“WHERE’S THE GIANT, MANSLEY?” – General Rogard
Year released: July. 31st (China)/Aug. 6th (US) 1999
I’ve been looking for a means to talk about my current favorite movie and it’s The Iron Giant. Brad Bird, yes him again, made this his debut directorial movie. As for the screenplay talent, that goes to Tim McCanlies. The movie was based on the 1968 novel, The Iron Man, by author Ted Hughes. A fun fact, within the US, the novel was changed to “The Iron Giant”. Now, this movie had quite the cast with familiar names such as: Vin Diesel, James Gammon, Harry Cornnick Jr. , Jennifer Aniston, and John Mahoney. With a strikingly high 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, this movie cemented itself as one of the most memorable animated films to date.
You may already know this, but this film proved to be ahead of its time from studios Warner Bros. It combined traditional 2D animation with the Iron Giant itself being completely CG. These days, such a feat wouldn’t be nearly as impressive. However, we’re talking about a movie which was in production from 1996 to 1999. I’ve spoken about the background of the movie, now let’s move onto the overview and my thoughts.
Hogarth Hughes is the protagonist of the story and he’s a young boy in that awkward phase of not being a kid, but also not a teen just yet. His mother works long hours, he has no friends his age and technology isn’t quite there yet as it is 1957. What was a huge concern during that time? The Cold War. With that premise set, the young Hogarth would soon find a giant robot who crash landed not far from the boy. The giant, with memory loss, would soon become the best of friends with Hogarth. The movie has its fair share of light, heavy, and heartwarming moments. Without a doubt, I highly recommend this film to a family of all ages. Do yourself a favor, watch the trailer here and enjoy the ride. You can stream the movie for yourself online through AppleTV, YouTube Premium, and even Amazon Prime!
-By Jamarri Taylor