World Famous Comics: The Iron Giant (Special Edition)
The Iron Giant (Special Edition)
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Vin Diesel, James Gammon, Cloris Leachman Directed By: Brad Bird Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: AC-3, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Warner Home Video Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: November 16, 2004 Running Time: 86 minutes Theatrical Release Date: August 06, 1999
Amazon.com essential video: This gentle reworking of Ted Hughes's 1968 novella was the unseen gem of 1999. Hogarth, a young boy who lives in the Maine woods during the cold war, befriends a giant robot. As with E.T., the iron giant is a misunderstood outsider who becomes a child's best friend, and Hogarth does his best to hide the massive figure from his mom (voiced by Jennifer Aniston) and the local scrap-yard beatnik (Harry Connick Jr.). Soon the suspicions of neighbors and a government agent (Christopher McDonald) spell trouble.
With no songs, no sidekicks, and no cheap ending, The Iron Giant is a refreshing change-- like an off-Broadway production compared to the glitz of Disney's annual animated extravaganzas. Director Brad Bird may have Family Dog and The Simpsons to his credit, but this film doesn't have that brand of scatological humor. As with the best family entertainments, there are gags that adults will howl at while the kids are watching something else (see Bird's interpretation of cold war propaganda). And the star is one cool piece of animated magic. Voiced by Vin Diesel (Saving Private Ryan's hulking Private Caparzo) and filled with more gadgets than a Swiss army knife, the giant is a grand thing to behold. And like another famous cinema tin man, our hero--and the movie--has heart. Superb entertainment for ages 5 and up. --Doug Thomas
Description: A young boy rescues a huge robot which has rocketed to earth from space - and tries to protect the genial giant from a nosey government agent and the military. A captivating animated feature that's part metal, part magic and all heart.
The Iron Giant The movie has a great message for kids. Heartwarming and sensitive towards things that are different. Kids loved it right away and wanted to watch it again and again.
Pure Magic This is one of those films that comes along once in a great while. A film that captures the imagination no matter how old you are. This film is for everyone. If you do not like this movie, you have no soul.
Gets me every time "The Iron Giant", a Brad Bird film based on Ted Hughes' story "The Iron Man", appears at first glance to be the typical boy-and-his-robot heartwarmer. It does accomplish the requisite jerking of tears, but it's actually much more than an animated kid's movie. Bird has said in interviews that he regards animation as a medium, not a genre; that's true nowhere more than here. TIG functions as a parable on several levels: an object lesson on the evils of xenophobia, a Christ allegory on love and self-sacrifice, and a lesson in self-determination ("You are...what YOU choose to be. YOU choose. Choose."). Whether or not it was intended as all of the above, it works beautifully, and the emotional punch of the climactic scene never quite wears off, even after numerous viewings.
The movie isn't flawless--the size/scale of the Giant's hands, for instance, don't remain constant from scene to scene, and MacDonald's characterization of a government functionary is more of a caricature--but this still deserves consideration as a great movie.
The Golden Allegory If you love a well-told tale, this is it. Warner Brothers failure to employ the right marketing angle torpedoed this gem first-run, but thanks to DVD it's still flying just under the radar. Don't let the cruddy packaging fool you. The animation is as good (better!) as any classic Disney 2-D flick, and the Giant himself is a CGI 2-D/3-D wonder. This film has it all: smarts, heart, artistry, humor and a powerful ultimate message. Great for ages 8 to 80. If you aren't moved by this flick, especially in this day and age, well, I wouldn't want to know ya. Brad Bird (The Incredibles/Ratatouille) is his own brand of genius. Stop reading these reviews and order this puppy now!
My 6 yr old cried (it brought his parents to tears too)! This movie came out when my oldest son was not yet 4. He enjoyed it alot, as did his parents. Flash forward 8 1/2 yrs later, and now my bearly 6 yr old son watched it for the first time today on TV. He normally talks through movies asking all kinds of questions to understand what is going on in the story. He silently watched The Iron Giant, and toward the end when the IG sacrificed himself for Hogarth and the town, my son cried big huge silent tears. This caught us off guard, as he has never done that before. It made us both tearful that it affected him so. This is a really good powerful movie in its seeming simplicity. This is by far the best Non Disney movie I've seen. I don't have the DVD, but I am going to buy it today along with the original book so my sons and I can read it too.
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