Astro Boy's last name is "Boyton"
Astro is also called “Tetsuan Atom” – The Mighty Atom (in Japan)
Back in 1951 (when Astro was created) he was born in 2003 on the show
Astro Boy hit the U.S in 1963 on NBC TV
NBC changed the name of Atom to Astro Boy, Doctor Ochanomizu to
Doctor Elephun, and Doctor Tenma to Doctor Boynton
Artist Osamu Tezuka's Tetsuwan Atom ("Iron Arm Atom") was the
most popular comic book in Japan, as well as one of the longest
running newspaper strips (1951-1968) in the country's history. The
project began as Atom Taishi ("Ambassador Atom") but soon
adapted its more familiar title, which can also translate as "Mighty
Atom". Though his work went in a diametrically opposite direction,
Osamu Tezuka was a big fan of American animators Walt Disney
and Max Fleischer. As a homage to these cartoon giants, Tezuka
drew nearly all his manga characters with huge, saucer like eyes,
a style soon adopted by virtually every other Japanese animator.
The animated cartoon version of Tetsuwas Atom, which served as
the premier attraction of Tezuka's then recently established Mushi
Productions, debuted on Fuji TV on January 1 1963, as Japan's
first animated TV series, and later moved to the NHK Network. In
all 193 half hour episodes were produced. When NBC Enterprises
purchased the series only 104 episodes were released to be shown
outside Japan. These were redubbed and adapted for domestic
consumption to be distributed to the twenty or so nations carrying
the series. In most countries the series was rechristened Mighty Atom,
but a conflict with an obscure American comic book character of that
name prompted NBC Enterprises to rename the English dubbed version
Astro Boy, and later his robot sister companion would be called
Astro Girl. While the series was re-edited and redubbed to conform to
American broadcast policies, much of the casual sadism of the original
remained intact. This along with its black humour elevated it above the
usual kiddie adventure cartoon rut, making it popular with adults as well.
Although the animation was primitive to the point of nonexistence, the
series popularized the Japanese animation technique of simulating
movement by flat-cutting and lap-dissolving from pose to pose, rather
than using in-between or "smear" animation. Astro Boy became the
world's most popular robot cartoon series but due to its black and
white status in a colour hungry TV world it isn't seen much today.
Mushi Productions went bankrupt in 1972 but Osamu Tezuka tried
to make a comeback in the early 80s with a new full colour Astro boy
but it failed miserably. Tezuka died in 1989.
The series begins with the death of Dr Boynton’s (a robotics engineer)
son Aster (Toby in the new series) in a car accident set in the year
2000 (help with some character names from Dave Sternberg). He
makes a robot in his son’s image, but disappointed that he’s not a
real boy he disowns him, and he is sold to a robot circus and here
is named Astro Boy. The ringmaster Cachatore (Hamegg in the
new series) treats him cruelly, but he is later rescued by Dr Elefun
(large nose and two puffs of hair on the sides of his head) who is
against slavery of robots. Under his guidance, Astro Boy embarks
on adventures, fighting anything that threatens mankind. Astro Boy
can fly using jet rocket propulsion; has weapons including a lazer
and machine gun, and has emotions.
Astro Boy, like most of the other robots, lives by the robot law that
orders robots to help mankind by doing what’s good.
Other characters in the series included Mr Pompous who was a friend
of Dr Elefun’s (renamed Daddy Walrus in the coloured series because
of his long moustache), Astro Girl (named Uran in the colour series)
made by Dr Elefun as Astro Boy’s sister. Astro Boy’s bigger brother
was named Jetto. He was stored away in the warehouse of the
Science Academy and was created by Dr. Boynton as a prototype
of Astro Boy.
One of Astro Boy’s main enemies is Atlas who was a boy robot but
was rebuilt into a highly intelligent and powerful robot.
Daddy Walrus is sometimes a secret agent and in some episodes is
also Judo Expert . He retains the boastful loudmouth qualities of Mr.
Pompous but actually is portayed in the new series as a courageous
individual as opposed to a
cowardly braggard in the older Astro Boy series.
The Dr. Elefant character in the New Astro Boy is a somewhat less
of a scholar and actually more of a foolish "Absent Minded professor",
rather than the learned man that we see heading up "The Institute of
Science".
The director of Astro Boy was Fred Ladd
Billie Lou Watt- female (voice of Astro Boy and Astro Girl)
Cliff Owen (voice of Dr Elefun)
Gilbert Mack (voice of Mr Pompos)
(information credit-click here)