Imagi has updated their website with a great interview with Astro Boy animated movie director David Bowers. It's got some great info about David's history in the animation business how he is handling the task of bringing this anime-icon to the big screen in CG. You can find it by clicking on the "What's New" section. I can't copy the whole text since it's displayed in Flash, but here's a short quote:
"I want Astro Boy to be a really special movie, a mix of action-adventure with lots of comedy and a really emotional story at its core. It's an iconic property and deserves respect, so I don't want to give it the glib, pop-referential treatment that so many animated movies have today. Instead I want it to stand as a classic superhero origin story, something befitting the icon of Astro Boy, kind of along the lines of Richard Donner's Superman. I want it to serve as an introduction to Astro Boy for western audiences whilst remaining faithful to the lore of Asian audiences. Astro Boy is a treasured icon in Japan and so I'm working closely with the Tezuka estate to ensure I get everything right."Sounds like they got the right guy for the job. Plus his sideburns are almost as cool as mine, so he's got that going for him too.
Best of all, at the very bottom of the interview is this incredible Astro Boy image!
WOW. If that's what the movie is going to look like, it's going to be absolutely fantastic. That looks amazing and I can't wait to see more.
Thanks to Al for the tip!
2 comments:
David Bowers seems to have the right tone in mind for this. If he pulls it off, it could be a very special film indeed. Essentially, Astro Boy is a parable about a robot child who strives to be human, often showing more humanity than the "real" people around him. If Bowers understands that, he can't go wrong.
Interesting he said he wasn't interested in pop references when the movie ended up referencing Lassie, The Shining, Pulp Fiction, The Freaks, Friday the 13th, Wall-e, Rocky, Castle in the Sky, and most likely more I forgot or didn't know about.
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