There is a star-studded vocal cast for this film, including Charlize Theron, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy and Samuel L Jackson: it's a feature-length version of the classic Japanese manga comic-book character, whose doe-eyed expression became an anime template. Freddie Highmore voices Toby, the science-loving kid and son of government scientist Dr Tenma (Nicolas Cage); when Toby is killed in an accident, Dr Tenma tries to reinstall his DNA and microsurgically reclaimed memories into a robot version of his beloved son, now called Astro Boy, who becomes involved in a sinister political plot to exploit a new non-destructive energy source. It is a bold and even poignant idea and the movie certainly zips along. It's not in the Wall-E league, but it's well made and inventive.
This fun cartoon about the Japanese robot boy boasts a top-line voice cast
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