आयरन जायंट

An ambitious take on Ted Hughes' 1968 children's book The Iron Man, director Brad Bird's The Iron Giant works well as both archetype-infused allegory and heartstring-tugging tale of friendship. Set in small town Maine in the 1950s at the height of Cold War paranoia, the film explores the relationship between a lonely, fatherless boy (a photo on a nightstand hints that the father was a combat pilot killed in WWII) and a monstrously huge, hulking metal behemoth (the origins of which are brilliantly left to the imagination). The animation marks a welcome contrast from the virtually ubiquitous Disney template, with the human characters bearing a stylized, comic book exaggeration that fits perfectly with the story material. The Iron Giant has more than enough imagination and sparkle to interest kids and adults, and nicely balances its action-adventure aspirations with a solidly-crafted sense of moral purpose.

After seeing this movie, I was overcome by a strange feeling. I realized that I had found a treasure where I had least expected it. The Iron Giant is intelligent, funny, touching, and visually superb, and should show the world that an animated movie does not need to be A) computer-animated, or B) based on a fairy tale to be successful. One of the best American-made children's movies I have seen in a decade: 8.5/10.0

Now, I'm a 17-year-old who is slowly transitioning into the domain of movie buffdom, which basically means that I am watching a stream of movies based on recommendations from friends, critics, and the IMDb Top 250 list. I got this one almost by accident after the local rental place could not find the movie I was really after, choosing it basically on the knowledge that it was the previous project of Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles (a personal favorite). After watching it, I felt like calling up every mother I knew and telling her to have her children (and herself) watch this.

The Iron Giant revolves around an adventurous young boy in 1950s small-town America who discovers a gigantic robot out in the woods that has arrived on Earth from goodness-knows-where. He befriends the robot, while trying to keep him safe from a nosy government agent. The story seldom lags, with a series of comical adventures connected by the boy's growing relationship with his friend.

This movie is very appealing as entertainment. The voices are well-done, and the scenery is also terrific. Most importantly, though, is the animation, which is a bright spot from this time period. The characters are well-drawn, especially the Giant, who through terrific design, lifelike movements, and clever small touches (i.e., the eyes) seems both alien and human, imposing and childlike. Furthermore, the animation is comical. I don't know when I have ever seen slapstick or punchlines so well-complimented by the animation. The script, written by Bird and based off the book The Iron Man, is also very well done. Though the movie relies upon a few minor crutches common to children's movies, it is still very original and clever.

One thing that I must point out about this movie is its morals. Throughout the movie, the main moral of the story, about the Iron Giant learning and choosing to be good, is actually fairly adroitly handled. At no point when the subject comes up, including standard sentimental climax, does the idea seem contrived. Throughout the movie, evidence of Bird's influence by comic books is quite evident, and his ultimate message about heroes (variations of which will resurface in The Incredibles) is relevant and sincere. However, I do have to say that the secondary moral, about the evils of xenophobia and paranoia, both of which are embodied by the movie's antagonist, the government agent and the military, are very politically charged. While this may sound initially controversial and politically charged for a kids' movie (the second of which I do not deny), I noticed that it was in large part a thoughtful spoof of Cold War America, with jokes as well as valuable lessons about "duck and cover" and 1950s nuclear edginess that I found very clever.

On a final note, I do have to point out that this movie had me laughing hard, but more importantly, it brought me closer to tears than any animated movie I can remember (including Bambi), closer than I like to admit. I wish that I had discovered it sooner, and I hope that everyone gets the chance to experience it the way I did.

I have only just recently rewatched this classic and it is as good today as the first day I saw it.

I love the setting of this, back in the 50's during the height of cold war tension and fear of alien invasion.

This movie has a great balance, just enough character development, enough action scenes and enough tension to keep you glued for the hour and a half play time.

It is aimed at kids for sure but adults would enjoy watching this one just as much.

The characters are all endearing that you really get attached to them. The bad guy is less evil and more of an authoritarian trying to do their job regardless of emotions involved. It makes for a fun movie for all ages.

It's nice to see an elegantly crafted piece of animation come out of America. How did they manage it? The writing is great the animation is excellent and the voice acting is superb. I don't think I've liked an English animated film this much since The Plague Dogs. The film doesn't talk down to it's audience, and instead tells a simple story very well. My only complaint would be that Hogarth is somewhat of a smart-alec at times, but I guess this is the era of Leave it To Beaver.

Many of the situations are standard movie-fare, the ex-lax in the food, the helmet on the bed, but it's nice to see them in an animated film for a change. As an anime fan, the realism of the movie didn't impress me as much as the quality of the writing, voice acting, and the music and sound effects. I particularly remember the sound of the power lines snapping and the musical score building up to the climax of the film.

The character design for the giant is excellent, it's amazing how they could draw out very subtle emotions without noticeably distorting the face. I bawled like a baby near the end.

Finally, most importantly for me, there are NO CHEAP LAUGHS in the movie. One of the best moments in the movie for me was when Hogarth is running through the woods and he slams his face into a low branch. The theater full of kids raised on recent Disney crap bursts into laughter, but wait, there's no stupid sound effect, he's not hopping back up to his feet instantly with a ridiculous lump or distorted face or little birds flying around his head, he's still on the ground ... and what's that coming out of his nose.. it CAN'T BE.. it IS, a trickle of BLOOD. The kids (and parents) quickly cease their laughter. I couldn't stop smiling because I knew then that like me, they actually cared about the character on the screen and frankly that doesn't happen very often.

Tarzan was a small step in the right direction, and near the end of the long path beginning with that step is The Iron Giant.

What a GREAT movie! Not just for kids, but adults as well. Kids will love it on one level, and adults will love it on another level. Even adults who are not parents will love it!

There's humor, there's action, there's nostalgia, there's the perfect capture of being a child, there are positive messages (be yourself, don't kill, etc.), there's satire, there are adults who are not stupid and not comic relief....there's GREAT WRITING!

AND NO SONG AND DANCE NUMBERS! Also, there are NO COMIC-RELIEF ANIMAL SIDEKICKS! Take that, Disney!

I know some people might be resisting this movie, because it looks like it's aimed for kids - and they might be expecting a Disney clone (and we all know the bad results of Disney wannabes).....but TRUST ME. Give this movie a chance - you'll love it!

Is there ANYTHING wrong with it? Well, the only thing that bugged me (just a little) were some close-ups of the characters - these certain close-ups had a "sketchy" look a la the movies "We're Back!" and "Balto".

Fortunately, there's very little of this. Other than that - this is a PERFECT MOVIE!