New Astro Won't Stray Far

More news from Anime Expo has rolled in!

Sci Fi Wire has posted a great interview with Astro Boy movie director David Bowers, where he explains how the film will be staying close to the classic Astro story that we know and love, while giving us a few interesting new details.

"The characters are all there," Bowers said in an interview at the Anime Expo in Los Angeles on July 5. "It is the original characters, but we have new characters, and Astro's basic journey is the same. He starts off in a slightly different environment. Astro's living in this floating city. But that's where the differences end, really. I must say, I just wanted to get to the emotional core of the movie and have people have a few laughs along the way and hopefully make them cry a couple of times. Then I'll be happy."

Floating city? Cool!

While short, this article should really help to alleviate some fan's fears as to what direction the film is heading in. You can read the full article on Sci-Fi Wire. You can also click the link below to read a copy that is saved here for posterity.

New Astro Won't Stray Far

David Bowers, who is currently directing the upcoming animated feature Astro Boy, told SCI FI Wire that it will not veer far from the story told in the original manga and the later animated TV series.

"The characters are all there," Bowers said in an interview at the Anime Expo in Los Angeles on July 5. "It is the original characters, but we have new characters, and Astro's basic journey is the same. He starts off in a slightly different environment. Astro's living in this floating city. But that's where the differences end, really. I must say, I just wanted to get to the emotional core of the movie and have people have a few laughs along the way and hopefully make them cry a couple of times. Then I'll be happy."

The new film features the voice of Freddie Highmore (The Spiderwick Chronicles) as the title character, a robot built by a scientist to replace his deceased son. When the scientist, voiced by Nicolas Cage, rejects him, he sets off on his own to find his place in the world.

Astro Boy, originally created by Japanese artist Osama Tezuka, first appeared in a manga series in the early 1950s. It became a popular animated television series in the 1960s and was later revived in the 1980s and, most recently, in 2003. Until now, however, the iconic character has never appeared in a theatrical film.

Bowers said that the timelessness of the story, combined with advances in animation technology, have made this the perfect time to bring the character back once again.

"I think the fact that the story has survived five decades ... I'm not going to start comparing it to Shakespeare--but good stories tend to last for a reason," Bowers said. "It's a simple, dramatic story that's as relevant now as it was then. Astro Boy in the 1950s, if you look at the original manga, it looks a little bit old-fashioned and a little bit quaint in its way. But it's worth remembering that at the time it came out and was a big success it was absolutely cutting-edge and futuristic and amazing-looking. And that's what our Astro Boy is going to be. We're going to be sort of reintroducing Astro Boy, but it's a very, very modern movie. But this universal theme that I think is timeless is still running through it." Astro Boy is set for release in the fall of 2009. --Cindy White