The Iron Giant

what a classic, i encountered his film many times when i was a lot younger. i really enjoyed it and now that i am older and i got to see it again recently, i was able to understand the plot a lot better and i have to say i think i liked it more this time then i did before.

The Iron Giant was Brad Bird’s directorial debut that bombed at the box office, but is now finding a new legion of fans for its strong storyline and moral compass. You can see why it might have failed. Released four years after Toy Story (1995) took the world of animation by storm, at first glance it looks very dated in comparison (neither is it helped by the fact that the story is set in 1950’s America). The style may have looked dated compared with Pixar, however the Iron Giant himself is CGI-animated, which neatly blends in to give the film a more modern feel. This compares directly with Disney’s Lilo & Stitch (2002) and Hercules (1997), two films that feature CGI elements and characters who must learn their own strength. The animation style is classic Disney, yet it isn’t a Disney movie and other studios have always struggled to prove to the cinema-going public that they can compete with the animation behemoth. So add this to the fact that Giant was released the same year as Toy Story 2, and you can see why it might not have set the box office alight. That’s the boring stuff. The good news is that ‘The Iron Giant’ is a wonderful story about a boy who discovers a giant robot, about the bond they form, and the wider story of how guns and ‘the bomb’ are bad. It’s a basic story told in a magical way, and I’m glad to see that Brad Bird’s talent has been recognized, and he’s gone on to bigger and bigger projects (‘The Incredibles’, ‘Ratatouille’, ‘Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol’) ‘The Iron Giant’ has a heart-breaking finale, but like all safe kids movies, ultimately a ‘U’ ending for a film that includes the detonation of a nuclear weapon! Kids will love it, adults won’t be bored, and the box office should be ignored.

Overlooked on release, this is Brad Bird’s first crack at the whip he later mastered with The Incredibles. Watching it, you wonder why it bombed. Beautiful, stylised animation — including some impressive 3D work on the Iron Man himself — a good voice cast (Aniston escaping her rom-com trap briefly) and a well paced plot all put this well above the average piece of shovelware children’s animation.

One of the Best Modern Animations I have seen, endearing characters - smooth plot line and great hook from the opening scenes.

brilliant film, totally sticks to the book, and is just so original in its storyline.

this is one of them films that everyone will love, again and again