The Iron Giant

I remember as a teenager seeing ads for Brad Bird's "The Iron Giant" but it wasn't until years later that I finally got around to seeing it. During that time, Bird and others who worked for him on this film transferred to Pixar. The result was Bird winning an Oscar for Best Animated film. I probably would not have taken the time to see "The Iron Giant" if it had not been for that. The movie has a great story with great themes as Bird's first directorial feature film. It is one of those great animated shows that the public has overlooked through no fault of their own. I did get to see it on the big screen over ten years after its release thanks to a special summer event.

The design of this film was the first thing I liked. It is apparent that the designers were able to adapt to 3D animation at Pixar quite well in the years following "The Iron Giant". The look of the characters seems to be constant in every Brad Bird film whether it is traditionally animated or computer animated. I love how attractive Annie is particularly. Another quality that I enjoy is the editing. Some moments are fast paced such as the montage of Kent's remarks to Hogarth and it works very well. We also have the cutting of two scenes together such as the power plant scene with Annie back at the house. The use of lighting is also noteworthy such as with Annie's flashlight and Kent's lamp in the barn. The story of the movie works great in the setting of the start of the Cold War. The town of Rockwell (get it?) is very appealing and this contrasts the tension that was felt in the world at that time. The film is obviously similar to "E.T." and evidence of this is when Hogarth and Giant first meet. "The Iron Giant" does contain the necessary deviations needed story-wise to be successful. We have strong story themes dealing with identity and the use of power. We do get some great funny moments such as Hogarth's prayer. The animation in this movie is pretty extravagant when it needs to be and this is another quality that is typical of a Brad Bird movie. Rather than regret their work later, Bird has his animators work hard on the scenes they create. This movie came at a time when casting superstars in an animated film was deemed essential. The casting choices for "The Iron Giant" worked for the most part. The voice of Harry Connick Jr. however didn't really fit with the design of Dean I thought. I did like hearing Jennifer Aniston, Vin Diesel, John Mahoney and M. Emmet Walsh in this movie. Christopher McDonald's persona from "Happy Gilmore" made him perfect as the voice of Kent. There is even a cameo of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, two animation masters who have worked at Disney since the beginning. They are also Bird's former teachers from his alma mater, CalArts, and they play the railroad engineers.

During most of the 1990's, Brad Bird was employed working on "The Simpsons". Because of the failure of "Quest for Camelot", Warner Brothers was loosing interest in animation. Animators were quitting or being fired. This was around the time that Bird signed on to direct "The Iron Giant" and it allowed him to bring in some students from CalArts and make the kind of movie he wanted to. Even though they had a limited budget, Bird, Tony Fucile, Mark Andrews, John Walker and Teddy Newton got a lot of creative freedom. I can't really tell that they had a lack of money working on "The Iron Giant". It is obvious that Bird thinks more like a live action filmmaker. The use of 3D cinematography in certain shots is well done. My favorite shot in the whole movie is when Giant flies for the first time. We have him in the near background with Annie and her truck in the foreground. Annie however is so tiny in comparison to the backdrop, which is quite dramatic. Because Warner Brothers did not know how to market and release a Brad Bird film, "The Iron Giant" initially failed at the box office despite its glowing reviews from critics. It later made money on home video.

Because of the mistakes of the studio, the majority of film audiences neglected “The Iron Giant”. It is a good thing however that critics and others in Hollywood liked it. It proved that Brad Bird had talent on the big screen. The story of this movie is dramatic and entertaining. The cinematography, lighting and design supported this story to great effect. Because of the problems with the release of "The Iron Giant", Brad Bird turned to Pixar to create his next movie that was nearing the end of pre-production. It was initially planned to be a traditionally animated film but Bird felt it could work in computer animation. It became one of the most incredible animated films I have ever seen (sorry for the pun).

4 Stars