Kristen Bell is an Astro Girl

Another new interview with Kristen Bell about the Astro Boy movie. Another good excuse to put a photo of her up here.

Here's a slice that gives some depth to her character of Cora.

Cora, she points out, is a real girl who grows up “in a society that thinks robots are unimportant and you should look down upon them. She feels really betrayed when she finds out Astro is a robot, but ultimately in the end makes the decision, ‘He is my friend and I’m not going to throw him away just because we’re raised to not like robots.’

You can read "‘Astro’ girl" on the Boston Herald or click the link below for an archived version.

‘Astro’ girl

Bell chimes in on voicing sassy cartoon role

Kristen Bell gets to play one of “her favorite kinds of girls - sassy and smart” when she voices Cora in Friday’s “Astro Boy.”

Originally a ’60s Japanese anime cartoon, “Astro Boy” has been given a digital makeover and a voice cast that includes Freddie Highmore as Astro, Nicolas Cage and Samuel L. Jackson.

“It has echoes of so many different stories - ‘Pinocchio,’ ‘Oliver Twist,’ ” Bell said of the futuristic tale where a scientist creates a robot in the image of his late son, complete with his memories.

For the actress best known as teenage TV sleuth “Veronica Mars,” Cora was a role with interesting implications.

“My philosophy of life is just opening up your heart a little more,” she said. “There are so many things that can make you jaded and selfish.”

Cora, she points out, is a real girl who grows up “in a society that thinks robots are unimportant and you should look down upon them. She feels really betrayed when she finds out Astro is a robot, but ultimately in the end makes the decision, ‘He is my friend and I’m not going to throw him away just because we’re raised to not like robots.’

“That’s a really important message, even subliminally for kids: to follow your gut and not follow the masses when your heart tells you something different.”

The 29-year-old actress gave this interview as she finished a dance rehearsal for the film “Burlesque,” which co-stars Christina Aguilera and Cher.

“Nobody gets naked, it’s about the art of burlesque. It’s a tease,” she said.

She calls her role, that of an alcoholic drug addict, “sexier but very sassy as usual. I’m open to everything. I’m not ready to do nudity in my career and I don’t know if I ever will be. Although it’s very comical to me that the two movies I’ve done recently, ‘Couples Retreat’ and ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall,’ I’ve been in a bikini half the time - and that’s so not me.”