The Iron Giant (1999)

Director:

Brad Bird

Writers:

Ted Hughes (book)
Tim McCanlies (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 August 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

It came from outer space!

Plot:

A boy makes friends with an innocent alien giant robot that a paranoid government agent wants to destroy.

Plot Keywords:

Government Agent | Maine | Robot | Prejudice | Fear

Awards:

19 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Jennifer Aniston	...	Annie Hughes (voice)
Harry Connick Jr.	...	Dean McCoppin (voice)
Vin Diesel	...	The Iron Giant (voice)
James Gammon	...	Marv Loach / Floyd Turbeaux / General Sudokoff (voice)
Cloris Leachman	...	Mrs. Lynley Tensedge (voice)
Christopher McDonald	...	Kent Mansley (voice) (as Christopher MacDonald)
John Mahoney	...	General Rogard (voice)
Eli Marienthal	...	Hogarth Hughes (voice)
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Earl Stutz (voice)
Mary Kay Bergman	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Ollie Johnston	...	Train Engineer #1 (voice)
Jack Angel	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Michael Bird	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Devon Cole Borisoff	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Devon Borisoff)
Rodger Bumpass	...	Additional Voices (voice)

MPAA:

Rated PG for fantasy action and mild language.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Hong Kong:I | Canada:G (British Columbia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:L | USA:PG (certificate #36640) | South Korea:All | Germany:6 | Taiwan:GP | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-8/5 | France:U | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:PG | Norway:7 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U

Company:

Warner Bros. Animation

Trivia:

First traditionally-animated feature to have a major character - the title character - who is fully computer-generated.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the jeep pulls up to shoot at the Iron Giant in the intersection, the ammo box on its machine gun is on the gun's right side. When the gunner shoots at the Iron Giant, the ammo box is on the gun's left side.

Quotes:

[the Iron Giant is eating one of Dean's sculptures]
Dean McCoppin: There are two kinds of metal in this yard: scrap and art. If you gotta eat one of them, eat the scrap. What you currently have - IN YOUR MOUTH! - is ART.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 100 Greatest Cartoons (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Comin' Home Baby

Surprisingly Good Fun For Anyone

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.