The Iron Giant

What’s the Story?

Set in rural Maine during the late 1950s, THE IRON GIANT centers on 9-year-old Hogarth Hughes (voiced by Eli Marienthal), who lives with his waitress mother, Annie (Jennifer Aniston). One night, he discovers a huge robot in the woods, munching on whatever metal he can find, including the town's electric substation. Hogarth is frightened, but takes pity when the robot is enmeshed in wires, and turns off the power so that the robot can escape. The robot turns out to be the world's best playmate, whether cannonballing into the swimming hole or acting as a sort of amusement park ride. His origins remain mysterious, but his reaction to Hogarth's toy ray gun suggests that he may have served as a weapon of some kind. Local beatnick Dean McCoppin (Harry Connick, Jr.) lets Hogarth hide the robot in his junkyard, but government investigator Kent Mansley (Christopher McDonald) thinks that the giant is part of a communist plot, and presses Hogarth to turn him in. Mansley calls in the army, and suddenly the robot and the surrounding community are in real danger.

Is It Any Good?

This is a director's cut of a wonderful film that has so much humor and heart that it is one of the best family movies around. The script, based on a book by England's poet laureate, Ted Hughes, is exceptionally good. The plot has some clever twists, and some sly references to the 1950's to tickle the memories of boomer parents. Setting the story in the 1950's puts the government's reaction to the robot in the context of the red scare and Sputnik.

It may not have the breathtaking vistas of some of the best Disney animated films, but it is lively and heartwarming and the characters, both human and robot, are so engaging that you might forget they are not real. The robot, created with computer graphics, is seamlessly included with the hand-drawn actors, making the illusion even more complete.