Astro Boy fans who were lucky enough to be at WonderCon in San Francisco this past Saturday had the chance to be among the first to see a new clip from the upcoming animated film. The folks from SCI FI Wire managed to be among that group, and they gave us a blow-by-blow account of the clip.
The clip apparently begins with Astro Boy plummeting through the sky, headed straight for an unfortunate collision with the Earth. While falling, flames suddenly shoot from his feet, enabling him to fly - albeit in an uncontrolled fashion. The scene is apparently somewhat reminiscent of the first time Tony Stark tried to use his flight in Iron Man, but be assured that Astro Boy does gain control eventually. He zips around town, using his heel-jets to cook an underdone steak at one point, before finally bursting through the clouds triumphantly. As he takes a moment to enjoy his new ability, he says to himself "Wow! This is cool! I have to show Dad!"
According to the report, the animation and visuals from the clip are top-notch, so fans should be excited to see more from Astro Boy as it becomes available.
Directed by David Bowers, Astro Boy's vocal cast includes Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy, Eugene Levy, Matt Lucas and Freddie Highmore. Astro Boy was created by the "god of manga," Japan's Osamu Tezuka, in the early 1950s. The animated television series first aired in 1963 in Japan and found great acclaim and success around the world. In the U.S., it quickly became a top syndicated children's show.
Astro Boy flies into theatres October 23, 2009.