The Iron Giant saves the day

Rating: 10/10 (11 September 1999)

Seeing the Iron Giant makes one realize just how formulaic and tiresome most movies (especially kids' movies) are. Fortunately, it also makes one realize how wonderful movies can be. The Iron Giant does not have an extravaganza of special effects (a'la The Prince of Egypt), yet still is visually magnificent. It does not have a plethora of sound-alike songs written by a big name in sound-alike songwriting, instead it has a pleasant background of songs true to the setting. It does not have the "Disney Romance," a major relief. Most importantly, The Iron Giant does not talk down to its audience. The characters had multiple dimensions to their personalities, a feature rarely given to animated characters, details of real people (note Hogarth's crooked tooth), and even *gasp* realistic dialogue. The Iron Giant even has a good moral, something I can't seem to find in most other animated features. I can only hope to see more movies as worthy as this one.