There's No Such Thing as an Angry Astro Boy
My wife and I watched Enchanted last night for the second time in our lives, and our discussion of it afterward ranged all over. We started talking about Disney stereotypes, of course, and I wound up describing to her some of the intricacies of Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke, which she hasn't seen and likely won't. It's not her style.
In the process, however, I realized what I like about Astro Boy. I watched that film more than once trying to figure it out, because although I caught the obvious political subtext and recognized that most of it was light weight fluff, there was something about the movie (other than the fact that it is kind of fun) that charmed me and made me want to show it to my kids.
Last night I finally figured out what that was, and it was this: Astro Boy is never angry. He couldn't be. He's powered by pure positive energy. Even the villains in the show never get darkly angry, but the title character is always motivated by love and a desire to fulfill his life's purpose. Contrast that with the usual movie hero m.o. of winning the great battles only after something gets you mad enough, and you'll see what a refreshing change this is. Although he is abused, taken for granted, betrayed, and falsely condemned, Astro Boy acts to serve others because he wants to preserve peace and save as many people as possible.
He's not totally without self-interest. In some cases Astro Boy withholds information or does other things to make his own life easier, but he willingly sacrifices everything with a smile on his face instead of a scowl. He goes to his own demise with peace in his heart, and not anger or fear because he sees that only he can accomplish the task.
The movie is far from perfect by anyone's standards, and while it probably is as true to the Astro Boy of the 1950s as you could hope, it doesn't have much else to offer adult audiences. But I'm tired of all the protagonists on TV and in the movies gaining hero status by vengeful, angry, vindictive action. Astro Boy not only refrains from that, it emphasizes the opposite, which makes it worth adding to my family's viewing experience.
In the process, however, I realized what I like about Astro Boy. I watched that film more than once trying to figure it out, because although I caught the obvious political subtext and recognized that most of it was light weight fluff, there was something about the movie (other than the fact that it is kind of fun) that charmed me and made me want to show it to my kids.
Last night I finally figured out what that was, and it was this: Astro Boy is never angry. He couldn't be. He's powered by pure positive energy. Even the villains in the show never get darkly angry, but the title character is always motivated by love and a desire to fulfill his life's purpose. Contrast that with the usual movie hero m.o. of winning the great battles only after something gets you mad enough, and you'll see what a refreshing change this is. Although he is abused, taken for granted, betrayed, and falsely condemned, Astro Boy acts to serve others because he wants to preserve peace and save as many people as possible.
He's not totally without self-interest. In some cases Astro Boy withholds information or does other things to make his own life easier, but he willingly sacrifices everything with a smile on his face instead of a scowl. He goes to his own demise with peace in his heart, and not anger or fear because he sees that only he can accomplish the task.
The movie is far from perfect by anyone's standards, and while it probably is as true to the Astro Boy of the 1950s as you could hope, it doesn't have much else to offer adult audiences. But I'm tired of all the protagonists on TV and in the movies gaining hero status by vengeful, angry, vindictive action. Astro Boy not only refrains from that, it emphasizes the opposite, which makes it worth adding to my family's viewing experience.
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