Amazon.com: Astro Boy (Vol. 1) [VHS] : Billie Lou Watt, Ray Owens, Gilbert Mack, Peter Fernandez: Movies & TV

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Astro Boy Vol. 1 VHS

Billie Lou Watt (Actor), Ray Owens (Actor) Rated:

NR

Format: VHS Tape

4.6 26 ratings

IMDb7.4/10.0

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$16.49

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May 28, 2002

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Astro Boy 1963 Volume 1 — —

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These five color episodes represent the beginning of the 1980 remake, The New Adventures of Astro Boy. Osamu Tezuka wrote many of the scripts, but the members of the original crew had advanced in their careers, and new directors had to be found. The animation in the original Astro Boy was scarcely more advanced than Crusader Rabbit, but the show had an ingenuous charm. The color version is slightly more animated, but the flat timing and stodgy dub rob the dramatic scenes of their punch and the comic moments of their humor. Both series begin with Dr. Boynton creating a miniature robot to replace the son he lost in a car wreck, but they tell the story very differently. Although hard-core Tezuka fans will want both versions, the earlier black-and-white series remains the definitive Astro Boy. Unrated: Suitable for ages 6 and up; minor cartoon violence. --Charles Solomon

Product details

Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.32 x 4.19 x 1.12 inches; 6.13 Ounces
Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 5 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ May 28, 2002
Date First Available ‏ : ‎ September 30, 2006
Actors ‏ : ‎ Billie Lou Watt, Ray Owens, Gilbert Mack, Peter Fernandez
Studio ‏ : ‎ Manga Video
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000063K4N

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4.6 26 ratings

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4.6 out of 5

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Kindle Customer

Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2023

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Good quality for an old movie. Fast service. Will buy from this seller again.

It's like watching Anime History with the 1st anime t.v. series!

Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2014

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When I first saw the first 5 episodes I knew I had to have the remaining 26 episodes of the first vol. to see their unique Max Fleischer, early Disney look that Osama Tezuka established with his take on ASTROBOY! Astroboy has Betty Boop's eyes and Popeyes strength! If Betty Boop and Popeye had a Robot son it would be Astroboy! After I watched all the episodes after the first 5 that I watched earlier, I could see how the show's anime can hold up! Astroboy's adventures can stand the test of time because while other anime became slicker, Astroboy remained unique with it's Max Flischer view of the future in the year 2000!

In the first 5 episodes Astroboy is created by Dr. Boyton after a tragic car accident takes his own son's life! While Dr. Boyton brings Astroboy to life while playing Tocatta and Fugue on his equipment he is stymied by his robot son not growing an inch and refuses to accept him which leads to Astroboy's yearning to be like a real boy while defending the humans he has come to protect!

Much of the humor comes from sight gags whether it's the robots comically following themselves hand over foot (literally!) or Astroboy's pulling a starfish off his face and finding his face on the starfish before he puts it back on!(literally!) the gags have that Dave Flischer feel to them that keeps you from taking the adventure too seriously and Fred Ladd, the american producer, keeps the voices translation fresh and funny! For the most part the picture and sound quality is first rate! Only one episode early in the series with a robot named Colosses had any trouble with the sound, otherwise it was all first rate!

The Black and White episodes are clean and clear with a clear; crisp playback of sound and picture, well worth the price especially at $13.00 for a 1st season of episodes numbering 26 episodes! So get these episodes and I'll get the 2nd season to go with the first!

7 people found this helpful

Excellent remake of 60s series

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2003

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Astro Boy is a color remake of the sixties series, that in addition, seems to move the overall series-wide plot faster. As an example, the original series did not introduce Uran (Astro Girl) until the twenty-fifth episode. Yet, in this series, she makes her debut in the thirteenth episode. * This series devotes an entire episode to his creation and another whole episode to the Robot Circus, both of which were in the first episode of the original series. Note that tapes one through three of this series each contain five episodes, while tapes in the original series each contain only two episodes. Moreover, the first series' tapes do not seem to put the episodes in chronological order.** This remake series has a more clear development of the building plot from episode to episode, and it is therefore, more easy to follow. First Astro Boy, then his 'parents', then his "little sister" enter the scene, but not all on this tape.
His human-like qualities and relationships are much more a part of this series' than the original. More emphasis on school, home, family, than the 60s series. His being different (i.e. a robot), causes some friction at school, as his human classmates flaunt their humanity, and poke fun at his being a robot, but he soon gains acceptance among them. He and his robotic family live in a house go about their business, as do humans; mama goes shopping, kids play, they even go on vacation.
Astro is not subject to mischief as are his classmates. Even his sister gets into trouble, and girls are not usually as troublesome as boys are. He is subject to peer pressure, and in one episode on tape three, his desire to be cool and do as his classmates ask, accidentally disables his leg jets, preventing him from saving the day in his usual fashion. The series seems to provide good morals despite its violence, as yielding to peer pressure is not a good idea for anyone. The series shows what happens when people do stupid things.
In this series, as in the original Astro Boy faces Isaac Asimov's classic robot dilemma as expressed in his three laws. He may not through action or lack thereof, cause harm to a human. He must obey human orders, except if such orders are to violate the first law. He will not accept orders from just any human, though. And, He must preserve his own existence, except where so doing would violate the first two laws. Yet, because his duty is to fight crime, he must occasionally fight humans. So, he clearly cannot keep the first law, except when it comes to killing: Astro Boy does not kill humans. He only does good things.
A hero with the emotions, judgement, and intelligence of a nine-year old, can occasionally find himself in situations that tax those attributes. As a child, he simply does not know how to handle some situations. His kindness and compassion lead him to take action that adults would forbid if they knew of his intentions. He is utterly selfless, putting humans' and even animals' needs before his own, tirelessly risking his own existence as he defends those weaker than himself. One can find some commendable morals in this series, that little children might absorb as they watch it. It does seem that this remake was intended for young viewers more than all viewers; yet, I found is entertaining and often funny.

Episodes on this tape:
Note. If you have seen S. Spielberg's AI, you will most definitely see where he got his ideas after viewing these first two episodes.
"The Birth of Astro boy" Details the tragic death of his creator's son, Toby. Dr. Boynton is so devastated by this loss, that he decides to create a robotic replacement for his lost son. For some strange reason, he insists on one hundred thousand horsepower, jets in his hands and feet, lasers in his index fingers, spotlights in his eyes, and machine guns in his fanny. Franz Liszt's "Le Prelude" accompanies Astro's awakening.
"Robot Circus". After deceiving him into signing on, the Ringmaster soon finds him unsuitable for the tasks he had given him because he misinterprets them, and soon finds himself in trouble with the boss. He soon shows himself a talented acrobat, and goes on to save the day when things go wrong.
"Save the Classmate" Astro starts school in the third grade, but finds himself rejected by some students, who pick on him. The overgrown Alvin makes himself his enemy, but soon sees Astro's value as a friend.
"Astro's First Love". This one is very sad, and might be too frightening for the very young. Astro meets a girl robot named Niki while he is on a mission, only to discover that she has a deadly secret.
"Save the Carolina 3". The title refers to a space station that the bad guys attempt to take over using the threat of harming the captain's little boy as leverage. Astro saves the day, as usual.

· *Other than viewing the tapes, most of what I have been able to learn about the original series' episodes, I found at website devoted to Astro Boy.
· **The 60s series tapes put Astroboy's birth and "The monster Machine" together on the first tape, but according to the web sites, "The monster Machine" is the sixty-ninth episode.

8 people found this helpful

An aged baby boomer goes back to the year 2000 as it was depicted in 1960

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2014

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I had a vague memory of enjoying Astro Boy black and white cartoons in my youth. Surprise,surprise, despite the very crude hand drawn animation there is a lot of humor in the voice characterizations and even the drawings. Equally simple american cartoons of the era are nothing but garbage but Astro Boy rules. Even now, at the age of 62 I find these cartoons to be very amusing and I think I was a little too young to appreciate them fully when I first saw them. True the audio is uneven and the video varies in quality but all in all I think it is worth it.

4 people found this helpful

Joseph M. Woodland

From the depths of childhood memory comes Astroboy!

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2013

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In the early 60's there came to the US through various production companies, the precursors to what has grown into Anime. These productions included Kimba the White Lion, Gigantor, Speed Racer, and earliest of all, Astroboy. The transfers from what appear to be secondary sources are well done. Although the DVD contains a warning with respect to sound quality, I found that only one episode had problems in that regard. The cartoons themselves are amusing and fun, and occasionally dark for 1960s kid programming in the United States. In any case, the cartoons are enjoyable, and my daughter is already devoted to them.

11 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2016

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Great story... However, the video quality was blurry.

Thomas P. Ackerman

If your an Astro Boy fan this set is for ...

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2015

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If your an Astro Boy fan this set is for you! This set includes the first half of Season 1 26 episodes on 5 Discs.

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2015

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OLD BUT GOODY!

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