Pluto got demoted from planethood, and The Adventures of Pluto Nash has become shorthand for the disastrous turn of Eddie Murphy's career, but Universal Pictures is hoping that Pluto, a popular manga, will redeem the reputation of the Roman god of the underworld.
Pluto, which updates some of the characters, settings, and situations from Osamu Tezuka's legendary Japanese manga Astro Boy, has been chosen by Universal for an upcoming movie wedding live action to CGI. Illumination Entertainment, headed by former FOX Animation head Chris Meledandri, will execute the project, a follow-up to the successful Despicable Me. With the popularity of manga ever on the rise in the U.S., and American moviegoers always ready to line up for the classic storytelling theme of giant robots fucking shit up, Pluto sounds like a gimme. Then again, the live action/CGI adaptation of Astro Boy itself was a legendary dud hated by critics and shunned by audiences. Pending an announcement of the 'talent' involved, we remain nervously dismayed.