Amazing old time adventure

Rating: Null/10 (27 June 2017)

In his directorial debut, Brad Bird ends up delivering a heartwarming adventure film easily on par with the best Disney has ever produced. Not surprisingly he joined Pixar right after this. The Iron Giant is a deceptively simple tale of a boy and his giant space robot friend, but once again it's the execution that's more important than the idea itself.
Because this film has layers. For one thing, it's a pure and honest love letter to mid-century nostalgia. Think Steven Spielberg on steroids. Everything from the visuals to the character archetypes evoke that era, and it does so beautifully. Honestly one of my favourite pulp films ever made. Even though technically this takes place in the Cold War period, and thus isn't really a pulp film, but it has the same aesthetic and feel. If you can watch a movie and immediately think of Indiana Jones, then it's a pulp film, at least a little bit.
For another, the characters are amazing. From Hogarth and his child-like wisdom and believe in the concept of rightness to the shady government agent Kent Mansley, who's one of those villains you love to hate, but who you also kind of get in some weird manner. Not to even mention the Giant itself, who's simply great. It's like you gave a bloodthirsty grizzly the soul of a puppy and then made him look adorable and badass at the same time. And the fact that he is entirely CGI yet blended in with the rest of the animation so well that I didn't even notice, is mind-blowing.
Pretty much the only thing that I can gripe about is the story. Or rather the fact that this is one of those rare films where the complaint is that it is too short. There seems to be a scene or two missing between the second and the third act, rhythm-wise, but that is explained by the fact that Bird and his team operated on a minuscule budget and under strict time restraints.
And frankly, if your only complaint about a movie is that it is too short, then you know you've watched something pretty special. The Iron Giant failed at the box office upon its release because it was barely marketed at all, but luckily more and more people have found it over the years. Do yourself a favour and give it a watch.