A superb animation. And criminally underrated

Rating: 10/10 (23 January 2008)

Before Brad Bird found success with The Incredibles and Ratatouille, he directed this little seen film, The Iron Giant. Bird is one of the true auteur's of modern animation. Despite only three films to his name, the man is quite simply a genius. His films represent the finest examples of family entertainment. Ones that appeal to adults and children alike. And he understands what makes a film accessible to a child. You don't talk down to them. Just talk to them.
The Iron Giant was given a curious lack of advertising by Warner Bros. It was just dumped into cinemas with very little advance notice. And not surprisingly, The Iron Giant did next to no business. And that is a real shame. Because its one of the greatest animated films you will ever see.
Taking a leaf out of ET's book, and based on the short story by Ted Hughes, The Iron Giant follows the tale of a 100-foot robot that crashes to Earth in Rockwell, Maine, 1957.
Bird has deliberately set the film in Cold War America. In fact the setting is just days after the Russians launched the Sputnik satellite. So the atmosphere is expectedly tense and paranoid. Most Americans of that era thought anyone who wasn't a member of the USA was their enemy. And its unfortunate The Iron Giant should have to land on Earth during such a dark era.
Hogarth Hughes is a schoolboy obsessed with the stars. He watches all the classic B-movies. Collects all the comics. Has posters of Forbidden Planet proudly displayed on the walls of his bedroom. But when the TV goes on the blink one night, Hogarth goes outside and investigates. Their antenna has been bitten off the roof. Someone has left a trail of destruction behind them. Cars. Wagons. And when Hogarth follows them, he comes across The Iron Giant.
When Hogarth saves him from being electrocuted at a power plant, the two become fast friends. Hogarth sort of adopts him, and has to go to great lengths to conceal him from the outside world. No easy task considering his insatiable appetite for metal. And when a government agent comes snooping around, it isn't long before war breaks out between the townspeople of Rockwell and the innocent Iron Giant.
Anyone who hasn't seen this film must go out and buy it immediately. Because you are missing out on one of the most perfect family films ever conceived. Brad Bird never puts a foot wrong. He strikes the perfect balance between comedy, action and touching sentiment. Its a film where you never feel like you're being patronised or lectured to.
Although ET did spring to mind while I was watching this film (and Bird has worked with Steven Spielberg in the past), I think The Iron Giant is far superior. ET felt (to me anyway) like a calculated attempt on Spielberg's part to push all the right emotional buttons at perfectly timed intervals. I never felt any manipulation during The Iron Giant.
Bird crafts the friendship between Hogarth and his new friend with surprising sophistication. Hogarth's attempts to humanise the machine is conducted with real skill and expertise. Since Hogarth knows they're living in dangerous times, he knows exactly how the people will react if they saw The Iron Giant. They'll only see a monster. Something alien. And in they're minds, anything that's alien must be destroyed.
Bird also does a great job evoking the atmosphere of 1950's Cold War America. The film has many accurate details that will immediately strike a chord with anyone of that era. Such as the disturbing Duck and Cover programmes. And Bird makes sure the fear and uncertainty of the times are neatly represented too. Like paranoid conspiracy nuts and straight arrow Army Generals.
But the crux of the film is Hogarth's friendship with The Iron Giant. The way these two outsiders find a friend in each other. The film gets a lot of mileage out of the different adventures they get up to. Whether it be slapstick, like Hogarth doing a cannonball into a lake, and when the Giant tries it, he ends up draining all the water. Or sentiment, like when Hogarth discovers what the Giant really is.
The film has a very strong anti-gun statement to make. None more so than the scene when the pair come across a deer in the woods shot by hunters. Hogarth makes a very impassioned speech about how its wrong to kill. And how to make the right choice.
Its genuinely shocking to discover the Giant is a weapon. His crash to Earth has robbed him of that knowledge. But his programming kicks in whenever he feels threatened. Something not helped by the Army coming to take this 'monster' down.
The Iron Giant has to make a choice between being a gun, and being a person. Which will he choose? Or will his programming make the choice for him? Pretty heady material for a so-called kids film.
Brad Bird has a clear love of retro futurism, something he lavishly displayed in The Incredibles, and here too. The Iron Giant is a tall, galumphing behemoth. But Bird does a great job making him seem endearing, especially with a surprisingly animated metal face. And the different weaponry inside of him is pretty inventive too. He's got more add-ons than the Swiss Army!
Things come to a very moving conclusion when the Giant must sacrifice himself for Hogarth and the people who hate him. Its very saddening, and will leave you feeling depressed for days afterwards. Odd to feel such compassion for an animated character isn't it?
The Iron Giant is an unforgettable experience. One of the finest animated movies ever made. And all the more remarkable for having the ability to move and enchant you as much as it does.