Opinions of the CGI 09 Movie

[Ghost]

Okay, well I think there may be another thread about this. But I think reviving a dead thread is frowned apon so I think it would be safe to just make a new thread. I guess you could call this a review but I just wanted to get my opinion of the movie out of the way and I would like to hear other people's thoughts on this as well. Now one thing that I will give this credit for was that it brought the entire Astro Boy series to my attention, I am currently 15 turning 16 in January and I was 14 when the 09 movie came out. After seeing a trailer for this movie in August of 2009, I slowly became interested in this series. I even hated anime at this time, I was basically a 14 year old metal head gamer who loved action movies and hated cartoons and anything "kiddie". I saw the 03 series and loved the plot and I was surprised on how dark Astro's origin was. By the time the movie was out I was eventually fell in love with the entire series and character. When I saw the movie my reaction was a little bit of disappointment. Now the movie had really good animation, Astro Boy did look fine in this movie although people have said that he looked "Americanized". I didn't mind his look in the movie, I didn't like how Tenma and O'shay looked in the movie. The soundtrack was also solid I thought. Nicolas Cage wasn't that great as Tenma and wasn't really in character (I think Cage was in Debt to the IRS at the time of the movie, I personally think part of the reason why he didn't even try to act was because he was just doing the part to get money.) I really didn't understand why they had to add the whole Metro being in the sky and surface war thing. Cora I thought was an interesting character, but every other characters like Zane, The two little twins (I forget their names) and trashcan I didn't care for, and they also made Hamegg look a little bit like a Pedo in that movie IMO. The whole robots struggle with humans being a joke kinda made me a little bit angry I will admit. The whole blue core thing was unoriginal IMO. But what was by far MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT with the movie was President Stone. This guy was by far the Worst Villain I have ever seen in a movie. He was annoying, too cocky, too stupid and very annoying. This man killed the movie. Overall it was below average. However saying that the movie was horrific and killed the Astro Boy name, is going a little far. It wasn't that bad but some people would disagree, it wasn't on the same suck level as other bad franchise movies like Dragonball Evolution & Speed Racer. I just see this movie as a dull woman. She dresses nice, looks pretty; but when you get to know the girl, she's just an empty husk. Now what I absolutely do not understand is that DBE is getting a sequel, as most people that saw the movie will tell you that movie was beyond terrible. The live action Dragon Ball adaptation has received a very large amount of negative reviews, everyone hated it but yet it sill gets a sequel? But the AB movie was better. Not great, but better doesn't get a sequel . Just mind boggling. I think it's because now in America DBZ is currently more popular than Astro Boy ATM. Astro Boy doesn't get a sequel, but Dragon Ball Evolution does? But there is one question that has been in my mind for almost a year now. What will happen to Astro Boy now? Will there be another movie?(Although this is very unlikely) Will there be another series? Or will the series die in America? I really hope that there will be another series. I honestly could care less if a sequel to the CG is made. Now we wait for the Pluto movie on the horizon, hopefully Hollywood does not mess up the Pluto movie. What are your opinions of this?

[Alittleacorn]

Let me tell you how things work in the film business...

Money.

Astro Boy didn't get enough at box office because of poor advertising. Dragon Ball Evolution despite not being good got a Gross Revenue of $57,497,699, the budget for the film being $30 million.

Astro Boy meanwhile had a budget of $65 million but only got a Gross Revenue of $44,093,014

Films need profit for a sequel, if there is no profit then what reasons will the film makers have to make one? They won't take a risk in doing a sequel that might make them loss more cash that they don't have. If it's ever happened, then i've yet to find it.

It doesn't matter how many people say liked the film or they became fan of the series from watching it. At the end of it all, it's money that decides everything, wheither the film makers did it for Astro Boy or not.

Don't take my harsh outlook as one of criticism. I love the film a lot. I don't care if it's not Tezuka made and I don't care if it doesn't stand true to the original series, it's still my favourite that I wish Tezuka HAD played a part, maybe he would've made the story something even greater...and would never have let President Stone come into existence

The fact Tezuka Productions are doing a Pluto film is a good sign, that they're taking another shot at bringing Astro Boy over to the U.S. if that goes down well, then there might be a chance of a CGI sequel happening, maybe.

Despite the few things that could've run different, I love the film and I don't want to see another Astro Boy adaptation replacing it just yet. I liked the new Astro they created in it, having him older was a good idea because it made him easier to relate to, and I like the universe he was housed in. I want to see a new chapter to that, what else could be in store. The whole film was about Astro becoming Astro Boy, and he did right at the end, but what comes after that? The story just feels unfinished leaving it as it is. Even if it was a direct to dvd release I wouldn't mind.

As for the characters Elefun was strong, though Tenma wasn't like the 03 Tenma he had differences to the other past Tenma's that I liked since the film's message is about family and he carried that well. Zane, Widget and Sludge could've done with more character development, but Cora wasn't so bad as a love interested (Astro's had so many over the 60 years) out of them all, to me she's the best, she wasn't invented as a damsel but a tough girl, somebody that could take care of themselve (because frankly seeing a women portrayed as a weak individual in flimsy clothes while the men are the lone tough fighters annoys stuffing out of me). I'm actually sad she's not an official character in the series because I'd love to see more of her and not some other future stand in's that are bound to crop up in the future.

But...you're right, it wasn't a bad film, I rarely can watch a film so many times as I have for this one. And if it weren't for this film I wouldn't be into the series now. I wish Tezuka Productions and Imagi could see the positive outcome from it and that they've done some good in their attempt to spread Astro to the world as Tezuka would've liked. They shouldn't go sweeping this one under the carpet, pretending it never happened. v_v

[CommanderEVE]

Also, I must say like what me and my friend where just talking about. Astro Boy isn't something you can sum up in one movie. That is why it's a series. Also I think they kept the theme almost intact but they gave it a different plot and story line. Also I have to agree with GhostATR that President Stone is the worst villain I have seen. He has nothing to do with the series. It would be interesting if they done a sequel to see where they would take it next, to give them a second chance. But like what Alittleacorn said, they haven't got the funding to do so.

Also I was quite shocked by some of the voice actors and how they changed the characters.

[Androids101]

Before I went to see the film, I have already pretty much seen both the '80 and '03 series. Those series were very great in terms of characters, plot and setting, and of course then the film came along and wiped all thoughts of the previous - better - Astro Boy from other people's heads. And it could be summed up in two words:
A disappointment .
First of all, lets get the main character out of the way. Astro. I did not like the way how the 'blue core energy' works; Astro has pretty much stuck with the same energy source for the entire series, and replacing it with another one doesn't seem right. Some parts of AstroBoy (I mean the series/movie itself, the main character should never be changed a lot), some don't. And I don't think that Astro's core is one of them.
I have seen that on this site many people have pointed out that Tenma looks like a 'walking skeleton with feathers'. And although not wrong ( ); this is one of the many issues that can happen when Anime is converted to CGI (2D to 3D). Just imagine that Tenma looks the same in CGI - huge tufts of hair. CGI characters tend to be more realistic (although slightly) in terms of hair-style or those other stuff. Plus, 3D images need shadow, shading and all those other stuff that sometimes can be 'skipped' in Anime. But that doesn't mean I liked the '09 Tenma, at first I was a bit shocked.
Okay, now, to be honest with you, I HATED the way they made Metro City look. Whats the big idea with a city high above the air? Was there anything like that previously? No, no, NO. They also changed how the buildings - no, not the buildings; everything looked to an extent that nothing about Astros residence is same any more.
I agree with everyone, I disliked President Stone. Although not the worst (CGI villians have a habit of sucking it real bad) I didn't like or enjoy it either, and like Sparkx said, there wasn't anything to do with the original series. Plus, IMAGI isn't even a large company, its an extremely small one and one that has only made 4 films. Founded in 2000. Of course they didn't they have money of advertise (you should have seen how many ads 'Despicable Me' from Universal Pictures advertised, it was shocking). Okay, fine, it wasn't that bad - there were still some ads on TV - but really, there just not letting enough people know.'
Astro is a anime person (and although converted to CGI, he still retains many anime features) and Cora is CGI. I mean, look at the difference at the size of their hands!

[Laughing Dragon]

Well, as I've mentioned here many times, I loved the movie. It reawakened my interest in Astro Boy, and IMO (straps on butt guts to keep the mob at bay while I run like hell) it's superior to any Astro Boy production that's come before. In his other incarnations, Astro's always left me a little cold. The idea of a scantily-clad robot child just didn't do it for me. But the 2009 movie won me over completely. It gave Astro a personality, a heart and angst that got my tears flowing. I really cared about him and rooted for him. That's something I didn't feel for the characters of the recent Disney film Tangled. I enjoyed it, but I didn't empathize with any of the characters. Yet Tangled is a modest hit and Astro missed the mark. That's show biz.

I agree that the movie had terrible advertising. Even friends of mine who were into Tezuka had no idea the movie was in theaters. And yes, President Stone, while possessing a great voice actor, was a pain in the butt. His obsession with getting elected, AND some of the political jokes, hurt the film in my opinion; they seemed yet another jab at President Bush, which alienated at least some moviegoers (not EVERYBODY voted for Obama! :rolleyes and in any case, political humor didn't belong in this film.

So the movie failed, but not because it wasn't good. It's very good. It just failed to find an audience, and I think Summit Entertainment, its distributor, is entirely to blame for that.

[Fairlane12]

Astro is a anime person (and although converted to CGI, he still retains many anime features) and Cora is CGI. I mean, look at the difference at the size of their hands!

I noticed that too

[Alittleacorn]

Nah they're not that-HOLY O_O



You can literally read the expression off her face, "Dude! His hands are HUGE!"

[Astronomical girl]

tall and thin people and short and stubby people are what we see in the movie Astro and the kids look perfect and Hamegg looks fine

[jeffbert]

I was really going to save this for my book, but I will share it here. I noted one really huge horrible problem with the 2009 film, & I suppose others may also have noted it.

Toby is depicted as a 14 year old child prodigy; at that age, calculus is usually a rare subject of study, but he had mastered it. He is brilliant, but foolish. While these traits are not necessarily incompatible, F Ladd felt it necessary to add narration to the #001 episode to state that the cars drove themselves because people would not have much empathy for one who does a foolish thing. Yet, the '09 film made Toby qualify for the DUMB KID AWARD, & THE DARWIN AWARD.

He was so bright, but so very foolish as to step in front of the console that the adults were all standing behind, just to get a better view of robots fighting to the death. Laser blasts flying hither & thither, he still stepped into the arena. He deserved to be vaporized. There, I said it, so hate me if you must.


Another thing is that Tezuka stated that when he depicted Atom as more mature, he lost readers. Keeping him a little boy was required for his popularity. Look at Arale & Goku; they are both little kids, though Goku does mature a bit as DRAGON BALL progresses. But is is still a short, round boy, though apparently 15 at the time of his 2nd tournament. I think that AI would have done better if David were portrayed by a younger boy. His appearance did not match his behavior. He appeared to be at least 12, maybe 13, but he believed in the BLUE FAIRY. As good an actor as he was, that boy was not right for that role. irate:

[Dr. Jerk]

I was really going to save this for my book,

Off-topic but, I've heard about your book while lurking on TiE. How's that coming along since?

Back on topic, I'm pretty sure several people here already know my opinions on the 2009 film, but I guess I'll say it again...

It was decent, and somewhat enjoyable. But that's really about it. It wasn't great, but it was decent enough for a nice watch for the least. I of course am not fond of the changes to the story and the character designs either. I admit that I introduced myself to Tetsuwan Atom with this movie first, but I had educated myself on the franchise just before seeing the movie, and thus was able to notice the changes they made that I felt were unnecessary, and made more observations afterward. Even some of the smaller things had bugged me, such as, why did Ham Egg have to be all fat? Etc.

There's several changes that I found to be annoyances, but I cannot list them all. One of the biggies for me was that they pretty much dumped Tamao, Shibugaki (is that his name? I keep forgetting it...) and Kenichi in favor of the new kids whose designs and personalities I felt were lacking. Also the fact by how American'ized everything felt was also quite bothersome for me.

But otherwise, it's decent, it's watchable. It's something that I can stand watching again, but I definitely will always prefer the other series in comparison to this one.

The only other positive side to it that I can see, was that it kinda revived the franchise here in America, and got some new fans in the process.