Overall Rating:
Score: 8/10
Grade: A-
Family-Friendliness Scale: Level 3 (Good)
Kids ages 7+
Its' the Cold War. The U.S. is ever suspicious about the launching of Sputnik I by the Russians, it appears that anything out of the ordinary could certainly happen...
Based on the book by Ted Hughes, The Iron Giant's main plot involves a 100-foot robot falling from space, and a young boy named Hogarth Hughes (Eli Marienthal). One night, Hogarth ventures out to see that something has destroyed part of their backyard. Far into the woods, Hogarth runs into the giant, and saves him from being killed by an electrical plant. The next day, Hogarth finds the giant (Vin Diesel) again and becomes his friend. But with so much happening that the locals get concerned, the government sends Kent Mansley (Christopher McDonald) to track down the giant, and he later comes up to Hogarth and his Mom's (Jennifer Aniston) house, beginning to have suspicions about the boy. Will Hogarth be able to keep the giant safe? Or could it all be headed for disaster?
Positive Notes
This heartwarming tale has brilliant animation. Despite being hand-drawn, its' all nicely blended with some computer graphics and colorful backgrounds based on late-1950's towns and countryside. The celebrity voice cast is top-shelf, with all of them making the characters relate even more to present-day people.
The film has firm positive messages on doing the right thing and how we all have a choice to do good or bad things. The giant chooses to do right, and saves people from certain doom despite eating any metal he can find. There are also solid examples on family, accepting oneself for who they are, bravery, and self-sacrifice. Director Brad Bird (who would later go on to direct The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol) successfully stays faithful to the original book with his impressively-organized story.
The music score by Michael Kamen is well composed.
Negative Notes
The film has a few scary scenes that are too intense for younger viewers, including a climax scene which includes warfare and an aerial battle (though there's no blood). One character's boat sinks during an omnious-looking storm, the giant transforms himself into a defensive machine that might look slightly menacing to some young kids, and quite a bunch of characters narrowly escape being vaporized. The movie also includes a few mild profanities (two h-words, one clearly-heard d-word (the word also gets used nearly indistinguishably a couple more times, but are covered up by either dialogue or a loud explosion), as well as five misuses of God's name and a few uses of "jeez".
Hogarth constantly gets into mischief by sneaking out at night, acting all "hip" at a scrap collector named Dean (Harry Connick, Jr.), and putting a laxative in Kent's ice cream. He also says a very silly and loud prayer, when all he's trying to do is get the giant's hand out of his house. One person smokes a pipe.
Conclusion
On the DVD menu of the anniversary edition of this movie, I saw a letter that author Ted Hughes wrote to the producer saying that he loved what Brad Bird had done with the script. I might as well say it's a shame that he didn't live to see the final movie (he passed away in October 1998, about 10 months prior to the films' release, though the film does give a dedication to him in the end credits).
I think that it is a rare occasion that we see animated films that we can relate to. Sure, they're hand-drawn and are sometimes mindless fantasy, but The Iron Giant is one of those rare occasions. The characters are quirky and they also give a sense of realism and innocence that we normally don't see much in these films anymore.
The movie altogether is fine for most kids, though some parents may want to use caution for kindergarteners and under, as the fantasy action sequences, while impressively put together, can be overwhelming. And the brief language and a few negative examples of disobedience certainly weren't necessary either...
But still, the film uses its' heartwarming elements to give the film a much-appreciated sense of reality. Just as we never get to see 100-foot robots fall from space, we never have seen that kind of awe-inspiring sincerity used in animated films...
