Nicolas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Freddie Highmore, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy and Eugene Levy are teaming up to voice the new CGI film Astro Boy, based on the 1950’s Japanese manga cartoon. Highmore will voice the title character.

Set in futuristic Metro City, the film revolves around a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist to replace the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving father's expectations, our hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, finds betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, and then returns to save Metro City and reconcile with the man who had rejected him.

Astro Boy was created by Japan's Osamu Tezuka in the early 1950s. The iconic character has since found wide popularity around the world as the hero of three acclaimed animated television series spanning the past four decades, besides being one of the top licensed properties for merchandising.

The big screen version is slated for worldwide theatrical release in 2009, by the same folks who brought you the recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.