The promotion surrounding the Astro Boy movie, which is releasing wide this weekend, is gearing up, with the kick-off of a Happy Meals campaign and the release of the videogame this week.  The six Happy Meals toys have action features, including some that fire projectiles. 

Astro Boy:  The Video Game, from D3Publisher, uses voice talent from the movie (Kristen Bell and Freddie Highmore), and promotion includes our favorite quote ever from a videogame company executive, in this case Alison Quirion, vice president of marketing for D3Publisher.  “Astro Boy:  The Video Game allows players to experience Astro’s incredible super powers, including Butt Machine Guns, in a heart-warming adventure of redemption and triumph that will appeal to fans of all ages,” she said.

The run-up to Astro Boy got a good kick-off at San Diego Comic-Con this year, with a screening of footage of the film to good reaction (see “ICv2 Talks to Astro Boy Director David Bowers”). 

There’s plenty of merchandise, including two special Astro Boy DVD packages from Right Stuf (see “Astro Boy:  The Beginning” and “Astro Boy and Kimba Mini-Sets”), the original manga series by Osamu Tezuka from Dark Horse, new comics from IDW (see “IDW Plans Two Astro Boy Series”), and a variety of other licensed products.