The Iron Giant

365 Films

Entry #146

The Iron Giant (1999)

Directed by Brad Bird

The late summer release of The Iron Giant seemed like an after thought.  Released by the non-Disney animation studio known as Warner Brothers (perish the thought of carrying on the legacy of Chuck Jones, right?) and perhaps most offensively of all, it was created in the medium about to exhale its very gasp of breath: traditional, hand drawn, two dimensional cell animation.  Bear in mind, I’m trying to recreate the mind set of a terribly ignorant and small minded movie-watcher and that those opinions, by no means, reflect any of mine at the time (cough, cough).  What can I say? I make a lot of mistakes.  Luckily, that error was quickly corrected by actually watching The Iron Giant (and hat tip to Nate for actually viewing it first and telling me it was very much worth my time).  Time has also been incredibly kind to The Iron Giant and its profoundly moving ode to non-violence.  It’s also the best iteration of the Superman mythos to ever grace the screen, and without a doubt, the best performance of Vin Diesel’s career and one he is not likely to top any time soon.  It’s hard to argue with The Iron Giant’s political aspirations (somebody needs to make “I Am Not  A Gun” slogan t-shirts to wear at rallies pronto) but what is most indelible about it is Brad Bird’s simple yet devastatingly eloquent evocation of child hood and specifically, the unique ability the child like mind to find wonder in the face of overwhelming paranoia.  There are also sequences of sublime physical comedy that reinforce Bird’s dazzlingly visual strengths.  The Iron Giant, in other words, is perfect, with nary a single false note nor forced emotion to be found.  It’s a unique reminder that no matter what the supposed “dated” medium, a film can be as revolutionary as it chooses to be.  You are what you choose to be.