The Iron Giant [1999]

Amazon.co.uk Review

This gentle reworking of Ted Hughes's 1968 novella was the unseen gem of 1999. Hogarth, a young boy who lives in the Maine woods during the cold war, befriends a giant robot. As with ET, the iron giant is a misunderstood outsider who becomes a child's best friend and Hogarth does his best to hide the massive figure from his mom (voiced by Jennifer Aniston) and the local scrap-yard beatnik (Harry Connick Jr.). Soon the suspicions of neighbours and a government agent (Christopher McDonald) spell trouble.

With no songs, no sidekicks and no cheap ending, The Iron Giant is a refreshing change--like an off-Broadway production compared to the glitz of Disney's annual animated extravaganzas. Director Brad Bird may have Family Dog and The Simpsons to his credit but this film doesn't have that brand of scatological humour. As with the best family entertainment, there are gags that adults will howl at while the kids are watching something else (see Bird's interpretation of cold war propaganda). And the star is one cool piece of animated magic. Voiced by Vin Diesel (Saving Private Ryan's hulking Private Caparzo) and filled with more gadgets than a Swiss army knife, the giant is a grand thing to behold. And like another famous cinema tin man, our hero--and the movie--has heart. Superb entertainment for ages 5 and up. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews:

An instant classic. Watch this as soon as possible........2007-05-28

I'll keep this as short as possible.
I remember around 7 years ago, I watched this for the first time. I was quite young and I was absolutely mesmerized by it. Today, I had a craving to watch it again for the first time in 7 years. I dug out the old dusty VHS from the attic and played it. After watching it once again, I was completely blown away. The animation has not a aged a bit and the story is as touching as ever.

Don't pass the chance up to watch this classic. A legendary film that I shall remember for the rest of my life.

Cried when the deer died.......2006-05-13

I like the film alot. Its very origanal and brilliant. You get the sense that hard work has been put into this film. My title- cried when the deer died is true. Coz the iron giant wathces this elegant, shy deer walk up to hism and nuzzle his face. Then a hunter shoots it and the giant wanders what death is. Hogarth (the main character boy) explains that all good beings go to heaven, and have a soul. Good one 2 watch

Recommended!.......2005-04-14

I'm a 28 yr old who's a bit of sucker for animation so I was drawn to this. Found it to be a really tender and thoughtful story and I really enjoyed it- think theres something in here for children and parents alike. Agree with another reviewers comments about the closing scenes- lovely and touching. Would definately recommend- you'll fall for this.

Not a special edition.......2005-01-16

First of all; I love this film; it's one of the best animated features of the 90's (and you can probably include some decades before that).
Beautiful story.
But I was so stupid to buy this so called special edition eventhough I own the previous release.
The comments are actually pretty dull (ok, I've worked in animation; so perhaps it's better and more interresting for "normal" people) and the extras are nothing new. The documentaries are a series of short films covering several topics. They are averagely one and a half minute each! And there are not many of them.
In addition to that there's not much else to celebrate on the DVD.
I would give the film itself ten stars, but this review is for the DVD which I give three.
If you own the old release; don't waste your money buying this. As far as I can remember, the extras on the old one covered just the same - perhaps more in essence.
On this one they just added more uninterresting stuffing.
Nonsense really.

A genuine classic........2005-01-14

I bought this film on DVD when it first came out a number of years ago on a recommendation from my brother. I was a little hesitant at first as i wasn't a huge fan of animated movies but after watching this beautiful film i was converted.

This film along with the recent Incredibles is the BEST animated film ever. The Iron Giant never fails to dissappoint, no matter how many times you have watched it, i must have seen it at least ten times now. It seems that Brad Bird has the midas touch and everything he looks after is magic, just look at early simpsons and the above mentioned incredibles for proof.

I can't quite find the words to describe this film, except that it's funny, thought provoking and sad. I'm a 33yr old married man and everytime i watch this i cry towards the end, as it's so moving, infact just thinking about that scene puts a lump in my throat.

Quite how this film slipped through the net on it's release is beyond me, the marketing men for this little gem should hang their heads in shame as this film deserves so much more credit than it got and should have been nominated for an oscar.

Customer Reviews:

A real gem.......2007-06-25

I'd never heard of this film, but bought it from the sale as it had a few good reviews, and on Sunday morning I sat down with my two sons (5 and 2) to watch it for the first time, and hardly a word was spoken by any of us before the end, we were all spellbound.

This is somehow old fashioned in terms of the pace of the story and the style of animation, and bang up to date at the same time, meaning it really does appeal to all, and in my opinion there really are few kids films being made today that can match it.

My advice is buy it, you won't be disappointed - I think we'll all be watching it again next weekend.

An instant classic. Watch this as soon as possible........2007-05-27

Superb........2007-01-30

This is a wonderful movie. It has a real meaty story that unwinds at a far gentler pace than many other animated movies but the overall result (especially after repeated viewings) is far more satisfying. If you love animation, don't miss this.

Well done Brad Bird and Warner Bros.......2006-04-01

In this age of hi-tech super CG wizardy, we run a high risk of missing the point of the whole project. The Iron Giant does not fall prey to this. Inspired by the Ted Hughes story (read to me when I was a child, and still prominent in my memory!), there are some major deviations(no dragon, instead symbolically represented by a Nuclear missile)...but this is an animation...not a book, and the fullness of the screenplay and character development justifies the changes made. This is a beautiful story, well directed, voice-cast and animated. It looks fantastic, maintaining the cell-painted 2d look with the 3d CG elements, and chooses to play to the story rather than 'sell out' to the cliche gags or special effects (DreamWorks, take note...although I do love your stuff too!!!!!).

A Metal Masterpiece!.......2005-04-03

There is no doubt in my mind that The Iron Giant is one of the most underated films ever made. It is such a shame that Warner Bros. did not have the confidence to invest more than they did (which was hardly anyhing!) in promoting this film. This is brought to light further in the special edition DVD version of the film, during the special features interviews, in which Brad Bird explains there were additional scenes he would liked to have included, but due to budget constraints could not.

It is such an unusual story, of a small boy and an enormous robot, that somehow highlight the feelings of friendship and loyalty in a fashion no other animated story has managed to do.