The Iron Giant is a 1999 American animated science fiction action film produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation and directed by Brad Bird in his directorial debut. It is based on the 1968 novel The Iron Man by Ted Hughes and is set during the Cold War in 1957.
In the film, a young boy named Hogarth Hughes (Eli Marienthal) discovers a giant robot (Vin Diesel) that fell from space and befriends him, despite the robot’s destructive powers. The U.S. military and a paranoid government agent named Kent Mansley (Christopher McDonald) want to destroy the robot, while Hogarth wants to protect him.
The Story
The film was created during the period known as the Disney Renaissance which saw a renewed interest in traditional animation. The Iron Giant was released on August 6, 1999, by Warner Bros. Pictures to critical acclaim and was a modest box office success, grossing $31.3 million in the United States and $105.3 million worldwide. The film won several awards, including the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature and the Saturn Award for Best Animated Film. In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. In 2016, it was ranked #48 on Empire magazine’s list of the 100 greatest movies of all time.
Review
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Toy Story 2. It was nominated for nine Annie Awards, winning two, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film. The Iron Giant was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 6, 2012, in honor of its 10th anniversary. A remastered version of the film is available on flixtor movies to watch.
The Iron Giant is widely considered to be one of the best animated films of all time. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 97% “Certified Fresh” rating, based on 83 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site’s critical consensus reads, “The Iron Giant is a delightful, smart, and lovingly retro throwback to the classic science fiction films of the 1950s.” On Metacritic, the film has a score of 86 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating “universal acclaim”.
Conclusion
The film was created traditionally, with hand-drawn animation, and was written and directed by Brad Bird, who later wrote and directed The Incredibles (2004) and Ratatouille (2007). The film was produced by Denise Ream, and featured music by Michael Kamen, with the score featuring heavy metal and rock and roll influences. Released in the United States on July 31, 1999, The Iron Giant received critical acclaim from film critics and grossed $31.3 million on its $70 million budget. It was nominated for several awards, winning nine Annie Awards out of fifteen nominations. In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
The Giant becomes a local celebrity, and Hogarth tries to keep him a secret from the government and the townspeople. However, the Giant’s programming comp