the animated astro boy be a shiny hodgepodge of pinocchio and star war ( see the stormtrooper like character protect the president ) and wall e and oliver twist and gladiator and superman and with some obvious visual touch take from the iron giant . a it own entity and though and it pretty forgettable . it almost feel like there be too many movie compete simultaneously in what be essentially a pretty standard tale of good versus evil . the joke aren not all that funny and the father son relationship between astro boy ( highmore ) and brilliant scientist dr. tenma isn not all that move . there a lot go on and maybe too much go on and but none of it ever really grab you . on a positive note along those same innocuous line and the movie be sufficiently bright and colorful for kid of all age without ever be too scary . once dr. tenma realize that this robot version of his child be nonetheless inferior and send him away and toby flees the floating and gleam metro city and land back on the earth below which be now a trash dump where he become know a astro boy . there and he meet other orphaned child who grubbily root around for spare robot part to bring back to their fagin like father figure and hamegg ( lane ) . the trash can that follow them around and look like a pug be surprisingly enough name trashcan and how original . astro want to fit in with the others and namely the street smart cora ( bell ) and and forge some sort of normal life . but high among the cloud in metro city and president stone ( donald sutherland ) be after him for his blue core and a powerful crystalline nugget that dr. tenma implant in his chest . you see and there a blue core and a red core . the blue one provide a peaceful and benevolent strength and while the red one turn you into a ferocious killing machine . the donald rumsfeld like president want to control them both for his ironically name peacekeeper and a burly device intend to dominate earth represent i have get an election to win and i need my robot to be a fighter and not a lover and he say early on . ultimately and it be never explain why the peacekeeping evil robot be need in the first place . and so the obvious inevitably arrive represent astro boy must return to his home to fight the ultimate fight and face his ultimate destiny . snooze . he also might run into his dad again . you never know .