Review of The Iron Giant (1999) by Halfwelshman — 26 Jan 2012

Brad Bird's big-screen directorial debut is a simply magical film. It preserves the central themes of the Ted Hughes novel on which it is based, but makes them far more hard-hitting by transporting the story to the USA in the 1950s.

This period of extreme paranoia at the height of the Cold War, with the fear of nuclear attack ever on people's minds is the perfect setting for a story about the darker side of human nature and loss of innocence, and allows for a healthy amount of satirical humour and 1950s sci-fi references.

The film is a real visual feast, with flawless animation that seamlessly blends hand-drawn characters and environments with CGI elements. The voice cast are superb, with Eli Marienthal emotionally grounding the story as Hogarth Hughes, the lonely, good-natured and endlessly curious young boy who discovers and befriends the titular giant when he crash lands on Earth.

Vin Diesel, though voicing a character of few words, imbues the giant with a childlike innocence, and perfectly conveys the sense of sheer horror as he discovers his own origins. Jennifer Aniston probably gives the performance of her career as Hogarth's exasperated single mother Annie and John Mahoney is the perfect casting choice as the patriotic but highly moral General Rogard.

The real cast highlights are Harry Connick Jr.'s beatnik scrapyard owner and wannabe artist Dean, who provides most of the comic relief, and Christopher McDonald's federal agent Kent Mansley, who makes an extremely entertaining antagonist.

What really makes The Iron Giant work is the balance it manages to maintain between the comic and the serious. There are loads of great gags it's true, but there's also some extremely dark observations about the Cold War state of mind (then there are the scenes that are both funny and serious at the same time, such as the creepily cheerful instructional video telling school children what to do in the event of a nuclear holocaust).

You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by the film's finale, with Hogarth and the giant's relationship so well established, and with the addition of Michael Kamen's beautiful, highly emotive score, be prepared to shed the tears.

The film feels equidistant between E.T. and King Kong, but is better than either. To dismiss it as simply a film for children would be moronic. The Iron Giant can speak to everyone, no matter your age or background because Brad Bird is a great storyteller and introduces you to characters you can relate to and actually care about, and the moral of his story is universal.

The Iron Giant isn't just a brilliant animated film, it's a brilliant film, end of.