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Customer Reviews of The Iron Giant

A real treat for young and old alike
1999's The Iron Giant is one of those truly outstanding films that never got the attention it deserved at the time of its theatrical release. While it may not have the glitzy look and feel of a Disney film, this Warner Brothers animated movie is of the highest caliber. The Iron Giant has a heart and a natural home-spun appeal that make it a great film for children as well as adults. Disney animated films always have a distinctly Disney aura to them, but The Iron Giant disavows artificiality to the extent that it almost seems too natural to be a movie. The animation is solid and impressive without any over-the-top or flashy sequences, the voice acting (featuring the voices of Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick, Jr., Christopher McDonald, Eli Marienthal, and Vin Diesel) is quite good, and the story is both entertaining and heart-warming, imparting some important lessons about life without ever becoming the least bit preachy.

It is 1957, and the Soviets have just launched Sputnik, giving rise to a sense of concern to the American people and its government. Thus, when something foreign tears through the atmosphere and hits the water some few miles off the coast of Maine, the government wants to know what this mysterious object is. Before government agent Kent Mansley arrives to investigate, though, young Hogarth Hughes has made first contact with what turns out to be a huge metal robot. The giant is child-like in terms of adapting to life on earth and does not seem to remember where it originally came from, but the lad soon makes friends with him and teaches him many of the things a parent would teach his own child. The giant gets a poignant and sad bird's-eye view of death, reinforcing its seemingly innate hatred of guns, and has little trouble developing a moral philosophy of goodness, choosing to mimic Superman rather than the evil robot Atomo. As sometimes happens in this world, though, the giant's goodness is met with fright, paranoia, and panic on the part of society, and Hogarth is only able to hide his gigantic new friend from the world for so long. The initially somewhat goofy but ultimately detestable agent Mansley sees to it that the army does everything in its power to destroy the gentle giant. He fears the giant simply because it is alien and different, never making the first attempt to understand or communicate with it. As might be expected, the giant eventually has to prove himself in a way that will convince even those who fear him of his kind and generous soul. In essence, the giant becomes the most human character in the film.

I have to say that there are a couple of pretty sad scenes in the film, but the hard lessons of life are presented in such a way as to be more empowering than frightening to the most sensitive of viewers. By and large, the movie is humorous on a number of levels, exuding obvious appeal to young and old alike. To sum up, The Iron Giant is nothing less than superb family entertainment in the widest sense of the term.

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An animated fable that does it all perfectly.
The Iron Giant is easily my favorite movie of 1999. Unfortunately lost amid a sea of big budget flash movies, this beautiful film was never destined to be a box office success. Be that as it may, it stands firm as a shining example of the limitless potential of animated storytelling.

Full of nostalgic nuance and attention to detail, The Iron Giant tells the story of a young boy, Hogarth Hughes, and his adventures with a new and unlikely best friend- a giant robot from outer space. As the giant struggles to understand who he is and Hogarth struggles to conceal the giant, both end up learning more than a little bit about true friendship. In short, this is a film that shouldn't be missed, by children, adults, and giant robots alike. When an animated feature packs ten times the emotional punch of its live action contemporaries, you owe it to yourself not to miss out.

If this movie lights a fire under you, try looking into Ted Hughes' original book The Iron Man, a narratively if not allegorically different telling of the tale featured in the film.

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It's about time.
Here's what we can expect with this true release of The Iron Giant:

-Anamorphic widescreen format with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.

-Eight never-before-seen additional scenes with introductions by Brad Bird, including an alternate opening sequence.

-13 mini documentaries revealing the origin and the in-depth development process of The Iron Giant.

-Interviews with creative consultant Teddy Newton on the storyboard sequence development process.

-The Voice Of The Giant: Brad Bird and Vin Diesel discuss voicing The Iron Giant.

-Scene-specific commentaries by filmmakers

-A motion gallery of original animation

-A letter from Ted Hughes, author of the original book upon which the film was based.

-DVD-ROM access to the original web site and Easter eggs revealing the behind-the-scenes filmmaking process.

The only thing I see wrong with this is the box/case. Click on the image here to see a larger version, and you'll see that it's the horrid snap cases. Oh well, at least the movie's getting the treatment it deserves. Pick this up when it comes out.