Freddie Highmore Stars As Astro Boy
The computer animated, movie version of the popular, classic cartoon series Astro Boy has it’s lead. Imagi Studios told us tonight that they’ve hired Freddie Highmore to provide Astro Boy’s voice.
I know there are a lot of people out there with an attachment to this character, but to be honest I’m only reporting on it because it’s a robot, and let’s face it I’m obviously a sucker for anything automaton related. Just look at the site. However I somehow missed out on this particular phenomenon. Apparently it’s an anime riff on the old Pinocchio theme.
No point in me faking intimate knowledge of the series after I’ve admitted I’m clueless. So here’s what Wiki has to say about Astro Boy:
Astro Boy is a television series first broadcast in Japan from 1963 to 1966. The story follows the adventures of a robot boy and a selection of other characters along the way. Its focus is on the adventures of the titular “Astro Boy” (or simply “Astro”), a powerful robot created by the head of the Ministry of Science Doctor Tenma to replace his son Tobio.
I may know nothing about Astro Boy, but that sounds like a good foundation to build a decent sci-fi property. I do however know something about Freddie Highmore, who is no stranger to solid science fiction and fantasy properties. He has, sadly, not done anything with robots yet (giant or otherwise), but he has been in movies like The Spiderwick Chronicles and even provided voices for computer animated characters in films like Arthur and the Invisibles and The Golden Compass. Even without knowing anything about Astro Boy, I know that Freddie Highmore is a great pick.
