REMEMBER Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy? An established studio has just acquired the rights to produce a new feature-length animated picture based on the endearing boy robot.  

Imagi Animation Studios, noted for its CG production of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Gatchaman, is well-placed to handle the transition of Astro Boy from 2D to 3D, says Yoshihiro Shimizu, general manager of Tezuka Productions. 

Astro Boy, which first appeared as a manga series in 1952, chronicled the adventures of the robot Atom and his friends as they battled sinister enemies seeking world domination.