Boy Wonder

In a state of madness after the death of his only son, robotics genius Dr. Tenma creates Astro Boy. Astro looks, sounds, and acts like young Toby Tenma, but of course he isn’t, so his “father” casts him off. The near-boy winds up in the underworld of the environmentally destroyed planet and become a star gladiator in “robot wars.” But an egomaniac politician covets the precious space mineral that powers Astro, and the result is filled with betrayal, sacrifice and a gloriously destructive robot battle. The film touches on almost too many issues to count—poor parenting, grief, humanity, prejudice, the environment—and truly deals with none of them. Some may find that unsatisfying but I think it’s fine in entertainment for 8-year-olds, who are best left to process these things without the kind of easy conclusion available in a 90-minute animated flick. But I (fooled by Astoboy’s big eyes and weirdly Betty-Boop-like appearance) brought my 3-year-old, who couldn’t brush off his fears for Toby/Astro in a world where trusted adults continually betrayed him. For that reason, more than the enthusiastic fight scenes, I’d leave younger kids home.

Fear Factor: (After the initial death of Toby Tenma, which barely has time to disturb, the violence—while loud and destructive—is all robots and buildings and won’t disturb older kids, although younger kids will need reassurance.)
Heart: (Robots are throw-aways in this world, and of course Astro proves that they deserve respect—which, given the way they’re created, raises more questions than it answers but makes a fine movie moment.)
Attitude: (A band of Lost Boy-like kids leads an unsupervised life that’s never explained.)
Psst: Astroboy isn’t human enough to please his creator/father because he uses the page of Kant to create paper airplanes, an allusion that got by me until literally days later.
If you like this: Go back to The Incredibles for a still-super DVD.