Astro Boy is a very pleasant surprise--the rare non-Pixar 3D animated film that can captivate children and adults. The re-imagining of the classic manga/anime series is directed by David Bowers, who cut his teeth on the underrated Flushed Away. Astro Boy tells the story of a scientist (Nicholas Cage) who loses his only son Toby only to rebuild him as a robotic hero (Freddie Highmore). Toby, or Astro as he comes to be called, goes on an adventure through a world of class-struggle, racism, and politics. And it's not nearly as boring as that sounds. The film has a depth to it that parents will appreciate while kids will enjoy the bright colors and frequent action scenes.
     Cage and Highmore are joined by an all-star cast including Kristen Bell, Samuel L. Jackson, Charlize Theron, Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland, Eugene Levy, and Nathan Lane. Often the use of movie stars as voice actors can decrease the quality of a film even as it raises its profile, but the stars acquit themselves quite well here. Donald Sutherland in particular gives a vocal identity to the baddy, President Stone. Nicholas Cage is also a stand-out, imbuing Dr. Tenma with a strong emotional core that drives the father-son relationship with Toby/Astro.
     That relationship is strained because of Dr. Tenma's grief over the loss of the real Toby. Even though Toby's memories are downloaded into Astro, he seems a bit off a la Pet Cemetery (maybe not giving him rocket boots would have helped make him seem more human?). He gets along grandly with the robot butler Orrin, but the emotional connection with his father seems irreparable resulting in Astro leaving his home in the floating Metro City. All the while, the political-power-hungry President is after Astro's power source (think Iron Man's glowing chest-piece).
     The political satire is a lot of fun, with President Stone seemingly taking on the role of a neo-conservative. He's all for using force and lots of it, because, well, that's what gets people re-elected. He wants the positive energy source that Astro possesses, but lacking that he has no problem with using the equal and opposite negative energy force to wreak havok. Down on Earth's surface, there is a robot revolutionary force that espouses the theories of Marx while at the same time having to respect Asimov's rules of robotics. The political content never goes very deep, but is enough to be both interesting and amusing.
     The most interesting subtext to the film may be the class divisions that occur in this world. The residents of Metro City dump their trash and faulty robots onto the surface, resulting in a grungy yet vibrant culture. These scenes, where Astro pretends that he is a human to fit in, owe a debt to the 1930's films concerned with class issues, such as My Man Godfrey or Sullivan's Travels. There's also a somewhat uncomfortable relationship between the Metro City people and their robotic servants who are subservient to the humans in a way that resembles racial relations in our nation's history. The robot-human racism angle has been done before in A.I. and I, Robot, but despite being a kids movie Astro Boy has as much depth and insight on the subject as those films.
     Astro Boy does owe a lot to other science fiction films. Some will call it derivative, but most of the references and reused aspects are inspired choices. At the heart of it, this is a superhero film and Astro Boy has his Superman moment when he learns that he can fly. The film pays homage to Star Wars with a nice play on the Darth Vader vs. the Emperor scene. There's even a Pulp Fiction reference in there for the adults in the audience. The biggest laugh for me was Astro simply asking a robotic dog, "What is it boy? Someone's in trouble?" Astro Boy keeps its pop culture references restrained and integrated into the story, which is a refreshing change of pace from most of the non-Pixar 3D animated films of late.
     The visuals are well-done, but don't quite match the best in the medium. Metro City is colorful but rather sparsely populated, and the characters are unique but somewhat bland. But Astro Boy makes up for a lack of striking visuals with an abundance of striking ideas. It teaches kids about not being able to fit in with others, the importance of family, respecting people who are different, and protecting those who aren't able to protect themselves. And the film's depth will do much more than just barely hold the interest of parents who are along for the ride. Astro Boy isn't as polished as a Pixar film, but that gives it character, just like a discarded robot made up of cast-off pieces and formed into something wonderful.