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The Iron Giant
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBrad Bird
Written byScreenplay:
Tim McCanlies
Story:
Brad Bird
Novel:
Ted Hughes
Produced byPete Townshend
Des McAnuff
Allison Abbate
John Walker
StarringEli Marienthal
Jennifer Aniston
Harry Connick, Jr.
Vin Diesel
Christopher McDonald
John Mahoney
CinematographySteven Wilzbach
Edited byDarren T. Holmes
Music byMichael Kamen
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
August 6, 1999 (1999-08-06)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$70 million
Box office$103 million

The Iron Giant is a 1999 animated science fiction film produced by Warner Brothers Animation, based on the 1968 novel The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. Brad Bird directed the film, which stars a voice cast of Eli Marienthal as Hogarth Hughes, as well as Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick, Jr., Vin Diesel, Christopher McDonald and John Mahoney. The film tells the story of a lonely boy named Hogarth raised by his widowed mother, discovering a giant iron man which fell from space. Hogarth, with the help of a beatnik named Dean, has to stop the U.S. military and a federal agent from finding and destroying the Giant. The Iron Giant takes place during the height of the Cold War (1957).

Development phase for the film started around 1994, though the project finally started taking root once Bird signed on as director, and Bird's hiring of Tim McCanlies to write the screenplay in 1996. The script was given approval by Ted Hughes, author of the original novel, and production struggled through difficulties (Bird even enlisted the aid of a group of students from CalArts). The Iron Giant was released with high critical praise (scoring a 97 percent approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes), when released by Warner Bros. in the summer of 1999. It was nominated for awards that most notably included the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Nebula Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Plot

File:Iron giant wiki.jpg
Hogarth with the Giant.

In the height of the Cold War in October 1957, a giant metal humanoid robot (the Iron Giant) crash-lands just off the coast of the fictional town of Rockwell, Maine. Eleven-year-old Hogarth Hughes (voiced by Eli Marienthal), following the trail of destruction in the forest, discovers the giant robot (voiced by Vin Diesel) at a local electrical substation. There he saves it from being electrocuted profusely, only to have his single mother (voiced by Jennifer Aniston) worryingly arrive with the Giant nowhere in sight. Meanwhile, Kent Mansley (voiced by Christopher McDonald), a pompous and selfish U.S. Government agent who has a secret agenda to boost his career , arrives into town to investigate the mysterious stories amongst the citizens dealing with "a giant metal man". Hogarth is able to hide the Giant into his barn, showing it comic books depicting Superman, an alien visitor who becomes a hero. Mansley, suspiciously thinking of Hogarth to be involved with the strange stories, rents a room at the Hughes house.

Hogarth is able to convince a beatnik metal artist named Dean McCoppin (voiced by Harry Connick, Jr.) to have the Giant stay at his scrap yard. Mansley then finds Hogarth's camera (which he dropped in the woods) and finds a picture of the Giant, and convinces to call a brigade led by General Rogard to come to Rockwell. Dean and Hogarth disguise the Giant as a massive iron statue to throw them off. Rogard then gets severely mad at Mansley for wasting his time and government money for nothing. As the army leaves, the Giant has an accident dealing with a toy gun (held by Hogarth), and attempts to vaporize him. Dean rescues Hogarth and chases off the Giant, only realizing after the fact that the Giant did not do it intentionally. He then assists Hogarth in giving chase.

As the Giant leaves town, he is spotted by Mansley, who tricks the military into opening fire on it as it flees with Hogarth in hand. The Giant is eventually shot down by a group of F-86 Sabres. Hogarth, in the Giant's hands at the time, is knocked unconscious. Knowing no better, the Giant assumes that his best friend is dead, grief-stricken at the turn of events. As such, the military's next attack enrages it and his body transforms into a heavily armored battle machine. As the Army realize they are no match for the Giant, Mansley suggests using a nuclear missile to destroy it, with the USS Nautilus equipped to fire and Rogard consents.

By this point, Hogarth has regained consciousness, and is able to calm the Giant, which reverts to its regular form upon recognizing Hogarth. Rogard listens to Dean's earlier warning and calls a cease fire. Mansley seizes Rogard's radio transceiver and orders the Nautilus to launch, neglecting the fact that the Giant is now in town, not in the ocean as they had planned. The Giant offers to sacrifice itself and takes flight to intercept the missile. As it nears its target, it recalls Hogarth's words: "You are who you choose to be." Closing its eyes, the Giant utters the word "Superman" before colliding with the missile. A few months later, in the spring of 1958, Dean and Annie have started dating. Hogarth is sent a single screw by Rogard, the only piece of the Giant recovered from the explosion. In bed that night, Hogarth hears a tapping noise at the window; the screw is attempting to leave, presumably in order to reunite itself with the rest of the Giant. Smiling and realizing what the piece's activity means, Hogarth opens the window and lets it roll away. The film ends with the Giant's body parts traveling to the Langjökull glacier in Iceland, summoned there by its self-repair mechanism, its eyes light up as it smiles.

Voice cast

File:Irongiant4 wiki.jpg
From left to right: Annie, Kent, Dean, General Rogard, and Hogarth before entering the warehouse in which Dean has hidden the giant.
  • Eli Marienthal as Hogarth Hughes: an energetic, young, curious boy with an active imagination. Hogarth befriends the Giant and takes him under his wing, teaching him to speak and satisfying his appetite for metal objects. Hogarth hides the giant from his mother, the townspeople and the government. He is also a grade ahead because he "just does the stupid homework". He is the protagonist of the film.
  • Jennifer Aniston as Annie Hughes: Hogarth's single mother who is in her early 30s and works hard as a waitress in the local diner. Annie is somewhat cautious over her son's activities.
  • Harry Connick, Jr. as Dean McCoppin: A beatnik artist and junk yard owner who "sees art where others see junk" and is the same age as Hogarth's mom. Dean has a laid-back attitude and helps protect the Giant with Hogarth. He is initially aggravated by the presence of the giant in his junk yard, as he has to pay him constant attention, to make sure he doesn't eat any of his "art".
  • Vin Diesel as The Iron Giant: A 50-foot, metal-eating robot that enters Hogarth's life and changes everything. With eyes that glow and can change to red when threatened or angry, parts that transform and reassemble (and indestructible to virtually anything), he becomes best friend and hero to Hogarth. While capable of incredible destructive powers (the extensive and lethal arsenal he is equipped with would suggest his original purpose was not one of peace), he is rendered benign by damage to his head. Hogarth teaches him to use his strength for good rather than destruction, proving to the world that he recognizes the value of life. The Giant reacts defensively if it recognizes anything as a weapon, immediately attempting to destroy it, but can stop himself. The Giant serves as the film's deuteragonist. The specific creator of the giant is never revealed and unknown. The only hint comes in the opening sequence, specifically that the giant comes from somewhere beyond the earth's moon.
  • Christopher McDonald as Kent Mansley: He is a manipulative, ambitious, arrogant, self-centered, paranoid and obessive N.S.A. agent sent to investigate the Iron Giant. With a secret agenda to boost his own career, Kent is simultaneously hot on Hogarth's trail to get information. Believing he has proof of the Iron Giant's existence and eager to make his reputation, Mansley calls in the military to protect the townspeople from the threat he perceives in the Giant, even after the Giant's innocence has been proven. He serves as the main antagonist of the film.
  • John Mahoney as General Rogard: Military leader in Washington, D.C. who strongly dislikes Mansley and his attitude.

Cloris Leachman, M. Emmet Walsh and James Gammon all have voice cameo appearances.

Additional Voices by Jack Angel, Bob Bergen, Mary Kay Bergman, Michael Bird, Devon Cole Borisoff, Rodger Bumpass, Robert Clotworthy, Jennifer Darling, Zack Eginton, Paul Eiding, Bill Farmer, Charles Howerton, Ollie Johnston, Sherry Lynn, Mickie McGowan, Ryan O'Donohue, Philip Proctor, Frank Thomas, Patti Tippo, and Brian Tochi.

Production

In 1986, rock musician Pete Townshend became interested in writing "a modern song-cycle in the manner of Tommy",[1] and chose Ted Hughes' The Iron Man as his subject. Three years later, The Iron Man: A Musical album was released. The same year Pete Townshend produced a short film set to the album single "A Friend is a Friend" featuring The Iron Man in a mix of stop frame animation and live action directed by Matt Forrest. In 1993, a stage version was mounted at London’s Old Vic. Des McAnuff, who had adapted Tommy with Townshend for the stage, believed that The Iron Man could translate to the screen, and the project was ultimately acquired by Warner Bros.[1]

Towards the end of 1996, while the project was working its way through development, the studio saw the film as a perfect vehicle for Brad Bird, who at the time was working for Turner Feature Animation.[1] Turner Entertainment had recently merged with Warner Bros. parent company Time Warner, and Bird was allowed to transfer to the Warner Bros. Animation studio to direct The Iron Giant.[1] After reading the original Iron Man book by Hughes, Bird was impressed with the mythology of the story and in addition, was given an unusual amount of creative control by Warner Bros.[1] Bird decided to have the story set to take place in the 1950s as he felt the time period "presented a wholesome surface, yet beneath the wholesome surface was this incredible paranoia. We were all going to die in a freak-out."[2]

Tim McCanlies was hired to write the script, though Bird was somewhat displeased with having another writer on board, as he himself wanted to write the screenplay.[3] He later changed his mind after reading McCanlies' unproduced screenplay for Secondhand Lions.[1] In Bird's original story treatment, America and the USSR were at war at the end, with the Giant dying. McCanlies decided to have a brief scene displaying his survival, quoting "You can't kill E.T. and then not bring him back." McCanlies finished the script within two months, and was surprised once Bird convinced the studio not to use Townshend's songs. Townshend did not care either way, quoting "Well, whatever, I got paid."[3] McCanlies was given a three month schedule to complete a script, and it was by way of the film's tight schedule that Warner Bros. "didn't have time to mess with us" as McCanlies said.[4]

Hughes himself was sent a copy of McCanlies' script and sent a letter back, saying how pleased he was with the version. In the letter, Hughes stated, "I want to tell you how much I like what Brad Bird has done. He’s made something all of a piece, with terrific sinister gathering momentum and the ending came to me as a glorious piece of amazement. He’s made a terrific dramatic situation out of the way he’s developed The Iron Giant. I can’t stop thinking about it."[1]

It was decided to animate the Giant using computer-generated imagery as the various animators working on the film found it hard "drawing a metal object in a fluid-like manner."[1] A new computer program was created for this task, while the art of Norman Rockwell, Edward Hopper and N.C. Wyeth inspired the design. Bird brought in students from CalArts to assist in minor animation work due to the film's busy schedule. The Giant's voice was originally to be electronically modulated but the filmmakers decided they "needed a deep, resonant and expressive voice to start with" and Vin Diesel was hired.[1]

Themes

The film is set in the late 1950s, during a period of the Cold War characterized by escalation in tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. In 1957, Sputnik was launched, raising the possibility of nuclear attack from space. Anti-communism and the potential threat of nuclear destruction cultivated an atmosphere of fear and paranoia which also led to a proliferation of films about alien invasion. In one scene, Hogarth's class is seen watching an animated film named Atomic Holocaust, based on Duck and Cover, an actual film that offered advice on how to survive if the USSR bombed the USA. The film also has an anti-gun message in it. When the Iron Giant sees a deer get killed by hunters, the Iron Giant notices two rifles discarded by the deer's body. The Iron Giant's eyes turn red showing hostility to any gun. It is repeated throughout the film, "Guns kill." and "You're not a gun."

Writer Tim McCanlies addressed Hogarth's message to the giant, "You are who you choose to be" played a pivotal role in the film. "At a certain point, there are deciding moments when we pick who we want to be. And that plays out for the rest of your life" citing that he wanted to get a sense between right and wrong. In addition, this turning point was to make the audience feel as if they are an important part of humanity.[4]

Reception

Box office

"We had toy people and all of that kind of material ready to go, but all of that takes a year! Burger King and the like wanted to be involved. In April we showed them the movie, and we were on time. They said, "You'll never be ready on time." No, we were ready on time. We showed it to them in April and they said, "We'll put it out in a couple of months." That's a major studio, they have 30 movies a year, and they just throw them off the dock and see if they either sink or swim, because they've got the next one in right behind it. After they saw the reviews they [Warner Bros.] were a little shamefaced."
— Writer Tim McCanlies on Warner Bros.' marketing approach[3]

The Iron Giant opened on August 6, 1999 in the United States in 2,179 theaters, accumulating $5,732,614 over its opening weekend. The film went on to gross $23,159,305 domestically, making it a failiure in the US, but did end up grossing $103 million worldwide, making it a success from there.[5] Brad Bird felt that it was "a mis-marketing campaign of epic proportions at the hands of Warner Bros., they simply didn't realize what they had on their hands."[6] Tim McCanlies said, "I wish that Warner had known how to release it."[3]

Lorenzo di Bonaventura, president of Warner Bros. at the time, explained, "People always say to me, 'Why don't you make smarter family movies?' The lesson is, Every time you do, you get slaughtered."[7] Stung by criticism that it mounted an ineffective marketing campaign for its theatrical release, Warner Bros. revamped its ad strategy for the video release of the film, including tie-ins with Honey Nut Cheerios, AOL and General Motors and secured the backing of three U.S. congressmen (Ed Markey, Mark Foley and Howard Berman).[8]

Critical response

The film has been met with universal critical acclaim. Based on 110 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, The Iron Giant received an overall 97% "Certified Fresh" approval rating.[9] With the 30 critics on Rotten Tomatoes' "Cream of the Crop", which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs,[10] still averaging a 97% "Certified Fresh" approval rating.[11] By comparison, Metacritic calculated an average score of 85 (out of 100) from the 27 reviews it collected.[12] The film has since then gathered a cult following,[6] largely due in part to the cable television network Cartoon Network showing the film annually on Thanksgiving for 24 hours straight in the early 2000s.[13][14]

Roger Ebert very much liked the Cold War setting, feeling "that's the decade when science fiction seemed most preoccupied with nuclear holocaust and invaders from outer space." In addition he was impressed with parallels seen in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and quoted, "[The Iron Giant] is not just a cute romp but an involving story that has something to say."[15] In response to the E.T. parallels, Bird quoted, "E.T. doesn't go kicking ass. He doesn't make the Army pay. Certainly you risk having your hip credentials taken away if you want to evoke anything sad or genuinely heartfelt."[2] IGN extolled the film in a 2004 review as "the best non-Disney animated film".[14]

Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle agreed that the storytelling was far superior to other animated films, and cited the characters as plausible and noted the richness of moral themes.[16] Jeff Millar of the Houston Chronicle agreed with the basic techniques as well, and concluded the voice cast being excelled with a great script by Tim McCanlies.[17]

Accolades

The Hugo Awards nominated The Iron Giant for Best Dramatic Presentation,[18] while the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America honored Brad Bird and Tim McCanlies with the Nebula Award nomination.[19] The British Academy of Film and Television Arts gave the film a Children's Award as Best Feature Film.[20] In addition The Iron Giant won nine Annie Awards and was nominated for another six categories,[21] with another nomination for Best Home Video Release at The Saturn Awards.[22] IGN ranked The Iron Giant as the tenth favorite animated film of all time in a list published in 2008,[23] and the second greatest animated film of all time on another list.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Making of The Iron Giant". Warner Bros. Archived from the original on 2006-03-21. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  2. ^ a b Sragow, Michael (1999-08-05). "Iron Without Irony". Salon Media Group. Archived from the original on 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  3. ^ a b c d Black, Lewis (2003-09-19). "More McCanlies, Texas". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  4. ^ a b Holleran, Scott (2003-10-16). "Iron Lion: An Interview with Tim McCanlies". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  5. ^ "The Iron Giant (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  6. ^ a b Otto, Jeff (2004-11-04). "Interview: Brad Bird". IGN. Archived from the original on 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  7. ^ Irwin, Lew (1999-08-30). "The Iron Giant Produces A Thud". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  8. ^ Irwin, Lew (1999-11-23). "Warner Revamps Ad Campaign For The Iron Giant". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  9. ^ "The Iron Giant (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  10. ^ "Rotten Tomatoes FAQ: What is Cream of the Crop". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  11. ^ "The Iron Giant: Rotten Tomatoes' Cream of the Crop". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  12. ^ "Iron Giant, The (1999): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  13. ^ "Cartoon Network helped turn The Iron Giant, a box-office flop in theaters, into a cult favorite with its 24-hour Thanksgiving marathons in the early 2000s". TVTropes.com. Archived from the original on 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
  14. ^ a b Patrizio, Andy (2004-11-02). "The Iron Giant: Special Edition - DVD Review at IGN". IGN. Archived from the original on 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
  15. ^ Ebert, Roger (1999-08-06). "The Iron Giant review". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  16. ^ Stack, Peter (1999-08-06). "'Giant' Towers Above Most Kid Adventures". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  17. ^ Millar, Jeff (2004-04-30). "The Iron Giant". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  18. ^ "Hugo Awards: 2000". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  19. ^ "Nebula Award: 2000". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  20. ^ "BAFTA Awards: 2000". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  21. ^ "Annie Awards: 1999". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  22. ^ "The Saturn Awards: 2000". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  23. ^ "Top 25 Animated Movies of All Time". IGN. 2008-03-11. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
  24. ^ http://movies.ign.com/articles/650/650717p5.html

Further reading

Wikiquote has quotations related to The Iron Giant.

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