This is the story of a nine-year-old boy named Hogarth Hughes who makes friends with an innocent alien giant robot that came from outer space. Meanwhile, a paranoid U.S. Government agent named Kent Mansley arrives in town, determined to destroy the giant at all costs. It's up to Hogarth to protect him by keeping him at Dean McCoppin's place in the junkyard.Written by
Anthony Pereyra <hypersonic91@yahoo.com>
One of the things Brad Bird is very proud of in film is how real his characters feel. He mentions the audience reacting audibly when Hogarth gets hit in the face with a branch and how that's a very difficult thing to pull from the audience when you're dealing with animated characters. Audiences are so used to Wile Coyote falling off cliffs they've become accustomed to animated characters being more malleable than real people. "If you defy gravity and later on need to feel danger in the film, you have a really hard time convincing the audience how to do that," says Bird. See more »
Goofs
When Hogarth leaves the house to encounter the giant for the first time, a crescent moon is shown touching the horizon.
The TV station has not signed off, and the plot suggests it is a time when kids are in bed but adults are still up, so it has to be before midnight.
However, the moon's crescent is to the left, which would indicate a waning moon rising in the east shortly before sunrise. See more »
Quotes
Kent Mansley:
Hey there, scout! Kent Mansley, I work for the government.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The Warner Brothers logo is done in 50's art deco, as the Sputnik signal is heard. See more »
Alternate Versions
In the original, Hogarth finds the Giant's hand watching the TV, showing an advertisement for Maypo Cereal. Director Brad Bird initially wanted an ad for the Disneyland attraction Tomorrowland. Disney would not not grant clearance to use Tomorrowland footage back 1999, when the film was originally shown. Years later for the Signature Edition, Disney allowed the Tomorrowland footage to be used. So in the Signature Edition, the TV shows an ad for Tomorrowland. Oddly enough Brad Bird directed the film version of Tomorrowland for Disney, which was released the same year as the Signature Edition. See more »
Honeycomb
Written by Bob Merrill
Performed by Jimmie Rodgers
Courtesy of Rhino Entertainment Company
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products See more »
An ambitious take on Ted Hughes' 1968 children's book The Iron Man, director Brad Bird's The Iron Giant works well as both archetype-infused allegory and heartstring-tugging tale of friendship. Set in small town Maine in the 1950s at the height of Cold War paranoia, the film explores the relationship between a lonely, fatherless boy (a photo on a nightstand hints that the father was a combat pilot killed in WWII) and a monstrously huge, hulking metal behemoth (the origins of which are brilliantly left to the imagination). The animation marks a welcome contrast from the virtually ubiquitous Disney template, with the human characters bearing a stylized, comic book exaggeration that fits perfectly with the story material. The Iron Giant has more than enough imagination and sparkle to interest kids and adults, and nicely balances its action-adventure aspirations with a solidly-crafted sense of moral purpose.
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An ambitious take on Ted Hughes' 1968 children's book The Iron Man, director Brad Bird's The Iron Giant works well as both archetype-infused allegory and heartstring-tugging tale of friendship. Set in small town Maine in the 1950s at the height of Cold War paranoia, the film explores the relationship between a lonely, fatherless boy (a photo on a nightstand hints that the father was a combat pilot killed in WWII) and a monstrously huge, hulking metal behemoth (the origins of which are brilliantly left to the imagination). The animation marks a welcome contrast from the virtually ubiquitous Disney template, with the human characters bearing a stylized, comic book exaggeration that fits perfectly with the story material. The Iron Giant has more than enough imagination and sparkle to interest kids and adults, and nicely balances its action-adventure aspirations with a solidly-crafted sense of moral purpose.