August Review: Astro Boy (2009) (Patreon)

To be upfront, I have no experience with Astro Boy outside of this movie. That said, given how by the numbers Astro Boy (2009) is, I think I get the picture.

Astro Boy (2009) is an incredibly medium movie. It's got jokes and character arcs, but they're by-the-numbers, rote regurgitations of better jokes and better development from better movies. Despite this, the whole film remains inoffensive, just a numb hour and a half of animated heroics that any parent could turn on to placate a kid with a love for robots, heroes, or big red boots. With this in mind, I recognize that as an adult with no nostalgia for the property this film is adapting, I'm not the target audience for this movie, and so I can only judge it with the ideal viewer in mind.

For a kids movie, Astro Boy (2009) makes sure to make jokes just smart enough for kids to laugh at the antics, and parents to understand the more clever elements. Are they funny? Eh. Do they appear exactly when the pacing demands? Absolutely. The same can be said for the hero's arc. Is his motivation dramatic and moving? Eh. Does he claim control of his destiny right on cue? Yup. Astro Boy (2009) watches like a cinematic paint-by-numbers, what you see is what you get. Bad guys get got, friends are saved, and the titular boy becomes beloved by the end. But the audience? They're never surprised, never unsure. I personally believe not every film needs to be subversive and new, but Astro Boy (2009) fails to present the complexity of craft to make a simple story shine, and instead just washes over the audience like a wave of saved cats and heroes journeys.

Part of what makes this films so dull is the acting. Despite having a relatively star-studded cast, the delivery leaves a little to be desired. Everyone is performing the most basic version of their characters, often lacking any real emotion behind the cookie-cutter lines they had to read. In the one twist I didn't see coming, Nicholas Cage, a proven voice-actor in his own right, was a low point, voicing Dr. Tenma with all the verve and enthusiasm of a rusted over robot. The performances as a whole come off as a lack of investment, it appears that the cast couldn't muster the will to give this project it's chance at robo-life. Ironically, the most verve came from anyone tasked with voicing a robot, as the background mechanical lads were often at least given unique voices to help break up the sea of archtypical line reads.

This film isn't problematic in any way. The animation is clean and clearly understands the aesthetics of its source material, and the writing is safe if a little boring. While Astro Boy (2009) lacks the edge and heart to make it transcend its target audience into the hallowed halls of amazing animation, I can see how a child or a dedicated fan of the franchise might really enjoy this film. Unlike it's hero, Astor Boy (2009) doesn't soar, it simply hovers just off the ground.

3 out of 10 Robot Squeegee Punch-Ups