it_lives

I loved the 1982 TV series, and I should point out that I was a teenager (15) when that came to Australia. It was one of the seminal influences that helped my own development as an animator. I've never seen the original 60s B&W show, but I understand it is more or less the same story line.

My problem with the new movie is that it not only takes great liberties with the story. No longer taking place in Tokyo, but in a bizarre floating island/city called 'Metro-city' (Inspector Gadget?) that cruises above the trash strewn surface-world. The story has been 'kiddified' it to an extent that I don't think Tezuka would have liked.

While Astroboy has always appealed to young kids it has also maintained a maturity that ensures longevity and resonance, this version is more difficult for an adult or older teen audience to connect with, which is disappointing to say the least. If I had encountered this at the age of 15 I would not have had too much regard for it other than a throwaway bit of animation to tide me over till the next Pixar release.

Which is how I feel about it now I guess.

Sure there are some cool moments, but not enough of them. And designwise, there's one robot in particular who seems to be far more influenced by the work of Miyazaki than Tezuka. As a background throwaway reference that's fine, but this character is integral to the movie.

The modelling and animation is competent, not in the same class as Pixar, but not bad. It's a pity the work seems to have been outsourced to China, I didn't see one Japanese name in the animation credits, which seems like a pity.

A fairly ordinary animated film. Nonetheless when it was released in 1999 it was the most popular film in China for that year. I can only assume that its popularity was due to the local audience having the opportunity to see a familiar story from their own culture rather than another just another Disney/Pixar offering rehashing the same tired old story again. A great example that all marginalised local film industries should take note of.

the story follows a young boy, the son of a Goddess, who embarks on a journey to free his mother from captivity.

Along the way he encounters a veritable cavalcade of characters from Chinese mythology as he searches for the Monkey King.

Might be of fleeting interest to fans of the 80s TV series 'Monkey', but otherwise only for those who are particularly interested in Chinese mythology or are very bored.