I am not a gun.

Rating: 8/10 (9 January 2016)

It is 1957 in the small town of Rockwell, Maine, and America is in the midst of the Cold War, so naturally this gives the film an aura of unsettledness and paranoia. And also naturally, children are less concerned with this, and take more risks, and their naivety leads to some unforeseen consequences. Brad Bird sprinkles a little social commentary in it too; sometimes it's delightfully light like the mock educational short film that displays the proper nuclear bombing etiquette to school children, or it's loud and brusque like the panicked way that G-man Kent Mansley defers to military action and presence whenever possible.
We have the usual children's film conventions which signal themselves loudly: the lone boy who is bullied and causes trouble beyond his intentions, the snappy but good natured mother who glares at him pointedly after this fiasco, and the rest of the town, adult and children alike, whom do not believe his tall tale of a giant robot from outer space. What saves it from being generic is Brad Bird's direction which creates charm and genuine childhood terror and discovery without being juvenile.
He does this first and foremost in the animation. Hogarth is given due attention, especially to his facial expressions which are given a wide range of lopsided smiles, glares, creased grimaces and wide eyed stares; see as his feet motor on Looney Tunes style when he attempts to flee the robot, or a particularly lively moment where he tries to pray whilst shooing the robot out of the house (not an uncommon scansion in children's films but it is done well, with restraint and with just the right amount of humour). The same goes for the robot, digitally animated but made to look hand drawn, whom moves with a slow but endearing recklessness. In one particular moment, he is spoken to like a child, or a dog, as he refuses to stop following Hogarth. Vin Diesel's pitch dropped, monotonous voice acting is perfect for this sort of misguided character, and has helped cement the film's iconic lines ("You stay. I go.")
The discovery of the robot initially is handled with great nuance. Though it may be a child who stumbles across it, it isn't overly cartoonish and generates just the right amount of wonder and apprehension. The first sighting is this gigantic low angle shot of its eyes lighting up the lighting storm and it is genuinely awe inspiring and terrifying. Then later, this is replicated in his second appearance, before he gets stuck and we first feel something that resembles sympathy, and this comes easier for a child. Kamen's score is also crucial; a lively percussive based piece as Hogarth dresses up as a soldier and prepares himself for battle, thrilling as Hogarth flees and then makes his decision to save the robot, and in the finale, twinkles optimistically before flourishing in full fanfare to give us the ending we all hoped for. And finally the sound design which is just as important in building the characterisation of the robot and the initial anticipation of a non-threat; a big creaky whoosh as the robot crouches down to Hogarth's level, without menace, then a gigantic boom as it falls over onto its bottom, and the entire screen, and each layer of trees in the background shakes vigorously.
It is not hard to see why The Iron Giant has become a cult classic. It does not have the iconicity or the Spielberg draw of E.T., but its story is just as touching and heartfelt. Brad Bird has in time shown his animation mastery with his Pixar work in The Incredibles and Ratatouille, but this remains an important stepping stone. Who knew that a linguistically challenged, lumbering giant robot could becomes such an endearing superhero figure?