“Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving man’s expectations, our hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before he returns to save Metro City and reconcile with the father who had rejected him. Written by Anonymous”

• Director: David Bowers
• Release Date: 23 October 2009 (USA)
• Country: Hong Kong , USA , Japan
• Genre: Action , Animation , Sci-Fi
• MPAA: Rated PG for some action and peril, and brief mild language.

Tagline: Have a blast.

Trivia: The original cartoon of Astro Boy (or “Mighty Atom” in Japanese) was first seen on Japanese television from 1963 to 1966 as ‘Astroboy (1963)’ which is credited as the first anime cartoon. The character of Astro Boy first appeared in print as a manga in 1952 by Osamu Tezuka. Another Astro Boy series was remade in the 1980s and again in the 21st century.

“The most delicious event since macaroni met cheese. Inspired by the beloved children’s book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain.”

• Release Date: 18 September 2009 (USA)
• Country: USA
• Genre: Animation , Family

“When 9 (voice of Elijah Wood) first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world where all humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they’ll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them. Written by Focus Features”

• Director: Shane Acker
• Release Date: 9 September 2009 (USA)
• Genre: Animation , Adventure , Fantasy , Sci-Fi
• MPAA: Rated PG-13 for violence and scary images.

Trivia: The first computer-animated film to receive PG-13 rating.

“When the bee Barry B. Benson graduates from college, he finds that he will have only one job for his entire life, and absolutely disappointed, he joins the team responsible for bringing the honey and pollination of the flowers to visit the world outside the hive. Once in Manhattan, he is saved by the florist Vanessa and he breaks the bee law to thank Vanessa. They become friends and Barry discovers that humans exploit bees to sell the honey they produce. Barry decides to sue the human race, with destructive consequences to nature. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil”

• Release Date: 2 November 2007 (USA)
• Run Time: 91 min
• Country: USA
• Genre: Animation , Adventure , Comedy , Family
• MPAA: Rated PG for mild suggestive humor, and a brief depiction of smoking.

Tagline: On November 2 Hold on to your honey

Trivia: In the first scene they show a collection of white sneakers that Barry owns. In real life, Jerry Seinfeld is said to have a collection of than 500 sneakers and they are all white.

Goofs: Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Perceived errors regarding insect anatomy are part of the movie’s internal logic and suspension of disbelief. (See trivia entry.)

“In 1970s Iran, Marjane ‘Marji’ Statrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah’s defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own. With Marji dangerously refusing to remain silent at this injustice, her parents send her abroad to Vienna to study for a better life. However, this change proves an equally difficult trial with the young woman finding herself in a different culture loaded with abrasive characters and profound disappointments that deeply trouble her. Even when she returns home, Marji finds that both she and homeland have changed too much and the young woman and her loving family must decide where she truly belongs. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)”

• Release Date: 27 June 2007 (France)
• Run Time: 96 min | Turkey:89 min (TV version)
• Country: France , USA
• Genre: Animation , Biography , Drama , War
• MPAA: Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material including violent images, sexual references, language and brief drug content.

Trivia: Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni lent their voices to the movie’s English- and French-language versions, playing the same roles.

Goofs: Factual errors: The departures board at Paris Orly at the beginning has Cincinnati misspelled as “Cincinatti”.

“Three lazy misfits -- very timid Elliot (Larry the Cucumber), lazy Sedgewick (Mr. Lunt) and no self-confident George (Pa Grape) -- dream of the day of putting on a show about pirates. With their own problems of might not having this dream come true, they soon find themselves traveling back in time into the 17th century and begin a quest to rescue a royal family from an evil tyrant, and learn about being pirates. Written by rocknrollunderdawg”

• Director: Mike Nawrocki
• Release Date: 11 January 2008 (USA)
• Run Time: USA:85 min
• Country: USA
• Genre: Animation , Adventure , Comedy , Family

Trivia: Phil Vischer completed the script for this film in 2002 — before Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) was released. But because of the bankruptcy and buyout of Big Idea Productions, the film wasn’t able to start production until late 2005.

“One day, Horton the elephant hears a cry from help coming from a speck of dust. Even though he can’t see anyone on the speck, he decides to help it. As it turns out, the speck of dust is home to the Whos, who live in their city of Whoville. Horton agrees to help protect the Whos and their home, but this gives him nothing but torment from his neighbors, who refuse to believe that anything could survive on the speck. Still, Horton stands by the motto that, “After all, a person is a person, no matter how small.” Written by Griffin84″

• Release Date: 14 March 2008 (USA)
• Run Time: 86 min
• Country: USA
• Genre: Animation , Adventure , Comedy , Family

Tagline: One Elephant One World One Story

Trivia: In the scene where the Mayor of Whoville consults Dr. Leroux about what would happen if Whoville was a tiny spec in space, you can see that Dr. Leroux is holding up a piece of paper. On that paper, the first paragraph is just random typing. However, the following paragraph, it reads: “Clerk Maxwellies which othe machines, ranging fromag-neticles variety. Aside tranging. Electrodynamics at rea of theorology of the for can ever…”

Goofs: Revealing mistakes: When Vlad drops the clover, he drops it straight down. Horton shouldn’t have had to be halfway out in the field looking for the clover with the speck, as the movie shows. Also, the clover with the speck wasn’t growing, so Horton shouldn’t have had to pick the clover.

“In a distant, but not so unrealistic future, where mankind has abandoned earth because it has become covered with trash from products sold by the powerful multi-national Buy N Large corporation, WALL-E, a garbage collecting robot has been left to clean up the mess. Mesmerized with trinkets of earth’s history and show tunes, WALL-E is alone on Earth except for a sprightly pet cockroach. One day, Eve, a sleek (and dangerous) reconnaissance robot, is sent to earth to find proof that life is once again sustainable. WALL-E falls in love with Eve. WALL-E rescues Eve from a dust storm and shows her a living plant he found amongst the rubble. Consistent with her “directive” Eve takes the plant and automatically enters a deactivated state except for a blinking green beacon. WALL-E, doesn’t understand what has happened to his new friend, but true to his love, he protects her from wind, rain, and lightening, even as she is unresponsive. One day a massive ship comes to reclaim Eve, but WALL-E, out of love or loneliness hitches a ride on the outside of the ship to rescue Eve. The ship arrives back at a large space cruise ship, which is carrying all of the humans who evacuated earth 700 years earlier. The people of earth ride around this space resort on hovering chairs which give them a constant feed of TV and video chatting. They drink all of their meals through a straw out of laziness and/or bone loss, and are all so fat that they can barely move. When the auto-pilot computer, acting on hastily given instructions sent many centuries before, tries to prevent the people of earth from returning, by stealing the plant, WALL-E, Eve, the portly captain, and a band of broken robots stage a mutiny. Written by Anonymous”

• Director: Andrew Stanton
• Release Date: 27 June 2008 (USA)
• Run Time: 98 min
• Country: USA
• Genre: Animation , Adventure , Family , Romance , Sci-Fi

Tagline: An Adventure Beyond the Ordinar-E

Trivia: The screen magnifier that Wall-E uses on the iPod is a reference to Brazil (1985).

Goofs: Factual errors: Towards the end of the film, when Auto forces the Axiom to rotate, all the people slide to one side of the ship. However, we can assume that whatever is generating the artificial gravity would have rotated along with the rest of the ship, which should keep everybody on board upright and planted firmly on the ground.

“It’s the story about a lazy, irreverent slacker panda, named Po, who is the biggest fan of Kung Fu around…which doesn’t exactly come in handy while working every day in his family’s noodle shop. Unexpectedly chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy, Po’s dreams become reality when he joins the world of Kung Fu and studies alongside his idols, the legendary Furious Five — Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey — under the leadership of their guru, Master Shifu. But before they know it, the vengeful and treacherous snow leopard Tai Lung is headed their way, and it’s up to Po to defend everyone from the oncoming threat. Can he turn his dreams of becoming a Kung Fu master into reality? Po puts his heart -- and his girth -- into the task, and the unlikely hero ultimately finds that his greatest weaknesses turn out to be his greatest strengths. Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}”

• Release Date: 6 June 2008 (USA)
• Run Time: 92 min
• Country: USA
• Genre: Animation , Action , Comedy , Family
• MPAA: Rated PG for sequences of martial arts action.

Tagline: Prepare for awesomeness.

Trivia: Shifu’s Chinese name, as shown in the end credits, means “Teacher-Master” (”Shi-fu” in Pinyin transliteration). Shifu is a red panda, but with a lot white fur than red.

Goofs: Miscellaneous: The peach tree is seen to be covered with blossoms and fruit at the same time. Typically, fruit trees blossom in the spring, then they are covered with leaves in the summer, and finally they yield fruit in the fall. This cycle is longer or shorter with different fruit trees in different climates, but it is always sequential and never simultaneous.

“Ham III, the grandson of the first chimp astronaut, is blasted off into space by an opportunity-seeking senator. Soon, the fun-loving chimp has to get serious about the mission at hand: Rid a far-away planet of their nefarious leader. Fortunately for Ham III, two of his simian peers are along for the ride. Written by IMDb Editors”

• Director: Kirk De Micco
• Release Date: 18 July 2008 (USA)
• Run Time: 81 min
• Country: USA
• Genre: Animation , Adventure , Comedy , Family , Romance , Sci-Fi

Trivia: Fittingly, the teaser ad for this movie premiered on June 20th 2008 during a Fox broadcast of another ‘Monkey in Space’ movie -- 2001’s remake of “Planet of the Apes”.

Goofs: Factual errors: The chimpanzees are all small, even Houston, who is much older than the others. Fully grown chimpanzees are roughly the same size as humans.