LOS ANGELES - ASTRO Boy, the mythical Japanese cartoon character who has captivated generations of young people worldwide, will come out this year as an animated film by British director David Bowers.

'A lot of my robots, for example, were inspired by pre-Colombian characters,' said Luis Grane, the film's Argentine character designer. The animated feature is based on the popular Japanese cartoon series by Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989), known as the 'god of manga' during its heyday in the 1960s.

The Astro Boy film is being crafted at Imagi Animation studios on the outskirts of Los Angeles, where a few scenes were shown to reporters from the project, the largest animated feature undertaking since 'TMNT', the 2007 Ninja Turtles blockbuster.

Bowers, of 'Flushed Away' fame, said the feature, which debuts on October 23 in the United States and between January and February 2010 in Argentina and Brazil, follows the original story.

While Bowers and Timothy Harris took just six weeks to complete the screenplay, production has been underway since 2007 in cooperation with hundreds of animators in Hong Kong, who help the team work 24 hours a day.

Like Grane, Spain's Pepe Valencia joined Imagi Animation in 2007 to work exclusively on 'Astro Boy', for which he serves as director of photography.

The cinematographer's technical acumen is on display in 'Astro Boy', with scenes showing the protagonist flying at full speed, facing villains or disappearing in the skies, all executed with camera movements often facilitated by meticulous computer work.

The film recounts the beginnings of the boy robot with human feelings who undertakes a journey in search of his identity before returning to futuristic Metro City to reconcile with his estranged creator, genius scientist Tenma, who is voiced by Nicolas Cage.

Joining Cage in the cast are Kirsten Bell (Cora), Nathan Lane (Ham Egg), Donald Sutherland (General Stone) and 17-year-old Freddie Highmore, known for his title role in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', as Astro Boy. -- AFP