Better Than Most Disney Animated Movies

Rating: 10/10 (3 April 2012)

After the release of Toy Story in 1995, 3-D animation took over, and 2-D animation slowly began to fade...which is a shame, because one of the 2-D films that got over shadowed was the 1999 film, "The Iron Giant". Not only is it an animated masterpiece, it is one of my favorite films of all time. Whenever I bring it up in a conversation (even to this day), people have no idea what I'm talking about; which is unacceptable.
So what do I love about this film? Well....everything. I love the 1950's setting, I love how it pays homage to the atomic age of cinema, I love the characters, I love the emotion, I love adult tone to it, I love the music, the animation, the message, and...I love that it's not Disney. This movie has such a natural and balanced build to it, that I don't think most Disney films at the time could achieve. Everything about this movie just feels very natural, and the characters act/react in a way that feels real, and not so cartoon like. The emotions this film conveys are also very natural, and doesn't seem to go overboard. Most Disney films of the 90's had moments where the film was telling you "Feel sad here", or "laugh now". "The Iron Giant" has sad moments and funny moments, but they're not shoved in your face.
"The Iron Giant" didn't have any musical numbers, cute little animals, or an over the top comic relief, but so what? To me, those kinds of things dumb down the film (not always) and weakens it in the long run. "The Iron Giant" didn't need any of those kid movie gimmicks; and the result is a kids movie that gets better with age. It's a shame that this movie didn't get the same attention as films like "The Lion King" or "Beauty and the Beast", because to me, it really is one of the best 2-D animated films of all time. it is highly underrated, i highly recommend it, check it out.