“Spiderwick Chronicles” star Freddie Highmore is to voice the lead character in 3-D animation “Astro Boy.”The lonely robot tale is a $50 million adaptation of a classic comic-book story created by manga supremo Osamu Tezuka that is in production with Hong Kong-based Imagi Studios.

Directed by David Bowers, the movie is set release worldwide in 2009 by Warner Bros. and the Weinstein Co.