For those that care, a big announcement was just made about the upcoming Astro Boy movie. Apparently an official release date has been set. That date is October 23rd 2009. Seems the studio honchos are pretty pumped about their little movie. Our friends over at IESB give us the following:
Produced by Imagi Studios, the CG-animated motion picture will bow on over 3,000 screens across North America. International release dates for the film are to be announced soon.
“We are pleased to bring the exceptional world of Astro Boy to the big screen for movie-goers in North America,” said Friedman. “We have lined up some key marketing partners for the film and our October date allows us to put the film out at the right time enabling our partners to reach their targeted audiences with on-going marketing programs tied to the film.” “A beloved icon for over half-a-century, this marks Astro Boy’s first time on the big screen, making our film one of the most highly anticipated releases of the year,” stated Corbett.
I’m sorry… did that guy just say that Astro Boy is “one of the most highly anticipated releases of the year”?!?!?! Is this guy high on crack??? Who is this guy polling for this information exactly? His employees in the lunch room?
Look, Astro Boy is a cute little property, but if these guys think Astro Boy is going to carry with it the same nostalgia factor that Transformers does then he and his whole damn company are in for a very rude awakening. I know I’ve already said this about Dragonball… but it also applies here: Astro Boy is going to be another Speed Racer like bomb. No one (on any real scale) cares about Astro Boy. No one cares that Nic Cage is doing the voice. No sir, Astro Boy is NOT “one of the most highly anticipated releases of the year”. Wake up.
