Appropriately for a film about robots, efficiency is the primary virtue of “Astro Boy,” a well-oiled CG-animated superhero pic that makes up in competence and vitality what it lacks in originality.

From an auspicious beginning in a 1951 Japanese manga comic book created by Osamu Tezuka, Astro Boy has become firmly embedded in popular culture around the world. Sign up for the top news stories ...