By Daniel Nasserian Jul 10, 2008, 1:59 GMT
During my visit to the 2008 Anime Expo last weekend, which was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, I had the privilege of meeting with director David Bowers and producer Maryann Garger of the upcoming film "Astro Boy."
If you think you may have heard of "Astro Boy" before then you aren’t losing your mind.
Astro Boy was first created in the 1950s by Osamu Tezuka and has endured amazing success as both an Anime and a Manga. Astro Boy is the story of a futuristic world where robots and humans live together.
When a scientist creates a robot in memoriam to his lost son, things don’t go according to plan and the “grieving father” rejects his new creation causing him to run away in search of acceptance and adventure.
While at Imagi’s booth at Anime Expo 2008, I was able to chat a bit with Bowers and Garger about their reimagining of Astro Boy. The first notable difference between the original Astro Boy and the upcoming film is the artwork.
“The film is set around beautiful environments and will be primarily CGI,” Bowers explained. Imagi, who was the animation studio behind the recent film TMNT, displayed some of the early artwork at their booth and so far it certainly shows potential.
Another promising feature of the movie is the cast. "Astro Boy" will feature the voice talents of Nicholas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Bill Nighy, Nathan Lane, Eugene Levy, and Freddie Highmore. A lineup that could only be describe by Bowers and Garger as a “great cast”.
One of the things that tend to worry me when a film is remade is if it will isolate new fans or old fans. "Astro Boy," however, has a strong story that anybody can appreciate. It looks to be true to the original but welcoming to new fans at the same time.
“Astro Boy is a movie anyone can relate to,” Garger said, “it’s an amazing journey that is charming, humorous, and will keep people coming back.” Bowers described it as “a great sci-fi film full of action and adventure that also has a story you can invest in.”
As someone who has never really got in to "Astro Boy" in the past, I can honestly say the more I learn about it, the more excited I am for this release. They have taken a strong existing storyline and updated with beautiful artwork and animation.
The film is currently still in production but is due for release sometime next year. Whether you are a fan of the original or a newcomer like me, it seems to be a feature that will be enjoyed by all.
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