[Rappy Veteran]

The first teaser trailer for Summit Entertainment?s Astro Boy has hit the web with a flash of cool CG-animation. The project is being developed by IMAGi Studios, the folks that brought us the CG-animated TMNT movie in 2007. Like many of you, I was a big fan of the look and feel of TMNT, but would have liked to see it be less of a cartoon (in story) and more like the original TMNT films. Alas, it was still a pretty cool movie ? and Astro Boy appears to be cut from the same fabric. Have a look for yourself here[/ur

Official Synopsis: Astro Boy was created by the ?god of manga?, Japan?s Osamu Tezuka, in the early 1950s. The iconic character has since found wide popularity around the world as the hero of three acclaimed animated television series spanning over four decades, besides being one of the top licensed properties for merchandising. Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist. Our hero embarks on a journey in search of adventure in a netherworld of robot gladiators before he returns to save Metro City.

The trailer can also be seen in high definition over on AOL Moviefone. Astro Boy will feature the voices of Nicolas Cage, Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell, Donald Sutherland and Nathan Lane. It hits theaters on October 23rd 2009.

[Rappy Veteran]

[Ridgeburner]

I. Can't. Wait.

[sanctified Veteran]

At least the character design is dead on, but why include a cliche?

[MR_Candyman]

I loved the original series. I hope this is good. Oh ya, the trailer sucked BTW.

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

I'm gonna end up watching it.. It is hard to ruin an animation movie to be honest :p

[Ninja Nerd]

looks good

[Rappy Veteran]

Hey folks, Harry here... ASTRO BOY is about as cool an anime as they get. I've known of him pretty much my entire life, due to my father's undying love of all things robotic, and an evil teenage boarder that lived at my house as a boy, that loved ASTRO and then ripped us off for a fortune in collectibles. But his evil did not ebb our love for this robotic PINNOCHIO that could do a whole lot more than sing about a lack of strings.

This weekend, specificially on Saturday at 4pm, at the New York Comic Con... which curiously is in New York, Summit Entertainment, them blokes that made that fabulous vampire film about fabulous vampires, are having a big presentation where they're going to be dishing on their latest films. Stuff like Alex Proyas' KNOWING, Kathryn Bigelow's THE HURT LOCKER and lastly - and for me, the most exciting... They'll be debuting the following two images and an entire sequence from the film. (ENVY!) I'm hoping by posting these images early, that some of you - that will be there... will give us the low down on what they show! Cuz curious minds like mine, gotsta know.

The first image is of Astro Boy soaring through the gargantuan METRO CITY. This is a publicity shot, taken from the actual film - you'll never see Astro this clearly in the final film as he is hauling ass to go do something here. I saw a pre-release image of the one below, which had him in all his motion blur blurriness and it looks like he's moving out there. Yet doesn't have him as clearly pretty as you see now! [Click to make bigger]

The second image is of Astro Boy's nemesis, PEACEKEEPER. If you're not familiar with ASTRO BOY, this means nothing to you. However, if you are an astromaniac, you know that Peacekeeper is a baddie that absorbs other machines and turns their energy and powers against our little metal laddie. [Click to make bigger also]

[Source]

[Rappy Veteran]

[Konstanov]

720P Trailer

1080P Trailer

[RadishTM Veteran]

^ Thanks!

Would have preferred him to be like this -

As it's true to the anime/manga.

Radish?

[Pretend]

Director David Bowers has just announced that both Samuel L. Jackson and Charlize Theron are set for roles in this fall's Astro Boy, joining an all-star celebrity cast that includes Freddie Highmore, Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Donald Sutherland and Nathan Lane, among many others.

Though it is unclear exactly what characters either actor will be voicing, Bowers specifically mentioned that Jackson's role is a special cameo, which should come as no surprise as Jackson is a self-professed comic fan

[source]

[Pretend]

[Rappy Veteran]

Summit and Imagi entertainment just debuted their new trailer for Astro Boy at the conclusion of their Comic-Con panel.

The trailer, which still included a few unfinished shots, was introduced by director David Bowers who promised an eager audience that they were the very first eyes to ever see it.

Opening with a narrator's voice, we're told, "In this lab, the world's top scientist is building his most incredible creation". We're treated to glimpses of the process that brings Astro to life; a robotic skeleton and the a body laid around it.

Dr. Tenma (Nicolas Cage) explains that his creation will mean the return of his son and we see Astro waking up.

We catch a glimpse of Cora (Kristen Bell), the new character created specifically for the film. Astro meets her and her gang of fellow kids.

There's the big robot from the manga and cartoon, Zog (in later scenes he has the word spray-painted on his chest) that Astro finds in a junkyard and repairs.

We see General Stone (Donald Sutherland) realizing the power of Astro and telling his men that he needs to catch him. There's a bunch of scenes of the ensuing chase (which was also screened in it entirety for the audience).

There's a number of flashes of Astro in some sort of gladiator arena where he seems to be forced to battle against other robots.

Some of the unfinished shots involve Astro fighting against a giant one-eyed tentacle monster and one included him in his full iconic outfit, shirtless with shorts.

The trailer ends with Astro battling Stone's giant robot (called the Peacekeeper) and discovering his "butt machine guns," literally turning to stare at them with incredulity and saying, "I've got machine guns... in my butt?!"

Along with the trailer, two scenes were shown that screened recently for press at Imagi's studio tour. One featured the chase, as Stone's men pursue Astro through the city and the other had Astro battling Stone's Peacekeeper robot and being saved by Cora and their dog-robot friend.

Bowers seemed to indicate that the trailer should hit theaters within the next few weeks, as soon as work on the remaining shots can be completed.

Astro Boy is slated to hit theaters October 23. Check back later today for a full transcript from the press conference.

[coming soon]

[Pretend]

Banned

[Rappy Veteran]

I am intrigued by the dude with the chicken head!

[Pretend]

Yeah, it does steal the attention away from the banner :laugh:

[Pretend]

David Bowers - about Astro Boy

David Bowers, director of Flushed Away is set to bring his talents to the world of Osamu Tezuka's Metro City in this fall's Astro Boy. As part of the SDCC panel, it was revealed that Charlize Theron and Samuel L. Jackson have joined the cast. Bowers explains a little bit about who each are playing and talks about dream projects he could imagine for the future; including adapting the classic British cartoon "Danger Mouse."

CSSHH!: The first question I have, actually, comes from my dad who was a big "Astro Boy" fan growing up and, when I told him there was a movie coming, he wanted to know if the old theme song was going to be around at all.

Bowers: We have our own theme music. We have John Ottmann who is just an amazing composer. He's created just a really wonderful, stirring Astro theme song for our movie. I'm sorry to disappoint your dad, but he can just pop in a DVD of the '60s show any time he likes. So, no, it's a whole new start. But the score sounds fantastic. We recorded it in Abbey Road just a couple of weeks ago. It's unbelievable. Just a huge orchestra. It sounds wonderful.

CSSHH!: How far away are you from a final cut?

Bowers: We have a final cut. We're just waiting for a few scenes of lighting. Just finishing a few things off. We're mixing at the moment at Fox and then it's just color-timing and then it's done. That's the movie.

CSSHH!: What sort of running time are you looking at?

Bowers: I think that, with credits, it's just over 90 minutes.

CSSHH!: It seems like you keep adding more surprises. Today I was happy to see the footage in the trailer of Astro battling the giant tentacled monster.

Bowers: (Laughs) Yes! We try to keep the audience guessing. It keeps things fresh and keeps things new.

CSSHH!: There's definitely that balance between the classic "Astro Boy" and your take, but I did notice that, in the trailer, there's one big action shot of him in his classic outfit, shirtless with shorts.

Bowers: You do. Actually, in the first sequence, where he's created, he's just in that classic outfit. But even in the Manga and TV show, he wears regular clothes. It would be strange to have him wander around in just a speedo. But by the end of the movie, he's actually 100% classic Astro Boy.

CSSHH!: You had two big cast announcements: Charlize Theron and Samuel L. Jackson. Who are they playing?

Bowers: Samuel L. Jackson, I don't want to give it away, because when his voice comes into the movie it's such a great moment. But he is playing a robot and Charlize Theron, we have a little movie that opens the film. A movie within a movie. Charlize Theron is narrating it.

CSSHH!: Is that in the "Astro Boy" universe or is it a short?

Bowers: Oh, it's in the "Astro Boy" universe. It's part of the movie. It just sort of explains where we are and what the world is like. What purpose robots serve. It's called "Our Friends, the Robots." It sort of starts things off.

CSSHH!: Of course Samuel L. Jackson is a big comic book fan. Did he come after the movie?

Bowers: We approached Samuel L. Jackson. We sent him stuff and showed him some stuff and showed him what we'd like to do. He's so gracious and just wonderful. He has just a few pivotal lines, but a really wonderful voice. He sounds great. Very impractical.

CSSHH!: Imagi is building up a reputation of taking known properties and doing very faithful adaptations with this, "TMNT" and now "Gatchaman." Is there anything in particular you'd love to one day adapt?

Bowers: There are a few things. "Danger Mouse." It's a wonderful British show from the 1970's. I'd love to see a big-screen version of that. There are a few properties from comics that, I remember as a kid and I would like to see. But I don't want to mention any of them (Laughs).

CSSHH!: Do you find it easier or harder to take something that already exists and bring it to the screen?

Bowers: I think easier in the case of "Astro Boy" because there's just so much great material to take and bring to the screen. "Flushed Away" was a different kind of movie. It was kind of a joke movie. For "Astro Boy" I kind of wanted to make something different. There's much richer sort of "soil" in the manga. It's more emotional. It's still very funny, though.

CSSHH!: There's a lot of emotional bits you've screened in the past and Kristen Bell said that it really got her. Was there ever a point where you thought it was just too much for a younger audience to handle?

Bowers: I don't think so, no. I was looking at films I loved as a kid. "Pinocchio," which is very similar to "Astro Boy" in many ways. It's a scary and very, very dark movie. Same thing with "Bambi" and "Dumbo." These are the films that people remember and that people like and love. This is where classics come from. Drama makes for good movies. To have drama, you have to have peaks and valleys. It can't all be sweetness and light. I think it's good. I think it encourages people to think about what the characters are going through which, in turn, means that you really care about them during the action sequences. In turn, that really makes the action sequences all the better. Real characters with real problems makes the movie all the better.

[Pretend]

Kristen Bell Talks Astro Boys Robot Love

[Rappy Veteran]

Kristen Bell @ Astro Boy Panel

[Pretend]

Kristen Bell :wub:

[Pretend]

[Pretend]

[Rappy Veteran]

[ahhell]

NICE. Way to make her reach for that pen.