The Iron Giant (1999)
Average Rating: 8.1/10
Reviews Counted: 122
Fresh: 118 | Rotten: 4
Engaging, endearing, affecting and charmingly retro, The Iron Giant tackles touchy subjects and complex relationships with a steady hand and beautiful animation direction from Brad Bird.
Average Rating: 7.8/10
Critic Reviews: 37
Fresh: 36 | Rotten: 1
Engaging, endearing, affecting and charmingly retro, The Iron Giant tackles touchy subjects and complex relationships with a steady hand and beautiful animation direction from Brad Bird.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 199,037
Movie Info
A boy's best friend is his robot in this animated adventure from Brad Bird, best known for his TV work on such series as The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and The Critic. Set in 1957, The Iron Giant focuses on Hogarth (voice of Eli Marienthal), an imaginative nine-year-old boy who daydreams of alien invasions and doing battle with Communist agents. One day, Hogarth hears a local fisherman talk about something that surpasses anything he could dream up: a fifty-foot robot that fell from the sky into
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Cast
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Eli Marienthal
Hogarth Hughes -
Vin Diesel
The Iron Giant -
Jennifer Aniston
Annie Hughes -
Harry Connick Jr.
Dean McCoppen -
Christopher McDonald
Kent Mansley -
James Gammon
Marve Loach -
Cloris Leachman
Mrs. Tensedge -
John Mahoney
Shannon Rogard -
M. Emmet Walsh
Earl Stutz -
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Ollie Johnston
Train Engineer #1 -
Frank Thomas
Train Engineer #2
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All Critics (123) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (118) | Rotten (4) | DVD (39)
The Iron Giant is not only the best animated feature to be released this summer, it's the single best film to hit our screens so far this year.
Top CriticBrad Bird fills the CinemaScope screen with wit and beauty in this modern fairy tale.
It is in the best tradition of animation: an ideal tale for children that offers a lot to adults as well.
Lest all of this sound gravely symbolic, be assured that the film is, before anything else, deliciously funny and deeply affecting. And beautiful, oh so beautiful, as a work of coherent art.
A smart live-and-let-live parable, full of glancing, acute observations on all kinds of big subjects...that you can talk about with the kids for a long time to come.
This is enjoyable in part because of its flavorsome period ambience and its lively and satiric characters.
Disney is getting fierce competition in the animated feature department these days.
A well-told and beautifully drawn tale of friendship and fortitude.
The Iron Giant has a great heart, and I loved its evocation of the days when good old Superman, as uncomplicated a superhero as ever existed, was the height of cool.
This wonderful Warner Bros version of Ted Hughes's The Iron Man is a first-class achievement in cartoon virtuosity that liberally borrows images from 1950s comic-book art and science-fiction movies to stunning effect.
The movie wears its social responsibility with pride, even if it doesn't always know how to put together a coherent public service announcement.
It's worth repeating the old complaint that animation isn't treated seriously enough, if only to point out what a shame it would be for The Iron Giant, one of the year's best films, to go overlooked.
a cool, charming uniquely American fable done in accessible yet intelligent mode, which makes it suitable for all members of the family.
The Iron Giant isn't a Cold War allegory so much as an Americana fairy tale.
Gentle, poignant and affecting animation that succeeds through understatement and showcases some highly impressive visual sequences.
Outstanding.
Un film qui présenta Brad Bird comme l'un des cinéastes de films d'animation pour enfants les plus talentueux et prometteurs des dernières années.
GO SEE THIS FILM, NOW.
Audience Reviews for The Iron Giant
Super Reviewer
Set in a small Maine town in the 1950s, this is the story of Hogarth Hughes- an imaginative 9 year-old who stumbles upon a massive alien robot who crashes lands near his town. Finding himself bonding with this strange, yet fantastical metal behemoth, Hogarth finds that his growing extraterrestrial friendship is tested when pesky government agents come to investigate reports of something potentially dangerous lurking in the area.
Taking cues from E.T. and The Day The Earth Stood Still, this is a magnificent film about friendship, extraordinary circumstances, and tolerance. It's also a very slick and sly satire of 50s culture, with special attention paid to paranoia, McCarthyism, Cold War suspicions, and the sci-fi craze.
Hogarth is a likable kid, and his relationship with the titular character is finely developed. Hogarth's single mom and his friend Dean- a local beatnik artist/junkyard owner are also really good characters, and are more than just one-dimensional cardboard cutouts. The pesky and relentless government investigator is admittedly somewhat less developed compared to the others, but he still comes across as a tad more than a caricature.
As for the voice acting, it's really good. Eli Marienthal is a lot of fun as Hogarth, Jennifer Aniston is surprisingly believable as Hogarth's mom,Harry Connick Jr. is delightful as Dean, and, while it's a case of more typecasting, Christopher McDonald is fun as Kent Manley the government agent. He doesn't have too many lines, but Vin Diesel is also quite good as the Iron Giant, providing an appropriate amount of roboticness, but also managing to bring in some humanity, as the character evolves.
This is a great film for all ages, but especially kids, as it does a wonderful job at addressing some important issues in a clever and creative way. The animation and look are wonderful, the film has a nice mix of humor, heart, and action, and is extremely well paced and balanced. It's quite moving, and I will admit to getting teary at the end, but I feel like it was earned.
My only real gripe is that the film's message, while nice, is perhaps a bit too narrow minded and preachy.
All in all, this is some dynamite stuff. I really wish more entertainment for kids would aspire to the heights of greatness that this film does. Definitely go see it.
Super Reviewer
Movies Like The Iron Giant
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- Hogarth Hughes: You are who you choose to be.
- The Iron Giant: Superman...
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- Hogarth Hughes: You go, I stay. No following!
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- Kent Mansley: You want evidence? I'll show you evidence!
- Shannon Rogard: ...thats nice Kent [hangs up phone].
- Kent Mansley: ...and when I do, I'm gonna want a MEMO distributed; and I'm gonna want that memo CARBON-COPIED!!
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- Kent Mansley: Here you go kid [places hat on Hogarth]....pretend your a gangster!!
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- Kent Mansley: Kent Mansley....I work for the government.
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- The Iron Giant: Souls don't die.
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Foreign Titles
- Der Gigant aus dem All (DE)
- Le Géant de fer (FR)
