Daily Variety reports that ubiquitous child actor Freddie Highmore (The Spiderwick Chronicles, August Rush, Arthur and the Invisibles, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Finding Neverland) has signed on to lend his voice to the title character in Imagi Studio’s CG-animated Astro Boy. Based on the classic manga and anime property created by Osamu Tezuka, the $50 million production will be released worldwide in 2009 by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Weinstein Co.
Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy will tell the tale of a powerful young robot that a brilliant scientist created in the image of the son he lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving man’s expectations, our metalic hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators before returning to save Metro City and reconcile with the father.
The film is being helmed by Flushed Away director David Bowers, who recently replaced Colin Brady (Everyone’s Hero). Bowers worked as a story artist on DreamWorks Animations’ Shark Tale and the Aardman co-productions Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit before making is directoral debut with Sam Fell on Flushed Away.
Now 16 years old, Highmore has appeared in nearly a dozen films and can be heard as the voice of the shape-shifting character Plantalaimon in New Line Cinema’s Oscar-winnig fantasy pic, The Golden Compass. His latest project is Warner Bros.’ adaptation of Philip Ardagh’s children’s fantasy novel Eddie Dickens and the Awful End.
