Customer Reviews

The Iron Giant (Widescreen/Full Screen)

5 star:		(261)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It was perfect! It was exactly as it was described. Came in the time that it said it would. Will be ordering again,

Waaaay back in 1999, a movie came out that flew under everyone's radar, a modern classic which blossomed in my heart into one of an absolute favourites. It is sweet, it is touching, and it is filled with a wonderful messages. It is called the Iron Giant.

The Plot:
Set in the 1957, during the height of Cold War paranoia, a lonely boy in a small town discovers and befriends something stranded here from the stars. It is a giant childlike robot who chomps down on anything metal lying around. Cars are nice. But a government agent is hot on their trail, all while the boy helps his new pet robot recover it's memory. And everything comes together in the end!

The Characters:
We start off with the giant, who conveys so much emotions to us with so little facial features, and with a mechanized voice provided by Vin Diesel, we love and care for this strange visitor. Next is the boy Hogarth, who is smart and likeable, but with a loneliness so palpable you yearn to give him a hug. Dean is a beatnik, an artist, and the coolest dude you could ever want to hang out with. But he should never have given Hogarth coffee. These three are magnificent together!

The Theme:
As Hogarth tells the Giant, you can choose who you want to be. And this critical idea propels us all through the movie, and is especially important at the conclusion. Take this message to heart, see the wonderment of the ending, and try to keep your eyes dry. The Iron Giant chooses. And chooses wisely.

The Iron Giant is a charming, touching movie that will cause you to think. Loosely based on the children's book by Ted Hughes, filmmaker Brad Bird from The Incredibles provides us with something mesmerizing. It is simply beautiful.

Scoopriches

While the story is familiar (kid meets alien/ monster/ outsider, and
befriends them, understanding they're not the threat the grown up world
thinks), Brad Bird brings humor, freshness and heart to the sub-genre
that lets this transcend into a terrific movie.

Set in a cold-war paranoid U.S. of 1957, the titular creature cash
lands from outer- space, with a knock on his giant metal head leaving
him with amnesia about his purpose or history. After being saved by a 9
year old boy, a series of at first comic, then later more serious
adventures begin.

There's some very funny jabs at the cold war mentality, and some
terrific, unusual supporting characters, including a mom more
interesting and complex than you find in most cartoons, and a local
wanna-be beatnik artist who joins in to take the giant iron man's
cause.

I love the look they designed for the Iron Giant himself, there's
something wonderfully retro and almost art deco about him, and they do
a great job of bringing heart and emotion to this gigantic metal
creature.

By the end I was shocked at how moved I found myself. A lovely, well
told, fun fairy tale that is as much for adults as for kids.

One of the best animated works to come out of any of the major film studios. Just over 10 years old, it still speaks to both children and adults. Excellent humour, though it doesn't overpower the story. The animation is definitely 'cartoonish', but it doesn't hinder the characters from becoming very real. It's a poignant reminder of simpler times, yet set against the backdrop of cold war anxieties. It doesn't pull any punches in its portrayal of small-town life in the late-50's, irrepressible youth, "national security paranoia", the answers to some timeless life-questions including the importance of actually chewing one's food.
It's just so "on target" with so many of it's portrayals. Hogarth 'super-stuffing' twinkies and watching 50's horror movies off the aerial just makes me laugh and laugh.
The ending doesn't pull any punches either. Superbly done. Pass the tissues.
It's too bad it didn't get better press in the theatres. It could have easily been a runaway blockbuster, setting the standard for animated stories for years to come instead of being mostly overlooked.

I have just loved The Iron Giant after seeing it in theatres 5 years ago. With it's heart, wit and engrossing story, it far surpasses anything to come out of Disney or Dreamworks. It truly is a pity that Warner Bros. did not promote it better than they did. A definite must for any DVD collection with tons of enjoyment for both the kids and the parents.

There are very few movies today that require the attention of men, sure every few months a new title comes out insulting our intelligence and forcing us to relive the same 4 actions scenes time and time again but is that what we as a collective audience want to be known for. We should be demanding more substance. In a time where computer graphic saturated 3D eye orgasms are a weekly release occurrence, we should be demanding movies with thick plots and deep characters.

The Iron Giant delivers what we need in cinema, it delivers what our sons and daughters should also learn to demand as future movie goers. This hand drawn animation isn't just for kids though, the themes present are extremely complex and the humour is sometimes too subtle for a much younger audiance, but... Giant robots for the kids (and inner children) and heavy complex plot points for the adults.

This movie is a classic, we should all have it somewhere on our shelves and kept in our hard drives, and preserved. It's a story about going against what you are designed to do, it's about sacrifice and taking responsibility for who we are, it's about growing up and it's about staying youthful enough to always believe in the impossible and the unlikely.

I recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys the 3D and heavy visual effects of the mainstream blockbusters, and at the same time misses the substance heavy children's movies of yesteryears.

This has got to be one of the most underated movies I have ever seen, live action included! I hadn't even heard of the movie when I saw it for the first time on cable.

On one level, the story is simple enough. Boy meets robot, boy and robot become friends, robot saves the day. The under lying story, however, fear of the unknown, fear of those who are different, much more more complexed issues that animated films shy away from. It is a film that has even more impact today because of what is happening in the world at the moment.

Honestly, it is a beautiful film on so many levels. In time, it will be recognized as the classic that it truely is. Don't miss this one

I am a mother of a two year old little girl who loves the IRON GIANT. When she got the Chicken pox all she wanted was that movie and now she still watches it at least 1 to 2 times a week.
The movie is inspiring to the young and old. It relates to now and then. We are waiting for Number 2 to come out, you know the boy has all grown up and it's his daughter who discovers the IRON GIANT.

The time, 1957, was a Simpler time, when the only worries most young boys had were schoolwork and girls. One young boy though has more interesting ideas ~ he daydreams of alien invasions and doing battle with Communist agents. When a local legend about a giant iron man proves to be real, the real threat is not from the Communists or aliens but the government. A story which pits a young boy against his feelings (good and bad), his friendship with a 50 foot iron giant, and the government he thinks he should believe. This is an excellent story for kids with mild violence. In the end the iron giant gives his life to save the young boy's town.

First off for those of you who complain about this movie being inapproprate for your 6 or 7 year old you need to read the MPAA ratings on these movies before you get it. This movie is rated PG, which almost always means it will be a bit more sophisticated content than good for the very young. That being said The Iron Giant is an incredibly well done film that transcends the standards we have seen for American made animated movies over the past 20 years (at least).

The plot premise itself seems simple enough with the whole "boy and his misunderstood friend" thing and you might even consider it done enough with movies like E.T., Old Yeller, and just about any other movie about a boy making friends with something else. Still this tired premise has been given a VERY fresh approach to it and that's the destinction. This movie has an excellent script, excellent animation, top notch voice acting, and an almost perfect mix of computer animation and traditional cell animation. A far departure from the substandard offerings Disney has made (aside from the Pixar productions).

To be fair Disney has always shot for the G rating and with that comes limitations. The Iron Giant shoots for a wider audience with a PG rating, which in my opinion makes the movie that much better. So yes there is a little bit of moderate bad language and even a death (no worse than Disney's Bambi). PG language and violence aside the content is well thought out and gives the adult viewer enough to enjoy while the kids still have a blast.

The Iron Giant is a killer animated movie that will thrill any science fiction fan and please just about anybody looking for a well executed and heart warming movie.