Nicolas Cage’s sci-fi flop that bankrupted a studio

Osamu Tezuka reshaped Japanese popular culture together with his manga “Astro Boy.” In a future world, Japan’s Minister of Science, Dr. Tenma, loses his son Tobio in a automobile accident. It recreates Tobio as an android, Astro (often known as Atom within the authentic Japanese). The manga is a futuristic reimagining of “Pinocchio” it turns into a superhero story.

Japan’s love affair with robots will be traced again to “Astro Boy” – fashionable mecha and shonen manga/anime would not exist with out it. Though he’s a founder in Japan, Astro Boy will not be actually an icon in the US. An try to import it, a 2009 CGI animated image “Astro Boy” from Imagi Animation Studios, failed and left Imagi underwater.

Imagi was based in Hong Kong in 2000, first producing the CGI cartoon sequence “Zentrix” in 2002. In 2007, they entered right into a three-film distribution cope with Warner Bros. – the primary fruit of that deal was the 2007 animated movie “TMNT.” “TMNT” was a success, so Imagi moved to photograph n°1. 2: “Astro Boy”.

The movie was directed by David Bowers, co-director of Dreamworks’ claymation film “Flushed Away” is already not one of the best films from this studio. (For the reason that failure of Astro Boy, Bowers has solely directed live-action. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” films.) The overqualified voice solid consists of Freddie Highmore, Invoice Nighy, the late Donald Sutherland and Nicolas Cage as Dr. Tenma.

“Astro Boy” reportedly value $65 million, however solely grossed $42 million on the field workplace when it premiered in October 2009. By February 2010, Imagi had filed for chapter. Does “Astro Boy” deserve a second probability? Is it a forgotten masterpiece awaiting reappraisal? No, the group was proper on the primary name with this one.

2009’s “Astro Boy” makes sweeping modifications to the supply materials, seemingly within the title of a extra “common” movie. Character names are Americanized; Tobio turns into Toby, Umataro Tenma turns into Invoice Tenma and Dr. Ochanomizu turns into Dr. Elefun. The setting additionally shifts from twenty first century Japan to a post-apocalyptic future, the place the wealthy dwell on the “metropolitan metropolis” floating above the polluted floor. (This all sounds nearer to “WALL-E” and “Battle Angel Alita” than “Astro Boy.”)

The screenplay attracts on kids’s movie archetypes and, like Imagi’s different movies, the CGI is uninteresting and primitive. (The tactility of “Astro Boy” is akin to that of “Toy Story,” a movie fourteen years older.) The flat animation dulls Tezuka’s distinctive character designs; examine “Astro Boy” with The underrated 2001 animated film, “Metropolis,” which surprisingly introduced its world into 2D animation.

“Astro Boy” has a really uncommon characteristic: a phone-in efficiency by Nicolas Cage. This man would go on to present a few of the rawest on-screen performances of heartbreak I’ve ever seen in “Mandy” and “Pig.” As Tenma, he simply goes via the motions.

Principally, relating to reimagining the Mighty Atom, Imagi’s “Astro Boy” will not be “Pluto.” Drawn by Naoki Urasawa, “Pluto” retold the “Astro Boy” arc “The World’s Largest Robotic” within the type of a cyber-noir detective novel — read my review of “Pluto” here. (And sure, Dr. Tenma in Urasawa’s horror thriller manga “Monster” is called after “Astro Boy”.)

As a result of failure of “Astro Boy”, Imagi’s plans for extra massive display manga/anime diversifications weren’t realized. We must always in all probability be grateful that they have been.

“Astro Boy” has an open ending, with Astro flying off to confront an alien monster that comes out of nowhere to assault Metro Metropolis. Clearly, no sequel adopted, however the movie ends with room for extra. Whereas “Astro Boy” was in manufacturing, Imagi already had his subsequent two movies within the works. One in all them could be “Gatchaman,” an adaptation of the Seventies anime a few five-person “scientific ninja” superhero group. (“Gatchaman” is the unique “Tremendous Sentai,” aka the unique Japanese model of the sequence People know as “Energy Rangers.”) Imagi’s “Gatchaman” was far sufficient alongside {that a} two-part teaser minutes is printed (see beneath). Nevertheless, when the studio went bankrupt, the movie disappeared as properly.

Imagi additionally deliberate “T28”, an adaptation of the different OG Japanese robotic franchise: Mitsuteru Yokoyama’s manga “Tetsujin-28”, in regards to the son of a scientist who wields a remote-controlled robotic. (The sequence was launched as “Gigantor” in the US.) Like “Gatchaman,” a teaser is all that came out of “T28”.

The demo tape of former Imagi host Mak Ching Lok additionally signifies that the studio could have wished to adapt “Trigun”, the area western manga/anime by Yasuhiro Nightow. The reel consists of an unfinished, uncolored section of “Trigun” hero Vash The Stampede heading to a bar and asking for a drink refill. No additional particulars a few doable Imagi “Trigun” movie have been revealed.

In 2023, Studio Orange has produced a new “Trigun” anime – “Trigun: Stampede” – which recreates the world of Nightow with 3D CGI animation.. On that alone, Imagi was forward of her time. With “Astro Boy,” that wasn’t the case.