Never mind the ad campaign, see the movie.
Due to horrendous advertising that buried most of the movie's charms, most people think this movie is a b-grade kiddie flick. But ignore the brainless trailers and the awful extreme-sport ad campaign that accompanied the video release, and you'll be rewarded with an astonishing film.
The Iron Giant is complex and sophisticated enough to be a live-action movie, indeed more complex and sophisticated than the movies that trounced it at the box office (I'm talking to you, Inspector Gadget). It is a remarkable achievement of all the elements of a movie working at their very best.
The visuals are astounding. The script is funny without resorting to cheap laughs. The characters are well-rounded. The voice talents are ideal, from the Giant's rumble to Hogarth's wide-eyed wonder (for a welcome change, a pre-adolescent boy does the voice instead of someone trying to sound like one).
Most interestingly, the movie makes such a dynamic, empathic character of the titular hunk...
An absolutely first rate animated film.
It is a shame that Warner Brothers chose to give an uninspired prerelease publicity campaign to the gentle, joyous and original animated movie, The Iron Giant. Precious few saw it in theaters.
Thank God for film preservation in the form of DVD!
Like the book, the picture takes place in 1957, during the height of The Cold War. The Soviet Union's satellite, Sputnik, flies across American skies. Our country is filled with paranoia. What else may they have launched?
One stormy night off the coast of Maine, a huge object falls from the sky. A frightened sailor sees it and swears that it is a giant made of metal. The townsfolk chalk the tale off to the sailor's love of drink. A giant made of metal, indeed!
A night or so later, young Hogarth Hughes, whose Mom is working overtime at the local diner, gets mad when his TV starts acting up. He goes to the roof to check the antenna and finds it missing. He then notices huge footprints leading away from the house and into the woods. He...
One of the best animated films ever made
In the recent age of Disney films, the classic art of animated story telling has given way to 3d vine surfing and rock music. THE IRON GIANT is here to tell the world that the old art is alive and well. This is such a well made and touching film, with humor and heart, and superb voice overs. It resonantes like E.T., tackling childhood innocence, danger, death, and rebirth with the same funny and touching aplomb. It both pokes fun at and sympathises with the fears and prejudices of adults with equal care, demonstrating a lesson without demonizing anyone. As someone who writes and produces feature films, I am quite jaded, and usually leave a theatre fealing empty and critical. But THE IRON GIANT made me run out and tell everyone who would listen to go see it. They didn't, and it is their loss. So BUY THIS, watch it on your own, and with your kids as many times as they want. It's either this or Pokemon. Let them see what a real family film is all about.
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