What Went Wrong: Astro Boy
By Shalimar Sahota
January 17, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com
The creation of Osamu Tezuka (often cited as “the father of manga”), Astro Boy started out as a manga in Japan in 1952, eventually becoming a popular anime series from 1963. Over the years the popularity of the character saw an array of merchandise. A remake of the series hit TV screens in 1980 and again in 2003. Sold to networks around the world, Astro Boy was kept fresh in people’s minds with reruns catering to later generations.
In September 2006, Imagi Animation Studios announced that they would be bringing an animated Astro Boy film to the big screen. Hong Kong based, Imagi also had a studio in L.A. Proof that they could contend with the bigger animated studios came with the release of their film TMNT. Released in 2007, even though it didn’t fare well with the critics it still managed to earn $95 million worldwide against a budget of $34 million.
With their next film. the idea was to bring Astro Boy to a new generation and in January 2008 David Bowers was announced as the director. He had previously helmed the critically acclaimed Flushed Away and as soon as he heard that an Astro Boy film was in development he began trying to find out about it. According to Bowers, he actually visited Imagi and during a chance meeting with producer Maryann Garger (whom he had worked with on Flushed Away) noticed that they had Astro Boy there. Osamu Tezuka’s son, Macoto was also onboard as a creative consultant.
In June 2008 came the news that Summit Entertainment would distribute Astro Boy in the US and a few months later in September they announced that it would open on October 23, 2009. However, it wasn’t long before a number of countries were starting to complain about how their credit was so crunched. In November 2008, financing fell through, resulting in a risk that Astro Boy would be cancelled and those working on the film would lose their jobs. Rather then upset their animators, Imagi just didn’t tell them and waited for a bridge loan to see them through the new year. Unfortunately this failed to materialize.
In January 2009, it was reported that animators at Imagi’s L.A. studio were being called to not come into work. They didn’t want to have their staff turn up only to not pay them. Last minute funding from new and existing investors saw Imagi secure $25 million and by February “most” of the animators were called back to work, but they now had to rush to finish the film in time for release.
Set in the future, a good chunk of humanity has left the Earth and taken refuge in Metro City, a metropolis in the sky where humans have robots seeing to their every need. It’s all thanks to the work of the incredible Dr. Tenma (Nicholas Cage). His bright son Toby (Freddie Highmore) visits his father at the Ministry of Science where he demonstrates a new robot for President Stone (Donald Sutherland) known as The Peacekeeper. Unfortunately Stone powers the robot with an unstable red core, which causes it to go out of control, accidentally killing Toby in the process. Grief stricken, Tenma works in creating a robot that looks and shares the memories of his son, as well as incorporating an advanced defence system to make sure he doesn’t lose him again. Powered with a blue core, the robot comes to life and slowly realizes that he is more than just a boy, taking on the name Astro Boy.
The film came in at a cost of $65 million. Imagi’s financial situation meant that it had to succeed. Before arriving in America it opened in Japan on October 10, 2009 and charted at #10! It earned a little over $860,000 during its run. If a film featuring an iconic character is not well received in its country of origin then something has gone seriously wrong. Astro Boy opened in the US on October 23, 2009 and the wrongness continued after it reached #6 with an opening weekend take of $6.7 million. The film was lost amid the buzz surrounding Paranormal Activity and Saw VI. Spending just three weeks in the US top ten it earned $19.5 million during its run. Overseas grosses were also lackluster, earning just $20.3 million. A total worldwide gross of $39.8 million meant that the film had flopped.
The mixed reviews were marginally better than TMNT, but certainly not bad enough to warrant such a low gross. Yet there are things wrong with the film. There’s a decent cast of actors, but some of them sound ill suited to their roles. Weirdly Freddie Highmore as Toby/Astro Boy sounds a little too old, while Nicholas Cage and Donald Sutherland sound bored.
President Stone turns out to be the main villain and is just plain awful. As a bossy idiot running for re-election, things are either his way or not at all. He goes against the advice of everyone around him and uses the red core to power The Peacekeeper robot, which eventually ends up trashing Metro City. It also seems weird that people would retreat to Metro City, since the Earth’s depiction later in the film isn’t even all that bad.
There are a few cool humorous touches. One of the trailers had already managed to turn a few people off after it concluded with Astro firing machine guns from his butt. Henchmen have visors that display actions and emotions, and a chainsaw becomes a perfect gift for a sweet little girl. However some of the humor is obviously aimed at adults. A trio of robots calling themselves the Robot Revolutionary Front ask Astro if he is exempt from the Laws of Robotics and also happen to have posters of Lenin and Trotsky in their hideout. After Tenma talks about losing his son and replacing him, President Stone briefly consoles him, saying, “I hate losing too. You want proof of that you can ask any of my wives.”
There are the odd few moments alluding to what it is that defines being human, but it simply isn’t going to go any deeper. Interestingly the story does have shades of the anime film Metropolis, which is also based on a manga by Osamu Tezuka. That film (which Bowers must have viewed) was a little more serious, with the main character being a robot, Tima, who truly believes that she is human.
The CG animation is good enough, though one wonders if maybe audiences were put off by the retro look of the title character. The overly cute big eyes and slick hair probably even looked too childish for most kids, giving off a somewhat cheap and predictable vibe. Astro Boy was not cheap, but predictable, yes.
This was a film that felt like it was going through the motions rather than adding its own unique spin. Just one look at the poster and you can already see exactly how this is going to play. We find out that Astro has super strength and can fly. He is rejected by his creator, he makes friends with humans, he defeats the villain and saves the day. Aside from the iconic title character himself, there is nothing overly distinctive that makes Astro Boy stand out from those films of its ilk. As an origin story, the first half of the film sticks close to the source. While it deserves to be praised for this, it could also be seen as part of the problem, with the timing of an Astro Boy film probably suffering a strange circle of misfortune.
If it wasn’t for the success of the original anime, then a good chunk of the anime series people know and love today might not have existed. Astro Boy’s influence can also be found in the likes of Transformers and more recent series such as Robotboy (blatantly) and My Life as a Teenage Robot. One could argue that by the time the Astro Boy film had come around it had simply been overshadowed by similar films and series that the original anime had helped inspire. If kids are already enjoying a similar premise on TV, then what is Astro Boy offering that’ll make them want to view it on the big screen?
In February 2010 parent company Imagi Holdings closed down their Imagi Animation Studios. They also still owed money to hundreds of staff that they had laid off. They were working on their next film Gatchaman (based on the anime series Science Ninja Team Gatachaman), but in June 2011 it was officially cancelled.
The sci-fi genre is one that excels in anime, but mainstream animated feature films always seem to be a struggle. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Titan A.E., Treasure Planet and Mars Needs Moms have all faltered at the box office. Robots, Wall-E and Monsters vs. Aliens have proven to be standouts, but that’s probably down to marketing the comedy side a little more. Astro Boy deserves kudos on sticking with the origin theme and the death of Toby, but opening the film with the death of a child makes it a difficult sell to parents (especially those that haven’t had the whole “death” conversation with their kids yet). Its blue core heart is in the right place, but despite the futuristic setting, the film presented a predictable scenario that feels dated.