Chatting with Bill Nighy, it quickly becomes apparent that he is nothing like his breakout character Billy Mack, the outspoken and outrageous musician from “Love Actually.”

Nighy comes off as anything but an egotistical rock star. During our talk, he was soft-spoken and intelligent, and, despite a little jet-lag from a transcontinental flight the night before, mentally sharp and eager to answer questions about his new film “Astro Boy.” He spoke with Blast about how far animated films have come, what it’s like to play a short fat man and about finally getting the chance to play a wizard in the next “Harry Potter” film.

Nighy’s enthusiasm for “Astro Boy” was palpable. He said he had always been intrigued by the “phenomenon” of the character (who, according to Nighy, is the Japanese Mickey Mouse) but was attracted to the film based on its smart script.

“I liked everything about the script,” Nighy said. “It’s a proper grown-up story. (It has) universal themes and stuff we all deal with, like family and belonging.”

When I asked him about his character Dr. Elefun, a scientist and supporter of Astro, Nighy said the character’s overall goodness struck him.

“He is the representative of human decency in the film” Nighy said. “His instincts are pure and he is able to distinguish between what is benign and what isn’t.”

Nighy chuckled when I asked whether or not it was challenging to voice a character so physically opposite from himself. While Nighy is tall, spindly and angular, Dr. Elefun is short, dumpy and has a cucumber-shaped nose. Nighy said he pretty much played it straight.

“I did try to do a couple of things that I thought would accommodate that genre of creature” Nighy said. “But in fact they really wanted it just like me, so it’s pretty much just Bill Nighy.”

The chance to work with director David Bowers again, who he had previously worked with on “Flushed Away” was exciting as well.

“David is a really cool guy” Nighy said. “He is devout when it comes to animation and he writes scripts that are worthy of any genre.”

Nighy said “Astro Boy” is an example of a larger overall trend. There has been a tremendous shift, he said, in quality of animated films. They have become more than just movies for children. In his opinion, they are approaching the quality and emotional depth of live-action films.

“The scripts are of the same level, the performances hopefully are on-par, and the degree of craft and technical achievement is very close” Nighy said. “There really are some masterpieces being made, and modern animation has transcended any sort of subgenre. They are absolutely mainstream and serious movies.”

When the conversation turned to his upcoming role as Rufus Scrimgeour in the final two Harry Potter films, Nighy expressed clear excitement at having finally earned his wand.

“I’m a wizard, finally” Nighy said. “I thought I was going to be the only English actor of a certain age who wasn’t in Harry Potter, but it turned out not to be the case.”

Nighy said it was great to work with all of the older actors, many of whom he grew up with in the industry. Nighy added that working with the younger actors, particularly Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, was a pleasure.

Even more gratifying for Nighy was that he got to play a wizard with David Yates as his director. Nighy has worked with Yates three times previously, most notably in the BBC miniseries “State of Play”

“David is one of the finest directors currently working, and he is a believer” Nighy said. “It was a pleasure to be back working with him on something as luscious as Harry Potter.”

“Astro Boy” hits theaters today and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1″ will be released November 2010.

“Astro Boy” an animated film based on a 1960′s Japanese cartoon, is a surprisingly deep and emotionally mature superhero tale. Despite a fairly pedestrian and action-heavy third act, I found myself thoroughly invested in Astro’s search for a home and sense of belonging.

Astro (Freddie Highmore) is created by the brilliant Dr. Tenma (Nicolas Cage) to replace Toby, his son who died in a tragic lab accident. Tenma desperately clings to Astro at first, but callously discards him when he realizes that despite the physical resemblance and the fact that he has given Astro his son’s memories, Toby is truly gone.

The scenes between Astro and Tenma are handled with real intelligence and emotional depth. Tenma’s reactions to Astro feel motivated by a father’s grief at the loss of his son and not due to the necessity of the plot. And Astro’s realization of an identity separate from Toby’s is simple but effective.

It is when Astro goes in search of a new home that the film is at its best visually. The setting of the film changes from the surprisingly visually dull Metro City, a floating metropolis, to the Earth’s surface, long-abandoned by humanity due to pollution and a huge buildup of garbage.

Once there, Astro makes friends with a group of children who have been living on the surface. Cora (Kristen Bell), the spunky leader of the group, is the standout. She spends clear nights trying to contact her parents in Metro City using old cell phones she finds in the massive junk piles that cover much of the Earth’s surface. The shots of Cora sitting on the hood of an old car and staring up at Metro City, framed by the moon and the city floating above her, are the films loveliest.

While the action-heavy third act is nothing particularly special, I was involved enough in Astro’s journey that it did not bother me all that much. The fight scenes are exciting but unoriginal.

The fact that Metro City is poorly rendered does not help the film. Metro City is never portrayed as a bustling metropolis. It seems the animators spent most of their time working on the much more colorful and visually interesting surface of Earth, which robs Astro’s desperate fight to save the city of much of its emotional weight. Why should I care about a city that doesn’t feel real?

The voice acting is solid, with Freddie Highmore being the real standout. Highmore invests Astro with the same intelligent sensitivity that has marked all of his live-action performances.

The film falls into the trap of casting actors with name value instead of finding voices that match the characters. The best example of this is Bill Nighy, who voiced a character that does not suit him physically. Nighy does very nice work. I just didn’t buy his voice coming from the diminutive and fat Dr. Elefun.

“Astro Boy” is far from perfect, but it hooked me anyway. By the end I genuinely cared what happened to Astro. Was the ending all that surprising? No not at all, but it was fun watching Astro get there.

“Astro Boy” is in theaters this Friday.

Check out these brand new stills and clips from the animated film “Astro Boy,” starring newcomer Freddie Highmore comedic geniuses Bill Nighy and Eugene Levy. The film releases next Friday, the 23rd.

Be sure to check back here on Tuesday to listen to Blast’s exclusive interview with Bill Nighy, and on Friday to catch our review of the film!

Imagi International Holdings announced “Astro Boy” premiere dates for the US, Hong Kong and Japan.

Japan gets the first premiere on October 5, since that’s where Tezuka Osamu created the character more than 50 years ago. The film’s director, David Bowers, producer Maryann Garger, and Japanese voice talents including Aya Ueto and Koji Yakusho, are expected to attend the world premiere.

The film’s production base, Hong Kong, will host its own premiere on October 17 with the film’s Cantonese voice talent.

The US premiere is October 19 in Los Angeles, which will include English voice talents including Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell and Nicolas Cage.

Astro Boy will be the first Hong Kong produced movie to be released across 4 continents and 20 markets in the same month, Imagi said.

Summit Entertainment released several images and a 3.5 minute scene from the upcoming “Astro Boy” movie called “Escape from Metro City.”

Few characters have made as powerful or as lasting an impression on international popular culture as Astro Boy. The little robot first appeared in 1951 as a character in the celebrated artist and animator Osamu Tezuka’s legendary manga (Japanese comic book) and became an instant icon. He was subsequently featured as the star of his own television series in both black-andwhite and in color, eventually airing in over 40 countries. Astro Boy created the standard for a new form of animation that has become world famous as anime. Now for the first time, Astro Boy will be brought to life on the big screen. Created with breathtaking computer animation from Imagi Studios, the film Astro Boy is a thrilling tale of a true hero. The film is set to debut in theaters on October 23, 2009.

Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist named Dr. Tenma (Nicolas Cage). Powered by positive “blue” energy, Astro Boy (Freddie Highmore) is endowed with super strength, x-ray vision, unbelievable speed and the ability to fly. Embarking on a journey in search of acceptance, Astro Boy encounters many other colorful characters along the way. Through his adventures, he learns the joys and emotions of being human, and gains the strength to embrace his destiny. Ultimately learning his friends and family are in danger, Astro Boy marshals his awesome super powers and returns to Metro City in a valiant effort to save everything he cares about and to understand what it means to be a hero.

“Astro Boy” stars Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane, Euguene Levy, Matt Lucas, Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland, Charlize Theron and Nicolas Cage. It’s written by Timothy Hyde Harris and David Bowers, with Bowers directing.

Check out these new stills of Summit Entertainment’s “Astro Boy,” featuring the voice talents of Freddie Highmore and Kristen Bell.

“Astro Boy” hits theaters October 23, 2009.

SAN DIEGO — In a Comic-Con exclusive announcement, Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson and Academy Award winner Charlize Theron have joined the voice talent behind Summit’s new film “Astro Boy.”

Kristen Bell and Freddie Highmore presented the worldwide premiere of the “Astro Boy” trailer, which exhibited animation that stayed very true to the animated cartoon.

“Astro Boy” is Summit’s first animated film and shows Summit’s vast film range, complimenting “Twilight” and “The Hurt Locker”. It hits theaters October 23, 2009.