Cage, Nighy, Lane in Astro Boy

Imagi Animation Studios and Summit Entertainment have entered into a global alliance to distribute Imagi's upcoming CGI animated feature film Astro Boy, according to a press release on Imagi's website.

Under the terms of the deal, Summit will distribute the flick worldwide except for Imagi’s reserved territories of Japan, Hong Kong and China.

Summit Will Distribute Imagi's Astro Boy

“We are pleased to join with Imagi Studios in bringing the exceptional world of Astro Boy to both existing and a new generation of fans alike,” said Rob Friedman, co-chairman and CEO of Summit Entertainment, in Imagi's press release. “The team at Imagi Studios is capturing the spirit of this popular post-modern franchise by doing great things with the story, characters and animation. Astro Boy promises to be an excellent addition to our existing slate of family films.”

"Astro Boy has been one of the world's best-known and most loved superheroes for more than fifty years," responded Douglas Glen, CEO of Imagi Animation Studios. "We are pleased to partner with Summit to deliver Astro Boy's first CGI feature film to worldwide audiences on a grand scale. Imagi and Summit are a great fit, with high energy, entrepreneurial cultures and a vision of building movie-driven global brands."

Actors Nicolas Cage (National Treasure: Book of Secrets), Donald Sutherland (Fools' Gold), Nathan Lane (The Producers), Bill Nighy (Shawn of the Dead) and Eugene Levy (Best in Show) have also signed up to voice roles in Astro Boy. They join Freddie Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), who was already cast as the voice of the titular robot.

David Bowers (Flushed Away) will direct from a scipt written by Timothy Harris (Kindergarten Cop).

The “god of manga”, Japan’s Osamu Tezuka, created Astro Boy in 1951. Since then, the iconic character has found continuous popularity around the world as the hero of three acclaimed animated television series spanning the past four decades. Astro Boy is also one of the top global licensed properties for merchandising.

What's Astro Boy about?

Here's the synopsis, courtesy of the good folks at IMDb.

"Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving man's expectations, our hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before he returns to save Metro City and reconcile with the father who had rejected him."

Astro Boy comes to theatres sometime in late 2009.

Astro Boy concept art

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