Gearing Up for Astro Boy

100,000 horsepower strength and a heart of gold – that’s all we ask of our superheros, right? But when you build an android son to replace the child you lost, it’s bound to be a let down. Perhaps symbolic of children hoping but not ever quite living up to their parent’s expectations, Astro Boy’s journey is one of searching for acceptance and realizing his “special powers” (including machine guns that can fire from his rear) and how to use them to…better the world.

Based on the comics by Osamu Tezuka, otherwise known as “the Disney of Japan”, the “father of manga” and the originator of the “big-eyed” Japanese anime style, Astro Boy (circa 1951) has gone through many incarnations — some good, some not so much. This 2009 version was computer-generated at Imagi Animation, working closely with Osamu Tezuka’s son, Macoto Tezuka, to make sure everything was done right — we hope so!

A good start was including vocal roles by some of our fave actors: Nathan Lane, Nicolas Cage, Freddie Highmore, Donald Sutherland, Eugene Levy, and Mz. Sassy Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell. At ComicCon they announced Charlize Theron and Samuel L. Jackson will be adding their voices to the project as well.

So what’s the Astro Boy timeline? The Movie will be in theaters October 23, 2009; the video game for Wii™, Nintendo DS™, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, and the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system on October 20; and the Astro Boy t-shirts and other fun gear by Gold Label Goods available…right now!