Movie of the Week: Iron Giant

Alexa: Who knew Vin Diesel would carve out a niche voicing lovable aliens who can pack such a strong emotional punch while saying so little? Before he was Groot he was the Iron Giant, a gentle, gargantuan creature from outer space who befriends a lonely young boy after crash landing on Earth. Though people have been telling me this movie is amazing for ages, I never made time for a viewing until now – and it was one of the most charming, thoughtfully-crafted and impactful films I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. The relationship between Hogarth and the Iron Giant is a beautiful friendship, free of judgments and replete with compassion despite their obvious differences. The Cold War setting gives the classic “people fear what they don’t understand” storyline a fresh angle, adding a deeper layer to the community’s apprehension. The Iron Giant resonated just as strongly with me as an adult viewer as it would have if I’d seen it as a child, if not more so. It’s the kind of animated movie that transcends age and time, genuinely clever and heartfelt. I was rapt with emotional investment from beginning to end – just thinking about it is triggering the sentimental floodgates again. I’m not crying; you’re crying.

Joel: I feel like internet hype over nostalgia for this movie has made it feel like a bigger deal than it actually was. Everywhere you look, it feels like people were watching this movie non-stop in their childhood, but I think in the real world, this movie is still largely an undiscovered gem. Case in point, of the three of us, I was the not only one to actually have seen this movie as a child, but I was the only one to have seen this movie at all before we reviewed it this week.
I don't mean this as a slight against The Iron Giant. The movie is, without question, a modern animated classic. Released in 1999, it came out toward the end of the Disney Renaissance lineup of animated films, and while it didn't make the impact that many of those did, in terms of quality it's able to go toe-to-toe with almost any of them.
Set in the 1950s, the movie is able to play on several tropes of the sci-fi B-movies that were popular at the time. The mysterious creature from outer space, paranoia about the Soviets, the boy that befriends the monster when everyone else fears him, the army fighting an invading force, it's all in there. But it's not just there to serve as a nod to movie tropes of a bygone era. The Iron Giant uses these well worn tropes to build to a bigger theme. Fear of the unknown in not necessarily a bad thing. After all, both of the main human characters in this movie exhibit plenty of fear when faced with something unknown in this movie. It's what we do in response to our fear that's so important. There are several different reactions to the Giant throughout the movie and we get to see the consequences of them all, both good and bad. The movie is able to take on a complex issue, and address it head on. Not only that, it's done in a way that is able to be simultaneously enjoyable, emotional, and thought provoking. I don't mind the hyperbolic gushing about the movie that seems to be everywhere, because this is one of the few movies out there that can live up to the hype.



Chris: I felt like I was the last person on the planet yet to see Iron Giant at this point and I was worried that it had been over-hyped by friends who would wax poetic about it every time someone mentioned the movie. Luckily, Iron Giant lived up to the hype and then some. Setting the story within the Cold War helps play up the people's fear of everything foreign and unfamiliar to them. Ultimately this movie is about outsiders and finding a bond and a community with each other because they each understand (or have a growing understanding, in the Giant's case) what it feels like to be socially cast out. I do enjoy that the robot's origin becomes information that becomes almost irrelevant in the grand scheme of things because the focus of the movie is the Robot's growing relationship with the kid. I highly recommend the few stragglers left that have still yet to see Iron Giant. As a matter of fact, I just finished texting my mom to tell her to watch it as well.