| Astro Boy Primer Part 2 With the recent release of the DVD “Astro Boy: Ultra Collector’s Edition, Vol. 1,” Geeks of Doom looks at the oh-so-cute robot in a three-part series. My initial reason for this article was a simple, nagging, fond memory of my youth watching little Astro smash robots to pieces at every possible moment. What occurred to me, halfway through the 102 episodes I now own, is that those robot-bashing moments were all I remembered. It happens that there are quite a few non-bashing-robots-to-pieces moments I never noticed (I must have been playing Lego). Now that my aged mind can comprehend the ideals and morals that were so carefully woven into the non-bashing-robots-to-pieces bits of these episodes, I am astounded by what the hell actually went on! As examples I will refer solely to the 1980s episodes, as these are the most potent by a long shot. I will try not to spoil it for anyone else considering this new and highly entertaining hobby. I’ve spied my beloved wife, who has held my hand through more than one emotionally charged episode, with her jaw in her lap on more than one occasion while watching Astro. One of those instances involved Albert “Daddy Walrus” Duncan, who is Astro’s primary school teacher and moonlights as an odd comedy-relief-cum-private-investigator (go figure). In one episode, the class of students are thrown on an unmanned rocket so they can see a comet that is flying near the moon. The rocket is deliberately unmanned so Daddy Walrus and Dr. Elefun can monitor how the students deal with being on their own. In space. Unmanned. Nine primary schoolchildren. In space. Unmanned. Yeah, so when things start to go very wrong for them due to the token bully pressing a couple of buttons and shooting the rocket off course, Daddy Walrus, aghast, starts to search frantically for whiskey! Nice one, teach. That episode also features our token bully — Abercrombie — being shrunk to mouse size in a sinister game of blackmail to force Astro into joining sides with Atlas (his cruel and outlawed older brother). The camera pans back to reveal the miniature Abercrombie standing almost directly underneath the skirt of one his classmates! Awesome. One consistent factor about the 1980s episodes is the music. I am searching like mad to find out who the funked-out-prog-rock-fusion bastards were who did the fight-scene music — it is fantastic. And the orchestral sounds give the episodes such a dramatic edge at times. Definitely cheesy by today’s standards, but, hey, this is supposed to be a cartoon for children. Take the first episode — you know, the classic children’s cartoon where the young boy dies in a horrific car accident, leaving behind his pining dog and turning his father into a psychopathic scientist genius bent on creating a replacement son with superpowers. The music during that actual scene — which is vividly depicted visually, I might add — I am sure was scored by Jerry Goldsmith, Danny Elfman, or another great composer. I really could go on and on about these episodes, but I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who has not yet experienced it. I bought my wonderful red tin box DVD set online. It has pride of place, right next to my cardboard jet-black boxed set of the 2003 series. I shall leave you with the opening lyrics. But until you hear it for yourselves in the masterfully created pop-tinged jingle style of the 1980s, it will not have half as much poignancy. Soaring high in the sky,
He may be small but only in size.
Astro Boy, Astro Boy,
He is brave and gentle and wise! Stronger than all the rest,
This mighty robot will pass the test,
Oh villains fear him, so we cheer him,
The amazing Astro Boy! When you need someone strong,
Our robot friend will never be long.
Astro Boy, Astro Boy,
He will try to right any wrong! When there’s danger near by,
No matter who, what, where, when or why,
He’ll defend us, he’ll defend us,
The amazing Astro Boy! The song ends with a mad groovy guitar solo that causes just about anybody to play air guitar uncontrollably. Previous Article |  | Next Article | « | | | | | | » |
| |
Great piece.
Comment by disco volante — April 3, 2006 @ 12:19 pm