The BEST film of 1999

Rating: 10/10 (27 December 1999)

I've just watched the DVD version of "Iron Giant." I found the story line to be one of the most cliche' plots in all of animation. There is an obvious anti-gun message that is rather silly and ineffective. Then there's the all too familiar "kid without a father" theme that Hollywood beats like a dead horse. Hardly the sort of stuff that makes for a great film. But, worst of all, it is filled with logical and factual errors that stretch the already thin credibility of animated flicks.
Despite all that, I just loved this movie!
Of all the films I've seen in 1999, this is definitely the best of the lot-- animated or live action. And I say this just having seen "Toy Story 2" a few weeks back, which is now my second favorite film of '99. "Iron Giant" kicked it out of first place. (You know it's a bad year for movies when your top two favorites are animations...) Flaws and all, this film has more heart and emotion than any other 10 Hollywood films of 1999 combined.
The film takes place during 1957. We have a story about a boy named Hogarth (without a father, of course...) who finds a giant iron robot from outer space while searching the woods for invaders from Mars. After being initially scared to death of the creature, he quickly realizes the robot is not out to harm him- and so, in short order, the boy befriends him. The rest of the movie deals with the boy's efforts to hide a 100ft. tall robot from the local townspeople of Rockwell, Maine and the United States government.
While there's nothing cliche' about a boy taking a walk in the woods and discovering a huge metallic robot suffering from amnesia munching on the local electric power plant, the "...boy meets awesomely powerful yet benign creature and quickly befriends him while everyone else wants to kill him..." plot has been done too many times to count. Yet the film's writers, directors and animators take us down this well-traveled path in such a way that new life is breathed into this most ancient of fairy tales. For that feat alone, the movie is deserves every drop of praise it gets.
The film is a parable of the atomic age. The fears and paranoias of the time are summed up in the government agent sent out to find the giant robot, "Kent Mansly." He's a walking, talking tribute to the "red under every bed" mindset. The innocent and fun loving target of his paranoia, the boy Hogarth, contrasts Mansly. Hogarth is about the best portrayal of a red blooded 50's era American boy that's ever been put to screen, despite the fact that he's a simple drawing.
"Iron Giant" should not be mistaken for a mere kid's flick. Parents will like it as much if not more than their children. The message of the film is one of love and self-sacrifice, the kind of thing most of us want to instill in our kids. In it's own way, "Iron Giant' is a kind of "Saving Private Ryan" for children.
Ultimately, this is a love story between a boy and his robot. Yes, it sounds silly, but you'll have to see it yourself to understand how the writers & directors pull it off. There is a moral to this film, or I should say, "morals." The morals are not heavy handed or preached, but they are expounded upon by the actions of the characters themselves. My favorite lesson had to do with "peace through superior fire power!"
But don't take my word for how good it is. My four-year-old son watched the DVD three times in a 24-hour period, and watched it every day we had it for the seven-day rental period. I believe it's now his new favorite film. We judge how much he likes a film by the amount of times he asks to see it again. The last movie he wanted to watch as much as this one is "A Bug's Life."
Interesting note: "Iron Giant," along with "Toy Story 2," both pay homage to good old "Sputnik" -the first ever satellite launched into earth's orbit. It's neat how these two rather unrelated stories both deal with the significance of that event.
Don't bother renting this film. Just buy it the next time you see it on sale. We've already decided to make the "Iron Giant" DVD a permanent part of our collection.