I recently watched the latest trailer for the upcoming CG film Astro Boy. Based on the manga by Osamu Tezuka, it’s the latest big screen adaptation of a Japanese anime or manga property. Recent attempts have not fared well at the box office including Speed Racer (2008) and Dragonball Evolution (2009). Maybe Imagi Animation Studios can break this streak of box office duds. The studio’s previous work was TMNT (2007) which vastly out performed Speed Racer and Dragonball Evolution. More than likely this was due to the Ninja Turtles being better known to western audiences. So here we go again. The trailer looks like it has all of the ingredients that western audiences gravitate for big screen animation. Humor. Action. A kid who saves the day. Big special effects. Celebrity voice actors. But will Astro Boy soar big or fail to launch? Tetsuwan Atomu a.k.a. Astro Boy lands in theaters on October 23, 2009.