A Film Gem

Rating: 10/10 (7 August 1999)

Once in a great while a movie is released that reminds filmgoers just how powerful the medium can be. "The Iron Giant" is one such film. The fact that it is animated only adds to its magic. The animation is absolutely superb, strongly rivaling Disney's best. The screenplay is wonderful, all of the characters are incredibly three-dimensional (something which, alas, I have a difficult time saying about the most recent Disney films), and the voice-over acting is simply the best ever. The young boy who voiced the character of Hogarth Hughes is a true talent - his voice coupled with Hogarth's animator's drawing prowess gives the audience the best depiction of a young person ever. Hogarth is very honest and real-to-life, from his innocent romping and make-believe sessions to his deepest and most heartfelt emotions; at no point in the film does director Brad Bird patronize youth. Hogarth is unabashedly human and not a "boy as he should be" caricature. Not since Elliot in "E.T." has a young character been so real.
The character of the Iron Giant is so well drawn - both visually and emotionally - that I often had to remind myself that he was not a living, breathing human being. In fact, the magic and mystery of this film is the fact that it took a character of cold metal and made it more human than the average person one sees walking down the street. The Giant is a wonderful symbol of modern man and the beautiful heart that is still within him, albeit buried deeply beneath layers of materialism and aggression. This movie is a great reminder of man's true nature - "souls don't die" - and the possibility that, with the help of the Hogarth Hughes within him, he will discover the Superman he truly is.