that's because they are scared themselves and they can't scare anybody, they don't know how! It's an ART!
The foundation is the Great 1950's directors! Columbia,Jack Arnold...


Notice the schlock theme? Without this you waste your production budget...
NO box office....
Now I understand why they made no Hollywood impact! How could they? It's a subject they know nothing about! They're teachers and Psychologists trying to work in a field that they know not. They want an end to schlock horror and violence! It will never happen! Astro's popularity in the 60's america was based on Violence. The opening scenes of Astroboy were some of the most violent ever seen on childrens tv... But I bet these have never sat through any Sci fi or Horror movie and have no knowledge of what it takes to make a film work in Hollywood.
Whattaya think?
Dare I go into more details? Corman? Ya can't make a movie Like I intend to make, without a nod to what Roger Corman taught us as children about sci fi!
Ever see "Robot Monster?" Not Corman but have you seen it?
The poster...?

hi- please those monsters are scary- giant spider- creature from black lagoon- while astroboy was a cute robot boy who was sweet and cute- and also tough too- he is too good for hollywood

"avatargirl" wrote:hi- please those monsters are scary- giant spider- creature from black lagoon- while astroboy was a cute robot boy who was sweet and cute- and also tough too- he is too good for hollywood

Those are the most innocent Hollywood monsters of all! OMG! If one cannot understand or grasp these simple sci fi metaphors (ie The Spider is a book of the Koran, and enemy from space deals with the Petrochemical industry and shell oil and the arabian influence, the food is also a book of the koran) then one would have no understanding of Sci fi's hidden higher meaning of the human social condition. Sci fi must have a deeper meaning then romance and childrens pattycake to be viable with it's audience. Subject matter must be taboo to the thought control police or it will be ignored. Sci fi deals with racism and sexism and all taboo subjects in an metaphor, that's what makes it great! Star trek? But one cannot live his life afraid so Horror has it's roots in making children not afraid through conditioning. Those not conditions will faint away at the first sign of fear! Frankenstein will scare them witless..
Let alone the daily news.
In the film there is no tentacle or claw on the girl Cora...
Astro does not smash a single human....
And Astro does not rescue Cora but Cora rescues Astro....
Thus no magic...
No Hollywood Box Office.... Film production company ruined and defunct run into the ground by Political correctness and yik yak!
Girl is drawn as sexy as a twig.... Result, no box office animation studio self destruct....
Now I see what not to do.

So you're saying it's too politically correct.

Or that every good movie needs a damsel in distress.

"Xenops" wrote:So you're saying it's too politically correct. Or that every good movie needs a damsel in distress.

Well to be heroic yes.... I know it's a cliche, but it holds true... Here is scene from Star Wars return of the Jedi.... Should this be banned in the future? Anyone offended by the imagry? Toooo Risque? Demeaning to women and girls? Toooo suggestive?

Here is an image that Lucas used...
Monster has girl... And here is the poster from the Roger Corman classic...

Now this was removed because Astroforever thought the tentacle was wrongly placed...
This poster made the movie a Hit! The movie was rated G. It's a harmless sea moster movie. Post war.
Compare the monster design to the Artificial sun at the end of Astroboy.

Compare to the cyclops Alien intelligence from "Atomic Submarine"

And here is the finish

OMG! Who is offended?
Without revealing any seacret take a dollar from yoiur pocket and look at the pyramid with the eye....

I've read about the points Cybotron is making. Another movie filled with all kinds of political/social allegory is the Wizard of Oz (and Gulliver's Travels, and Alice in Wonderland).

We might be enjoying the stories from a different perspective - but it's not unusual for literature ("pop" or otherwise) to cloak messages and have various characters and villians represent our real-life "scary monsters."

Interesting point about Cora -- heck, Dr. Tezuka "designed" Nikki/Nuka (the "Nuke") and SHE'S more curvy than poor Cora!! One could also say she looks a bit like Astro in a wig!

As for the saving -- they kinda save each other back and forth, don't you think?

"AprilSeven" wrote:I've read about the points Cybotron is making. Another movie filled with all kinds of political/social allegory is the Wizard of Oz (and Gulliver's Travels, and Alice in Wonderland).

We might be enjoying the stories from a different perspective - but it's not unusual for literature ("pop" or otherwise) to cloak messages and have various characters and villians represent our real-life "scary monsters."

Interesting point about Cora -- heck, Dr. Tezuka "designed" Nikki/Nuka (the "Nuke") and SHE'S more curvy than poor Cora!! One could also say she looks a bit like Astro in a wig!

As for the saving -- they kinda save each other back and forth, don't you think?

They censored this...
They're not sci fi people. They ruined Astroboy...
But we have Pluto coming. They will find no joy in that...
I mean this theme is basic Judeochristian allegory. Beast from the sea. They all are. And Tezuka san knew and used it many times! All beast from the sea Rev 13 metaphor! Post WW2!!
Come on guys! The tentacle is placed wrong?
I am not rebelling against Mods....
But You'll never get boys as a gestalt to watch an action hero in a sci fi movie without knowing how to make an action hero. all this cuteness. Astroboy was the most violent cartoon since Popeye. It was designed that way because Tezuka san had knowledge of what it took to get an audience of boys watching!
They went PC they went out of business. Bawdy tentacle I don't think so.
Whattaya think guys?

I’ve heard people refer to Astro Boy as violent, but I didn’t see Astro as violent – only reacting to the violence done to him with the power he was given.

Actually he always struck me as a very pure-hearted being of faith in good, who suffered deeply inside, but was only desiring of peace and understanding. A “Pollyanna” outlook, but he appealed to the part of me that felt helpless as a child, and even now, as an adult (when hurtful, unfair things happen) – I summon my “inner Astro” and imagine how much better I’d feel if I were packin’ 100,000hp.

Oh, wait – that IS kinda violent! Okay, he's POTENTIALLY violent - but only in defense!

In the movie he was not allowed to strike a single human! Not one!
But in the tv show he whopped humans from start to finish!

I just added Monster from the Ocean Floor to my NF queue!

I went to the Smithsonian's Air & Space museum by pure chance, when it had the STAR TREK exhibit. I was a bit disappointed to see the emphasis was not on the science, the props, sets, etc., but on the politics. Yes, myth & scifi have been used to convey messages and propaganda from the very start. I missed the whole point at the time, but now I easily see it.