Masterpiece Cinema - The Iron Giant

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.

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