TRAILERS
Imagi's Astro Boy Teaser Trailer Officially Unveiled
by Alex Billington
November 20, 2008
Source: AOL
Imagi has unveiled the first short teaser trailer for Astro Boy, the CGI cinematic version of the popular Japanese manga character. I really wasn't expecting a teaser trailer this early but wow, this looks pretty bad. I guess I should've known it was headed downhill when the original director (who we actually interviewed) unexpectedly left the project. Up until this point we'd only ever seen some early concept art and other rough photos from the film, but now I wish that is still all we'd ever seen. I'm really trying to find something good in this, but it's damn near impossible. Go ahead and watch this if you so dare.
Watch the teaser trailer for Astro Boy:
You can also watch the Astro Boy teaser trailer in High Definition on AOL
Set in futuristic Metro City, AstroBoy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist to replace the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving father's expectations, our hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before he returns to save Metro City and reconcile with the man who had rejected him.
AstroBoy is directed by ex-Disney animator David Bowers, of Flushed Away previously, with a screenplay written by Timothy Harris, of Brewster's Millions, Kindergarten Cop, and Space Jam previously. Imagi Animation, the studio behind TMNT last year, is developing this animated film which is based on Osamu Tezuka's manga series. AstroBoy will arrive in theaters everywhere on October 23rd, 2009.
49 Comments
1
Sure it's not Pixar, blue sky, or dreamworks, but it looks fine to me. Mind pointing out what makes it look so bad?
jesse on Nov 20, 2008
2
how do u not see anything good in this, alex? this looks like an awesome version of the classic astro boy. looking forward to it
mos on Nov 20, 2008
3
this looks way better than what i was expecting but i think it still needs something. i have to continue thinking about it
dave on Nov 20, 2008
4
I don't understand your reasoning Alex. Your acting as if we received a full theatrical trailer but this is a mere teaser that doesn't show much yet you already state that it looks horrid. There just isn't enough footage shown for one to say if this is a complete pile of dog fecal matter or an entertaining film that honors the manga.
Craig on Nov 20, 2008
5
Uhm Yeah.. I enjoyed it as it is only 9 seconds long. I think I will save my actual pre-cog review until I see a full trailer. Alex is the reason you don't like it because it is being distributed by Summit (the all hated fledgling entertainment company releasing your 2008 hated movie of the year - Twilight) or because the director YOU interviewed is now not directing? Or do you know something more that we don't? Just curious.....
Breebaby on Nov 20, 2008
6
Nothing here to merit an opinion, really, unless you're concerned about special effects. I've never seen the original show, but this looks fine to me.
Carl Denham on Nov 20, 2008
7
I don't understand what looks so bad about this? Basically they're announcing "Hey! We're making an Astroboy movie!" and giving fans of the character something to get excited about. There is literally nothing in this trailer to make a judgement call on good OR bad.
Tom Brazelton on Nov 20, 2008
8
9
Well Astro boy is cheese. So that means they did it right. Maybe deep down you hate it beceacuse you have no soul, or maybe you just want to whine for the sake of it to get more people online to please those that buy ads.
jesse on Nov 20, 2008
10
Well i am excited
Red Buttons on Nov 20, 2008
11
I have watched the trailer 4 times now and it looks better then the teaser for TMNT did. The story is about a robot boy, it is a cheesy comic book, it will be a cheesy movie. Still looks like it has a ton of potential though.
BigTalker on Nov 20, 2008
12
Of course this is just YOUR opinion.. It looks fine to me.
Freddy on Nov 20, 2008
13
I think it looks like fun so far...Can't wait to see something with more substance.
ERivas on Nov 20, 2008
14
i dont know about the movie as a whole, but it has an impressive voice cast. we'll wait and see.
troy on Nov 20, 2008
15
it looks exactly like the manga/anime, just in CG, what's not to like so far?
Trystan on Nov 20, 2008
16
Looks fine to me, from what i saw. Looks like any other Dreamworks, Pixar etc.
big r on Nov 20, 2008
17
I'm thinking the story's so compressed that showing us any other footage would spoil it But seriously, it's no so bad that you have to dare us to watch it
Jaf on Nov 20, 2008
18
oh no...not Astro Boy. please God!
Chris W on Nov 20, 2008
19
What was bad about it? *puts on magnifying lenses to pinpoint any miniscule flaws* The way he punches through the earth's core is awesome. It has a ton of potential. What's up with the hateration?
BinYe East on Nov 20, 2008
20
I loved Astro Boy growing up and with the music on this trailer and the colors I FEEL LIKE IM WATCHING FUCKING JIMMY NEUTRON! i really would of been happy with them if they had made this more anime with cgi. or even cgi that look a bit more edgy not so polished. I dotn know im gonna have to wait for a better trailer, as of now i wouldnt give this that much thought but it screams JIMMY NEUTRON! Gatchaman will still kill Astro boy and Mazinger Z will also kill astro boy!!!!!!!!!!
THERBLIG on Nov 20, 2008
21
dude summit pictures is really coming up in the movie business. they haven't disappoint me yet. they have good films and decent films. Astroboy looks pretty decent too.
darrin on Nov 20, 2008
22
Astroboy will kick ironman's ass
Drake on Nov 20, 2008
23
looks cheesy? what logic is that? Astro Boy is drawn very cheesy in the manga and the show. The drilling he does is very true to the original movements drawn in both the manga and the show. that said, i'm not the biggest fan of Astro Boy, however I think it is a solid story worth being brought to life again, this time with CGI. Though on the CGI, it does remind me of Jimmy Neutron as well, which is a little unsettling... my two cents.
dave13 on Nov 20, 2008
24
I for one avidly watched this show when I was a little kid, along with Macross and Robotech and such. I LOVED it then and I think this reboot looks fairly faithful. Astroboy looks pretty much exactly the way he always did except he's computer generated rather than hand drawn. - Still don't really understand all the hatred for Astroboy teaser trailer, I think it looks all right!
Conrad on Nov 20, 2008
25
I think is cool, also this is just a small teaser impossible to judge. The clouds are very well done though.
Flavio on Nov 20, 2008
26
Why did that trailer make me think of Megaman?
dac_fan on Nov 20, 2008
27
there is something about the FEEL of this, not the LOOK that feels rather unappealing and cheesy to me. It's just a teaser, so who knows. But it almost looks lifeless and dull.
Marty Martin - IMAGEN Films on Nov 20, 2008
28
AWFUL! HAte it! this is NOT ASTROBOY! They could call him like that but it is not! As Ebert said it once: I HATED IT! I HATED IT ! I HATED IT!
Rolando on Nov 20, 2008
29
I join Alex in the "I am not impressed" group. But really Alex, please, work on your writing. You are supposed to be a journalist. Kindly work on placing real reasons you don't like something. For example, it took you one extra comment to point out that the reason you felt it was bad was because it was "cheesy". Why couldn't you type that in your original article? Instead, your article is downbeat seemingly without reason and sometimes it just looks like you are throwing toys out of the pram. But again, I agree with your opinion just not your writing style. You are too jubilant or too upset. Please try to improve exposition. Thanks.
SS on Nov 20, 2008
30
Ya-hoo!
nut-Meg on Nov 20, 2008
31
I've been a 3D animator/modeller/artist for the last 10 years working in film,tv and games and have developed an eye for quality....this is NOT one of those examples. So its really insulting to see such bad quality for a movie i had high hopes on! It looks like every other uber generic piece of 3d pixar wannabe shows out there, that dont quite "get it"! As a fan of the original series, the design is wayyyyy off(for its interpretation into 3D)...it lacks the charm and innocence of the original show. That was its appeal, the innocence of Astro in a world that doesnt quite get him. This one looks too "world savy"..which is really annoying!
matt on Nov 20, 2008
32
Sorry folks but this is not the Japanese Astro Boy--- the American Bob's Big Boy perhaps. It looks as though once again corporate studio protocol got in the way of artistic integrity, ei. let's just make it bright and goofy for the kiddies and sell more movie tickets. Kids don't just want eye candy; they want and deserve truth. Not to mention that they've just lost an huge adult following with this inauthentic and predictable style and soundtrack. This doesn't mean it has to look or sound like Batman, but within the endless possibilities in animation, including what the original comics have to offer, this film has still ended up like every other clean, over animated, roller-coaster-ride of a movie. What a shame. It carries none of the qualities that made this character so special. Why don't you just put him in cargo pants too and call it a day.
angela de cristofaro on Nov 20, 2008
33
how can one make a jugement on a short trailer. crazy talk unless you are getting kickbacks.
hiro on Nov 21, 2008
34
You know what's also cheese? Speed Racer. They should sell these movies together in a dual pack for 15 bucks when this is released. No, less than that.
Noemi on Nov 21, 2008
35
I'll have to disagree with you Mr Alex. Nothing wrong with that teaser at all.
K on Nov 21, 2008
36
Looks fairly entertaining and I pretty much hate astroboy.
Richard on Nov 21, 2008
37
I have to admit, I am thoroughly unimpressed.
Chris C. on Nov 21, 2008
38
I have no idea what you're basing this "I HATE IT!" thing on Alex. It looks fine to me for the 9 seconds we saw. The punch-drilling looks cool and the legs moving in the air seemed to be more like unsteadiness in his newfound flight ability or something. *shrug* Holding off additional judgment till there's a real trailer.
Chieze O. on Nov 21, 2008
39
Nothing wrong with that trailer... is exactly what i expected... this was always a bland cheesy character... so it matches the cartoon source... not my cup of tee, but exactly what I expected "a cleaned up version of an 80's cartoon.
Dusty on Nov 21, 2008
40
Meh.
Zerge on Nov 21, 2008
41
alex that what I see you like to criticize everything that goes wrong to Linked Summit Entertainment What the hell you got against this company? if the movie is not so bad the less I do not what it seems
IJ on Nov 22, 2008
42
It reminds me of Iron Giant..not the anime of course..but the retro feel to it. I just hope it's finished before SAG strikes...oey boy.
Bry from Chi on Nov 24, 2008
43
I've been a new reader of the last year or so and I'm actually pretty impartial to Alex's negative comments on movies. In this case, I completely agree - This version of Astro Boy looks cheesy as hell. Comment 20 hit the mark - This shit looks like Jimmy Neutron.
Darren on Nov 24, 2008
44
this is so great i cant wait ..................
OJ on Dec 1, 2008
45
Boy! this AstroBoy has a funny look to it. Unlike the cartoon character at all! It lacks the cute factor. The picture they put up on this site is quite a dissappointing preview. They did a better job with the Turtles. I am a fan but the teaser did nothing to me....Iron Man has the best arial scenes so far! Astroboy should take a look at that.
Alf on Dec 18, 2008
46
I agree - this looks like straight to video crap. The character design of Astro didn't bother me nearly as much as that of Prof. Ochanomizu. Lame. I hope i'm wrong, I would love for this to be good.
monkeyboy on Jan 4, 2009
47
Well, I'm an Astro Boy fan for sure and I think so far this looks pretty promising. We really need more of a trailer to know but I can see this is going in a decent direction so far. As for what Jesse(1) said I would have to agree. I love most of what Pixar has made. But, just because a movie isn't made by them or Dreamworks or Blue Sky doesn't mean anything. It's about time we got some more names in the 3D game and if Imagi has what it takes then I more than welcome what they have to offer.
CoryCow on Feb 4, 2009
48
Ok, I just remembered who Imagi is just now. They are the same people who made TMNT. Now, I really have high hopes for this one. TMNT was a nice way to resurrect the Turles in my opinion(especially after the garbage that is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3, ugh. -_-) .
CoryCow on Feb 4, 2009
49
All I know is that Awesome music better be on the soundtrack.....I hope 🙂
13Wez13 on Mar 25, 2009
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