6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
In futuristic Metro City, a brilliant scientist named Tenma builds Astro Boy, a robotic child with superstrength, X-ray vision and the ability to fly. Astro Boy sets out to explore the world and find acceptance, learning what being human is all about in the process. Finding that his friends and family in Metro City are in danger, he uses his incredible powers to save all that he loves.
Starring: Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane, Eugene Levy, Matt LucasFamily | 100% |
Animation | 87% |
Adventure | 84% |
Fantasy | 63% |
Comedy | 46% |
Action | 35% |
Sci-Fi | 24% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
For all those who aren't familiar with God of Manga Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy -- the seminal anime icon whose 1952-68 manga series and subsequent 1963 television series introduced the world to Japanese comics and animation -- allow me to shed a tear. "Astro Boy," through its many variations, captured my imagination as a child. Granted, I wasn't tackling phonics or flipping on the TV on Saturday mornings until Reagan was running the White House, but even a spawn of the '80s like myself was well acquainted with Tezuka's expressive robot and his at-times cold Ministry of Science creator, Dr. Tenma. It's for that very reason that I approached Imagi Studios' CG-animated adaptation, Astro Boy, with such high hopes. But as an unapologetic fan of TMNT, it never occurred to me that Imagi might come up short. I fell in love with their charming character designs, grinned every time I watched the film's trailer with my son, and felt an enormous surge of nostalgia whenever a commercial would hit the airwaves. Alas, as the end result limped along, listless voice acting and all, I found myself growing more and more dissatisfied with Astro's latest adventure. For me, its only saving grace was plastered all over my son's face.
Far below Metro City's silver towers is a world of dilapidated beauty...
If nothing else, Astro Boy rockets onto Blu-ray with an exceptionally sharp and vivid 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer. Colors are bold and beautiful, infusing the open skies with dazzling blues and rich purples, the steely skyscrapers of Metro City with warm pastels, and the unkempt surface of the Earth with rich browns and lush greens. Moreover, primaries pack some serious red-core punch, black levels are direct-from-the-digital-tap perfect, and contrast is impeccable. Fine detail is just as outstanding. From the towering scrap heaps Astro encounters when he first reaches Earth to the dusty colosseum where he fights a rust-buckled lineup of increasingly deadly bots, the film's textures, edges, and backgrounds are simply gorgeous. Even when Imagi's animation comes up a bit short, the technical presentation stands its ground. Artifacting, noise, and ringing never enter the fray, and the picture remains clean and clear throughout. The only thing that holds Summit's transfer back from perfection is some slightly noticeable (and admittedly minor) banding and aliasing. While neither issue comes close to hindering the overall impact of the image (well, beyond the Metro City skies and Tenma's unwieldy hair), both caught my eye on a few too many occasions to escape mention. Ah well. Negligible nitpicks aside, animation enthusiasts and Astro Boy fans from any generation will be thrilled with the high-flying results.
Summit's sprightly DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is just as invigorating, even if it only proves its true mettle when Imagi's gun-toting bots go bolt to bolt. Dialogue, human and machine alike, is teeming with warm voices and crisp clanks, granting whispers, cries, and shouts equal life. Rear speaker activity is a tad restrained here and there, favoring John Ottman's score over environmental ambience, but Astro's spirited tussles and Stone's attacks fill the entire soundfield, enveloping anyone in earshot with wind-whipped fly-bys, sparking battle blades, searing energy blasts, transforming opponents, toppling buildings, and shattering windows. Similarly, LFE output reigns in its support on occasion, but only by design. Otherwise, explosions rip up the floor, machine guns rattle the walls, and the whir of charging generators overwhelm the rest of the soundscape. All the while, directionality scatters bits of metal from one speaker to the next, pans are as nimble as Astro's cloud-hopping, and dynamics keep his adventures lively and fierce. Paired with the disc's striking video transfer, Astro Boy's lossless mix completes Summit's impressive AV presentation.
With just over half-an-hour of special features, most of which are aimed squarely at the kiddies, the Blu-ray edition of Astro Boy doesn't have much to offer. The video content is all presented in high definition, but little else sets this meager package apart from the crowd.
Far from the blazing, smartly penned adventure I was expecting, Astro Boy's bot-vs-bot battles, simplistic themes, and accessible young hero should still appeal to kids everywhere. I know my son couldn't take his eyes off the screen. Thankfully, Summit's Blu-ray release has more to offer. Though its supplemental package is a complete disappointment, its video transfer brushes close to perfection and its DTS-HD Master Audio track is quite impressive. Flawed as the film itself might be, Astro Boy will nevertheless earn your children's affection and spend some quality time in your family's Blu-ray player.
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