Hi, everyone. After last weeks deviation into the world of comics, I'm
happy to say that were back on target. This week, an often over-looked
modern day animation classic:
'The Iron Giant' Starring the
voice talents of Eli Marienthal, Jennifer Aniston, Harry Conick Jr.,
Vin Diesel, and John Mahoney.
Written by Brad Bird and Tim McCanlies (Based on the book The Iron Man by Ted Hughes)
Directed by Brad Bird
Genre: Animation / Family / Sci-Fi
Released: 1999
Running time: 86 mins.
Rated: PG
IMDb link: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0129167/
Okay, so the other day I was on the bus, and for whatever reason I
started thinking about the conclusion of The Iron Giant, don't ask me
why, but I just did. And right there, on the bus, thinking about a kids
movie, I started getting all teary. I know, I know, Im a girly boy.
But
seriously, have you seen this movie? I mean, come on! How could you not
get all gooey?! When it was released in 1999, The Iron Giant pretty
much flopped. Dont ask me why it probably had something to do with it
not being a shiny CG Pixar movie that everyone seems to be going in for
these days (well, okay, the title character is completely computer
generated, but its so well integrated into the rest of the animation
that you dont even really notice). The films box office failure is a
real shame its a great movie, something that kids and parents can enjoy
together.
It can also be enjoyed by childless movie geeks, such as you know me.
Based on the 1968 story The Iron Man by British poet laureate Ted
Hughes, the movie revolves around the friendship that a boy forms with
a giant robot after he finds it hiding in the forest one day. As the
military does everything it can to track down what they consider to be
a dangerous weapon, the robot struggles against doing what it was
programmed to do: kill humans.
You don't often find a mainstream American animated film that deals
with such dark material as this, nor with as much maturity and ability
as demonstrated here. Its incredibly involving, so much so that you may
very well find yourself on the bus one day, two years after having
first seen it, with tears in your eyes because of how much it managed
to get to you. Its an under appreciated modern classic, and something
that anyone with kidsor anyone who just appreciates a good storyshould
definitely check out. Next week: We return to the land of the rising
sun.
Tags:
Movie cinema reviews british Film sci-fi 
