Who knew "Astro Boy" leaned left? Right about now, you're probably asking yourself "What is he talking about?" and "Who, by the way, is Astro Boy?" For those not into the world of manga comics and anime animation, or who might not have been around or at least been a TV-watching kid in the 1960s, Astro Boy was a robot character created by Osamu Tezuka in 1951.
Following that comic book success, he eventually segued to TV in 1963 and earned a cult-like following both in his native Japan and in America. The character then resurfaced in 1980 and a third time in a 2003 animated series, resulting in him being inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame (who knew such a thing existed?) in 2004.
Now that you know who he is, it's time to explore the political leaning of said character. As it's been decades since I last saw the original cartoon, I have no recollection of any politics in the series, and with no exposure to the two subsequent resurrections, I can't state where they stand. And to be accurate, the latest incarnation of the title character doesn't endorse any particular political ideology.
The filmmaking duo of writer/director David Bowers and co-writer Timothy Hyde Harris, on the other hand, seemingly haven't pulled any punches regarding their view of right or left or, apparently, the George W. Bush administration. Case in point, the President of their future land (that floats above the rabble and rubble down below on the planet's surface, wants to wage war in order to insure reelection.
Some may accurately defend that by saying war-mongering leaders are nothing new in storytelling. Yet, there's the "little" symbolic element of said ruler wanting to get his hands on the negative and dangerous Red Core energy source that falls in direct contrast to the Blue Core that's positive and peaceful and is intended for the benefit of all humankind.
Hmm, so much for subtlety, but then again the filmmakers don't limit that to the political arena. They also liberally plunder the old Pinocchio theme -- as the title character doesn't immediately realize he's not a real boy but instead is a robotic replacement for his scientist/inventor father's recently departed son -- while also throwing in elements from "Oliver Twist" including a Fagin type character who cares for but takes advantage of a bunch of orphans who do his bidding.
Yes, those are present in the original story, so some slack needs to be cut for the current version. Some viewers, however, will also see similarities to other robot-based movies from the appropriately titled "Robots" (and its civilization of said creations) to "The Iron Giant" (with its anti-war theme) and even "Wall-E" (and its "Let's get off a ruined Earth" symbolism).
While that might make the film not only seem like a story and thematic element thief and/or imitator but also a heavy-handed one at that -- especially considering it's an offering aimed at younger kids (notwithstanding the fan boy crowd) -- only those who get their knickers in a twist will likely be offended or put off.
The target demographic -- especially the younger ones in that bunch -- won't likely notice the ideology and recycled story elements as they'll probably be whisked away by what's otherwise a fairly entertaining ride. They'll certainly identify with the title character and the busy parent/abandoned child theme, and there's certainly plenty of rock 'em, sock 'em action and adventure to keep them fixated to the story and characters.
While not up there in the same league of computer animated visuals as the Pixar films (or in terms of the story and characters for that matter), the visual design is strikingly handsome and pays some respectful homage to Tezuka's original artwork and design.
Vocal performances for the various characters are solid across the board, but I could have done without the various comic relief characters that stand out too much as just that, aren't always particularly funny (a problem when that's your sole reason for existing), and don't really add to the story or overall viewer experience.
Throw in some questionable and/or abbreviated character motivation (mainly regarding the father figure too quickly giving up on the surrogate son apparently just because the plot needed him to do so in order to move forward, as well as the one-dimensional and far too obvious Presidential villain), and the film ends up far from perfect.
Yet, despite all of that and the fairly overt political symbolism, I found the film entertaining and enjoyable enough to earn a passing grade. I'm guessing many kids may just vote the same way, regardless of whether they lean left, right, or stand up straight like they should. "Astro Boy" rates as a 5.5 out of 10.
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