Astro Boy (1980)

***Astro Boy*** (*鉄腕アトム Tetsuwan Atomu*, lit. *The Mighty Atom*) is a remake of the original 1960's anime series of the same name, based on the manga by Osamu Tezuka.

## Dubbing History

An English dub coordinated by Tezuka Productions and Nippon TV was produced in 1982. The dub was recorded using acting majors and graduate students out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison during August of 1982. According to voice actor Bob Gonzalez, he's unsure why they came to UW Wisconsin for dubbing, though surmises it's likely because of the relatively low flat fee they accepted to do the job.

The dub was lightly edited, cutting various scenes; most notably merging Episodes 1 and 2 together. According to Jay Rath, they had dubbed the first two episodes as an hour-long episode uncut, but apparently it was decided to cut it down. The names from the dub of the original anime were used for this dub, such as Dr. Elefun for Professor Ochanomizu and Inspector Gumshoe for Inspector Tawashi. The dub aired in Australia from 1983 to 1998, though it had a very limited release in the U.S., where broadcasts were limited to syndication in a few markets. This dub was also made available on DVD by Manga Entertainment in the US and by Madman in Australia. It was later made available on Blu-ray by Discotek Media.

An alternate dub was produced for Canadian audiences to fill the legal Canadian-content quota (a statute requiring Canadian TV Stations to air a certain amount of Canadian-made content. Anime dubbed in Canada counts). The dub was produced in 1985, and recorded at Cinélume in Montreal; featuring a then 12-year old Steven Bednarski as Astro Boy. The opening and ending themes recorded for the previous dub were still used, however.

While the Nippon dub featured light editing, the Canadian version was highly edited for violence, with entire sequences being re-edited. The edits are identical to the French dub, *Astro le Petit Robot*, which was also recorded in Montreal. With the exception of Astro and Atlas, most of the characters names were changed (Dr. Elefun was renamed "Professor Peabody", Uran was renamed "Sarah", etc.). The Canadian dub also featured a pre-title sequence which recapped Astro's origin, and an epilogue where Astro would give a brief report about each episode's adventure to a computer named Geronimo. Astro's report would always contain a minor error about the story, and a narrator would encourage the viewers to find Astro's mistake, and compare answers with their friends.

## Cast

### Nippon/UW-Wisconsin Dub

#### **Additional Voices**

* Richard Ganoung - Ship Captain (ep. 2), Mustached Audience Member (ep. 3), Robot Worker #1 (ep. 5), Goliath's Opponent (ep. 12), Angry Customer (ep. 13), Silver Cross Crewman #4 (ep. 16), Disbeliever #2 (ep. 32), Island Native (ep. 37), Control Panel Announcer (ep. 39), Captain Keely's Brother (ep. 43), Park Ride Operator #1 (ep. 45), Important Robot #2 (ep. 49), Ministry of Science Scientist #1 (ep. 52).
* Bob Gonzalez - Circus Announcer (ep. 3), Atlas' Human Slave #1 (ep. 9), Race Announcer (ep. 10), Safari Boundary Robot Guard (ep. 34), Radio News Reader (ep. 39), Anti-Proton Gun Computer Systems Voice (ep. 38), Narrator (ep. 41), Cosmopolis Attack Squad (ep. 42), Important Robot #1 (ep. 49), Train Announcer (ep. 52).
* Debby Holmes - Scared Girl (ep. 1), Robot Cook #2 (ep. 7), Airport Announcer (ep. 10), Kid (ep. 25), Crying Boy (ep. 30), Stewardess (ep. 40), Chieftan's Wife (ep. 42), Ministry Of Science Analysis Voice #3 (ep. 43).
* Celia Klehr
* Del Lewis - News Reporter (ep. 5), Newscaster (ep. 6), Robot Land Announcer (ep. 6), Robot Land Magic Mirror (ep. 6), Announcer (ep. 7), RTV Announcer (ep. 10), Radio Announcer (ep. 12), TV Announcer 2 (ep. 13), Narrator (ep. 25), Announcer (ep. 34), Airport Announcer (ep. 40), Religious Video Narrator (ep. 45).
* David G. Miller - Gangster Boss (ep. 3), Kidnapper Robot Guard #2 (ep. 14), Police Chief (ep. 22), TV Announcer (ep. 23), Analyzing Announcer (ep. 30), Dam Engineer (ep. 31), Deliveryman (ep. 40), News Reporter (ep. 41), Salesman (ep. 42), Ministry of Science Robot Guard (ep. 44), Boy Riding Carousel (ep. 45), Jumbotron Announcer (ep. 46), Important Robot #3 (ep. 49).
* Paul M. Nelson - Black Scientist (ep. 1), Conference Announcer (ep. 4), Amusement Park Technician (ep. 4), Minister (ep. 8), Security Officer #2 (ep. 8), Ministry of Science Robot Guard #1 (ep. 14), Man Asking About Earthquake Report (ep. 22), Man in Robot Costume (ep. 28), Disbeliever #1 (ep. 32), Sunshine Island Cruise Announcer (ep. 35), Larson's Henchman #2 (ep. 39), Genie (ep. 41), Ministry of Science Computer Analyzer (ep. 44), Security Guard (ep. 52).
* Brian Parry - Auctioneer (ep. 12), Jewelry Store Owner (ep. 13), Cross Island Robot Guard #1 (ep. 20), Director (ep. 28).
* Jay Rath - Scared Boy (ep. 1), Cruise Ship Announcement (ep. 2), Computer Voice (ep. 3), Man Telling Daddy Walrus to Move (ep. 4), Butler (ep. 7), Airport Security Guard Robot (ep. 11), Dead Cross Soldier 3 (ep. 11), Robot Announcer (ep. 11), National Robot Contest Announcer (ep. 13), TV Competition Announcer (ep. 14), Ministry of Science Robot Guard #2 (ep. 14), Ministry of Science Robot Guard #3 (ep. 14), Car Driver (ep. 14), Kidnapper Robot Guard #3 (ep. 14), Remodelling Computer (ep. 14), Space Shuttle Station Announcer (ep. 18), Cross Island Robot Guard #2 (ep. 20), Space Liner Titan First Officer (ep. 21), Car Announcer (ep. 22), Train Conductor (ep. 22), Bat (ep. 27), Voice on Telephone (ep. 29), Atlas' Robot Guard (ep. 33), Safari Robot Ranger (ep. 34), Larson's Henchman #1 (ep. 39), Sun Sphere Robot Operator (ep. 39), Fisherman (ep. 41), News Reporter (ep. 41), Scientist Assistant (ep. 41), Moustached Scientist (ep. 41), Duke's Master (ep. 42), Registration Robot (ep. 42), Damaged Space Station Worker #1 (ep. 42), Damaged Space Station Worker #2 (ep. 42), Neptune Robot Worker #2 (ep. 43), Space Station Scientist (ep. 43), Ministry Of Science Analysis Voice #1 (ep. 43), Boy with Baseball (ep. 45), Park Ride Operator #2 (ep. 45), Park Ride Operator #3 (ep. 45), Space Port R45 Communications Officer (ep. 46), Responding Pilot (ep. 46), News Anchor (ep. 47), Boy Who Finds Astro in Park (ep. 49), Dock Lookout (ep. 50), Ministry of Science Scientist #2 (ep. 52).
* Kahlei A. Slick - Cruise Ship Diner (ep. 2), Robot Worker #2 (ep. 5), Robot Cook #1 (ep. 7), Mustached Man (ep. 7), Baribari's Servant (ep. 32), Disbeliever #3 (ep. 32), Ministry Of Science Analysis Voice #2 (ep. 43), Background Robot (ep. 44), Librarian (ep. 45).
* Becke Wilenski - Kid (ep. 25), Pook (ep. 34).
* Greg Zerkle - Principal (ep. 4), Fire Chief (ep. 7), Security Officer (ep. 8), Silver Cross Crewman #5 (ep. 16), Spaceship 108 Officer (ep. 17), Fight Announcer (ep. 30), Subway Dispatcher (ep. 33), Damaged Space Station Reporter (ep. 42), Neptune Robot Worker #1 (ep. 43), Defense Force Mars Base Announcer (ep. 43), Reporter (ep. 44), Boy on the Ramp (ep. 45), Airship Memorial Captain (ep. 47), Important Robot #4 (ep. 49), Train Passenger (ep. 52).

### Canadian Dub

Early Canadian copyright laws did not require dub actors to be listed in credits, so the majority of the Canadian English cast is unknown. Bednarski's involvement was revealed by Bednarski himself on an Astro Boy fan forum.

#### Additional Voices

* Janice Chaikelson
* Kathleen Fee
* A.J. Henderson
* Adrian Knight
* Pauline Little
* Bronwen Mantel
* Walter Massey
* Rob Roy
* Vlasta Vrána
* Jane Woods

## See Also

* Astro Boy
* Astro Boy (2003)

## External Links

* *Astro Boy* (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
* *Astro Boy* at the Internet Movie Database