Movie Review: Astroboy
This is a guest post from my friend, Dawn Craig. I saw on Facebook that she did not recommend the movie ‘Astroboy’ so I asked her to explain. Here is Dawn’s review of the movie.
What ever happened to movies that are capable of portraying a valuable life lesson in a manner that is suitable for children? My husband and I recently took our two daughters (6 and 7) to watch Astroboy for what we thought would be a nice, entertaining evening – instead I spent almost the whole movie comforting my youngest and worrying about the nightmares they would have that night. I should have known things weren’t going to go well when within the first five minutes the little boy Toby (later referred to as Astroboy) is killed by a huge robot named the “Peacekeeper” (created by a government official to help him win his next term in office.)
Toby’s dad has a meltdown, (which any parent would do under the circumstances), and creates a robot identical to his lost son, including all of Toby’s childhood memories. Shortly after his creation, Toby’s dad rejects the boy and orders him to be destroyed. Another scientist saves the young boy and instead tells him to go find his purpose in life and sends this robot child out into the world alone. At this point my kids are already asking why his daddy wouldn’t want him and where was he going to go. I thought at this point it couldn’t get any worse and that surely the producers wouldn’t maintain this negative storyline throughout the whole movie – I was wrong.
The movie continues on with scenes of orphans being manipulated by the only father-figure in their life, numerous attempts to kill Astroboy, the “Peacekeeper” destroying the city, the second death of Astroboy, and so much more. In the end obviously the good guy wins, but unfortunately the much too negative path to get there disallows any positive message to be seen.
I can understand and appreciate a writer’s need to create storylines that not only entertain the children but can hold the adults attention as well. Unfortunately it seems they keep continuing to push the line and have lost sight of the impression they can have on a young mind. Needless to say I wouldn’t recommend this movie to anyone with small children.
Have you seen the movie? What did you think? Also, have you seen Where the Wild Things Are? Would you recommend it?
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What are these writers and producers thinking??!! Thanks for warning me!
Wow, I’m grateful I wasn’t in the position of having to explain that storyline! Thanks for the review.
I remember as a young child never being able to see a movie that my parents had not already seen first. That being said I did not get to see many movies as a child. Now as a parent I feel that was the right thing to do. Too many movies (in my opinion) these days are geared to try and keep the child entertained as well as the parent. It is great if they can accomplish this without making the movie WAY more adult then needed, but I feel most have not. Toy Story is a great example I think of a kid friendly and adults can enjoy as well movie.
Thanks for the review of the movie
I haven’t seen either movie, but sometimes animated movies are not actually made for children. Anime is very popular in Japan and has made it’s way over to the U.S. Many times it’s really created for adults not for children. I don’t know if that’s the case with Astro Boy. I have heard “Where The Wild Things Are” isn’t meant to be a children’s movie. It’s a movie about kids, and not necessarily appropriate for younger children. For example, I’ve read that the monsters represent parts of the boy’s personality. One monster kicks, bites, and throws awful tantrums when it doesn’t get what it wants. Not exactly behavior you want your toddler or young child emulating.
Wow. I appreciate the review. It’s a shame they can’t make movies suitable for kids.
I’ll preface my comment by saying that I haven’t seen either movie, but the point made at the end of the review about the “negative path” made me think about some of the stories I read when I was a kid. I was a huge fan of the color-coded Fairy Books – the Grey Fairy Book, the Red Fairy Book, etc. These were compilations of fairy tales from around the world, most of which were pretty tough reading – children turned out by evil stepmothers, trolls under bridges demanding moral compromise, bloodshed and drama, etc. etc. In fact, I was pretty much allowed to read whatever I wanted as a kid, the thinking being that anything I didn’t really understand would bore me enough that I would put it down, and anything that really raised questions would become fodder for discussion around the dinner table. The result for me was a healthy skepticism, an inquisitive analytical mind, and a reinforced sense of the need for justice in the world.
The truth is, I’m not sure we do our kids any favors by limiting their exposure to the world to parables of sunshine and light. It all depends on the age and maturity level of the child, of course, but why not use these movies as teachable moments, especially if good wins out in the end? Let’s face it, our kids may very well encounter manipulative authority figures, “Peacekeepers” who are intent on their destruction (moral or spiritual, if not literal), and friends or siblings who behave inappropriately – why not take these opportunities to lay the groundwork for discernment and good independent judgment?
Just my two cents’ worth!
@Katie – Astroboy is based off Anime. You are definitely right, some Anime movies are geared towards an older audience.
@Francesca – Thanks for sharing! I think the point of the post was to warn parents that they may have to have those conversations after the movie, if they choose to see it. In this case, my friend was expecting a more family friendly movie. Not one that made her afraid that her daughter’s may have nightmares. We aren’t saying to avoid all conflict, but I like to know what I am getting myself and my child before we see a movie.
@Francesca – I completely agree with you in the fact that we shelter our children too much sometimes, as parents we just don’t want them to get hurt or suffer. Amanda is right in saying I wasn’t trying to discourage anyone from watching the movie, just wanted to provide more of a warning to let parents know what they would be encountering that way they could prepare themselves for those tough conversations. It’s hard to answer questions like “why doesn’t his daddy want him” without having some time to think of a way to properly explain something like that to a 6 year old.
With such a crazy, hectic life lately, it is hard for our family to fid time to spend fun, quality family moments together. When you are expecting to just go to a movie to relax and enjoy it, and then are faced with tough life situations and questions, it changes the dynamics of that experience. I’m not saying parents should never have those discussions or allow their kids to be placed in situations that are tough, I just would like to know I’m headed in that direction before get there!