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Production Shut Down Rumor of 'Astro Boy' Straightened

Though earlier rumors suggested that "Astro Boy" has been shut down because of cash flow problems, the CG animated movie is still on the course to be released on the planned date. Addressing the issue to IO9, Imagi U.S. president Erin Corbett claimed that the studio's priority is to make sure that the feature film adaptation of the Japanese anime will see the big screens.

Though admitting that the production has to be halted temporarily, she further noted that studio has planned to resume production as soon as the new round of financing comes in on February 3. "Our number one objective is to get back on the rails," Corbett insisted when talking about the future of the David Bowers-directed animation. "We want to do everything to get Astro Boy out the door."

Back on Sunday, January 25, the president of The Animation Guild, Kevin Koch, reported that Imagi Studio may be out of cash and temporarily shutting down operations. Kock broke out the news after one of Imagi's Los Angeles animators revealed that he was told that the studio was out of cash on Saturday, January 24 and that he should not report to work on Monday, February 2. The reports prompted further speculations that the movie may be shelved entirely.

"Astro Boy" is an adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's classic manga. Scripted by Timothy Harris, it tells the story of a young robot with incredible powers in futuristic Metro City. Following the young robot's search for the place where he belongs, it chronicles Astro Boy's journey where he experiences betrayal and gets into a netherworld of robot gladiators before returning to save Metro City.

Coming from "Flushed Away" helmer David Bowers, it features the voice cast of Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Donald Sutherland and Freddie Highmore among many others. This animation movie is set to be distributed in the U.S. by Summit Entertainment on October 23.