The Iron Giant (1999)

The Iron Giant, based on the book by Ted Hughes, is one of my favorite childhood movies to date. Even today I am captivated by this movie's plot, the quite enjoyable characters, and the well-done animations used to put it all together. Although this film is meant to appeal to children, any audience will enjoy this as it can certainly be considered a family picture- plus, there is some subtle adult humor apparent throughout the film as well.

The film centers around an iron giant who crashes into the earth and starts wandering around, unaware of where he is and how he got here. The army is trying to figure out what the object was that plummeted from the sky and where to find it. One night, a boy named Hogarth Hughes (voiced by Eli Marienthal) is home alone watching scary movies and he hears a noise outside and goes to investigate. His quest brings him to a nearby power plant where he discovers the elusive giant. At first he is scared of the thing, but he soon falls in love with him as he realizes that the giant is harmless. Their friendship grows really strong and Hogarth tries hiding the giant in his shed to hide him from his parents and Kent Mansley (voiced by Christopher McDonald), an agent of the U.S. Army determined to find and destroy the giant. Mansley discovers evidence suggesting that Hogarth has had contact with the giant and thus rents the guest room in Hogarth's house as a way to try and pump information out of him to find out where the giant is. Soon, keeping the giant in the shed proves ineffective as he is hungry and needs real shelter. Hogarth turns to his new friend Dean (voiced by Harry Connick Jr.) who owns a scrap yard to solve this problem. The three grow fond of each other's company, and it's up to them to hide the giant from Mansley and the army.

The film is sensational- everyone will enjoy it. The plot is rich and full of excitement and meaning. The characters, including the giant, are delightful and full of personality. Hogarth is an average young boy. He loves video games and having fun. He is a really cool kid. His love for the giant is truly touching. He has no idea what the giant is or where he came from, but he doesn't judge him or run away from him, he befriends him. He teaches him how to speak and he shows him what different things are (how a rock is different from a tree for example) and he shows the giant how to have fun. Hogarth's strong friendship with the giant is truly the most thrilling and touching aspect of this film. Nothing can separate the two- not even the tanks and guns of the U.S. Army. The giant himself can talk and shows that he too has feelings and emotions, as he goes on a rampage when he thinks that the army has killed Hogarth. This gives the giant a personality and makes his character very likable. Dean is also cool. At first, he didn't want to have anything to do with the giant, but he reluctantly gives in (and I mean very reluctantly) and grows to enjoy the giant's company as well. He becomes a very distinct father figure for Hogarth which is important because Hogarth doesn't have a father. Although we don't see much of Hogarth's mother (voiced by Jennifer Aniston), she is still admirable as well and a fling develops between her and Dean throughout the film. Mansley is an evil character. All he cares about is getting the giant destroyed. He is a very unlikable character and he doesn't change at all throughout the whole film.

There is also a lot of deeper meaning conveyed by the characters that are very valuable for children to hear. Hogarth directly talks about how although people die, souls live on forevermore. This is a healthy concept for a younger audience to have about death. Hogarth also talks about how we all have a choice of who want to be. We can be bad or we can be good. If you are bad, it is because that is the choice you have made. Children need to understand that this is an important choice that they must make many times in life so seeing the giant decide to be good is in itself good for children to see. The film also conveys the necessity of not judging things by how they look. The giant was a good guy with a caring and compassionate personality. Most people wrote him off but Hogarth didn't. Another value children should live by as they grow up and meet new people.

Besides that, the animation is very well-done. All of the voices match the characters' appearances and their personalities, and the giant is cool-looking. The special effects associated with the violence of the army trying to take the giant down is also well-done and the giant's weapons and technology are very creative. The film is also very funny and there is some subtle adult humor in there. For example, Mansley and Hogarth are out to lunch and to get rid of Mansley, Hogarth sneaks laxatives into his ice cream and the film then shows him having to use the bathroom over and over again as he tries to obtain information from other people about the giant. A young audience may not pick up on this but adults and teenagers will, providing entertainment for all age groups.

The ending, although a little sad, teaches the audience about the value of sacrifice, another important lesson for children to learn as they grow up. I have absolutely no complaints about this film- it is damn near perfect! This is one I would surely buy and keep in that DVD/Blu-Ray drawer always!

BaD BiRdS: SHOULD BE IN A MOVIE HALL OF FAME!



~MJ Aufiero