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Manga at Comic-Con 2009: Day one
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SDCC runs July 23rd through 26th this year.
While Orlando has its own set of large conventions covering comics, everything pales in comparison to the granddaddy of all comic book conventions: San Diego Comic-Con International in California. Held every summer in San Diego, this convention is considered the biggest event in the world for all related industries ranging from not only comics, but to film and animation.
Manga, of course, has become a staple of the scene at Comic-Con. Today marked the beginning of the first full day of official programming for the convention, and to kick it off was the panel covering the computer animated film adaptation of the original manga, Astro Boy.
Astro Boy debuted in the 1950’s drawn by “god of Manga” Osamu Tezuka. It follows the story of a young android boy named “Astro” who was made in the image of his creator’s dead son. Disappointed that Astro would never be a real human, his creator rejects him and sold him to a circus owner. It’s soon discovered that Astro possessed super powers, and after another scientist adopts the little android as his own, Astro begins to live a life of crime-fighting.
Despite the generic-seeming story, Astro Boy is revered for its themes of humanity and the manga (and the subsequent animations) proved to have rather dark undertones as Astro struggled with his desire to belong to human-kind despite being an android. Now, on October 23rd, 2009, this classic and original story will be presented for a new generation to enjoy as a gorgeous CGI-animated film.
The panel to kick-off the convention today discussed the goals of the team involved with the film. Some of the topics discussed covered the differences between the original story and this new portrayal, which the director, David Bowers, expressed as a modern adaptation to make it more accessible for today’s audience. While still in keeping with the original theme, along with character designs based on Tezuka’s original masterpieces, this new “modern” Astro Boy brings a fresh portrayal of the character that Bowers hopes will instill a thrilling experience for today’s audience as it had for those in the 1960’s.
Also present at the panel were some of the voice talents starring in the film, including Freddie Highmore, the voice of Astro Boy, and Kristen Bell who voices a new character named Cora. Talk about the rest of the cast also took place, which includes Nicholas Cage, Bill Nighy, Shaun Levy, Charlize Theron and Samuel L. Jackson. A couple exclusive scenes were then previewed for those lucky enough to attend the panel along with the world premiere of the new trailer.
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