An alien robot crash lands on Earth and is found by a young boy. The robot is childlike and can’t really talk, but the boy befriends him and teaches him how to talk and that its wrong to kill. With the help of a local scrap artist he plots to save his friend from a government agent who’s out to find him.
When you see the name Pixar at the start of an animated movie you know your in for something good. A big part of that is down to Brad Bird. Brad Bird made this. So you can work out the result for yourself.
The Iron Giant feels like part Frankenstein, part Short Circuit. Like Frankenstein he’s big and dangerous, but not exactly the monster that he looks like. Like Johnny Five, and this is a bit of a spoiler but also rather obvious, he’s a weapon that learns not to be one.
The animation style is old school Disney hand drawn, with the exception of the giant who was CGI. It all fits together seamlessly and feels like a much older film. The voice acting is all pretty much spot on. With the exception of John Mahoney none of the voices were too stand out, therefore drawing you out of the picture. Sometimes I find having big names providing voices for characters takes you out of the world because the animated character doesn’t look like the actor. Not the case here at all. And you’d be heard pressed to know that was Vin Diesel as the giant.
There’s a lovely 50’s B Movie vibe to the whole thing. It’s nice that alien technology always manages to be low fi when things are set in that era, isn’t it? It would be nice to see something that would be invading now shoved in to a retro setting, but you’d loose out on the nostalgic vibe.
This is a heart warming story with great characterisations and a slow burning plot. It develops perfectly from start to finish and you’ve got a tough heart if you can watch it without being moved.
No idea how this would play with the younger crowd, but I’m guessing this is something that would entertain the whole family regardless of age. Go watch.
Next up: Star Runners
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