Bat-Fan, I'm going to merge your comment with the existing talkback thread for Astro Boy since your post is just a comment on the movie and not on the actual DVD/Blu-Ray content.
As for my own comments on the film...
I watched it -- very appropriately -- on my flight to Japan for a two-week trip earlier this month.
I can't say that it was "wonderful" or that I "loved it" but I did find it entertaining and I thought it was visually interesting. But there are some flaws in theme, plot and characterization (as detailed by rabroad's review) which were hard for me as an animation fan and critic to overlook. However, it doesn't suck because it does have its moments and as I said I did find it entertaining, but they could have taken a few pages from Pixar on how to make a CG film high-qual on all levels...especially paying closer attention to characterization. They could have also cut the unnecessary political crap.
And Maxie's review doesn't mention what I felt were flaws in the casting choices. Nic Cage's performance mostly falls flat, although I'll grant he does have some nice emotional moments. However, the fact that it's Cage's voice is distracting for the entire movie -- every time Dr. Tenma opened his mouth to speak, Cage's voice pulled me out of the film. If you've ready any interviews with Cage between G-Force and Astro Boy, he idolizes Mel Blanc and I believe he wants to do more voice acting for cartoons, but IMO he just doesn't have the chops or the skill to be anything more than himself as a voice actor (without proper training). I thought he was a really poor choice to voice Tenma.
And while Donald Sutherland has portrayed many a memorable villain in his career, the character he's playing in Astro Boy is too one-dimensional and predictable and unfortunately it doesn't give Sutherland much to work with.
I can't say it's a "great" film by any means, but I did think it was at least marginally above average. It's worth a rental whether you're an anime fan or just a fan of animation.
I plan to watch it again on a screen larger than 6 inches on the back of a plane seat, and in more comfortable surroundings as well.
Bookmarks