I apologize if this subject has been brought up, but… you have got to see this movie. It’s wonderful. No songs, no stupid talking animal sidekicks…
The movie actually manages to make some good moral points without smacking you upside the head (I’m even pro-gun-rights, and this movie didn’t anger me though it was anti-weapon), and it didn’t bother to pander to children, even though it was at an understandable level for all… which was wonderful. It was intelligent, clever, cute, and the main characters actually had foibles that made the movie difficult to watch at first (Hogarth’s gimpy front teeth - cute, but I have a teeth thing and crooked teeth hurt my soul). Romance? Not hit over the head with it, but it’s there.
I haven’t had a lump in my throat during a movie for a LONG time, and this movie did it. It’s remarkably endearing, and I’m so glad that we got it on DVD.
Go watch it. It’s gotten rave reviews, but WB hasn’t managed to advertise worth a crapola, so I’m attempting to spread via word of mouth. It’s an amazing movie.
And the animation? Ooh, the pretty 3d… and the sound… and… wow.
I’ve been talking up this movie since it’s original theatrical release. I’m fairly confident I’m responsible for more people going to see it than the distributor’s pathetic promotion efforts.
This is one of those rare films (like “Brian’s Song”) that can jerk a tear from almost any male viewer.
If anyone wants me to send them a VHS or DVD release of this movie (like GuanoLad, poor soul, out of the country of US of A) just e-mail me at lovelee@alloyweb.com and I will send you a copy at cost+shipping, just so you can get a copy, however you like it, of this movie wonder. It amazes in so many ways, especially in widescreen DVD.
But consider me, ye teeming millions abroad, if you need an advance copy of this movie. Consider the DVD restrictions on those evil players abroad, however (I realize that there are limits, though I’m not sure what those geographical limits are. My DVD purchases are playable in the USA and Canadian regions… others may require a hack of some sort )
Yeah, we can’t play US DVDs here, I don’t think. But it’s okay, I know some people who know some people. A screening of Iron Giant will no doubt be upcoming.
I was impressed. My husband was impressed. The kids loved it. I thank my sister, who bought it. I’m disowning my own grandparents, who handed over a travesty of a Madeline cartoon instead.
“We loved it. It was better than Cats.”
It was the one bright spot in an otherwise miserable Thanksfornothing.
No stupid dancing, singing, talking animals. No cheap musical numbers meant to fill dead space in a lousy script. No extreme violence. Wonderful contrasts in quite realistic background and scenery animation versus comical characters.
Easily defined bad guy (that delivers an interesting message, though – Government men = bad. Military Men = good.) One heck of a history lesson for kids, presented in a manner that kept them interested. My 7 year old ended up asking us and Grandpa all sorts of questions.
I saw the movie the day it was released and I REALLY enjoyed it.
But why the DULL images? I mean the entire movie seemed to have poor lighting and it was giving me a headache…Is it because it was inthe 50s (or was it the 60s) and they wanted to create the impression of an older time?
Veera. A guy frustrated with his feminine sounding nickname…
Well, I thought the movie was really well done also.
I have to jump on the “Promotion Sucked Bandwagon.” I can only recall seeing one commercial for the movie, and that was about a month before it came out.
It has become pretty popular among people I know mainly by word of mouth.
Well, shut my mouth. It’s also illegal to put squirrels down your pants for the purposes of gambling.
I liked it quite a bit, rented the DVD this weekend.
Well done, good story line, nice animation… the computer effects were not overdone like in many disney films where you can point out where they spent their whole CGI budget.
I liked the movie quite a bit, but not as much as y’all did. It got very predictable, but that isn’t going to be a sore point with kids, who presumably haven’t seen as many movies as I have. I just get bored with the “military people are homicidal maniacs” stereotype, with the “guns are bad” message, with the “nonhuman sacrifices self to save humanity” plot, and the “cartoon child is missing a parent” thang.
It was just a combination of animated movie cliches adsorbed to a Terminator II plot minus the German accent. Since it’s a cartoon, the robot has to rebuild himself after ground zero (air zero?) encounter with a nuclear weapon. And sure, it was based on a book, so I’m not supposed to blame it for being like all the other animated movies, but I was still disappointed.
But the characters were great, and the historical stuff was neat. Red Scares, Sputnik, Polaris missiles, Beatniks, etc. were nice period touches.
One thing that caught my attention was the sound design. It was very live-action-ish. When you’re in the diner, it sounds like a diner. Very nice touch.
Nothing I write about any person or group should be applied to a larger group.
Promotion? You couldn’t turn on the TV here without seeing a commercial for this flick. I haven’t seen the movie, but I have had Townshend’s album “The Ironman” for years. Great music and John Lee Hooker as the Ironman. Fantastic!
Dopeler effect:
The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
Hmmm… I think it was mostly that one guy
Promotion here was pretty skimpy as well. They probably spent most of their ad budget in just a few places and left the rest of the country dry.
Like Suzeanne said above, the Government guy was the heavy, not the military men.
I was expecting the cliche to drop like a ton of bricks myself…here comes the General, he’s gonna be bad, and one-dimensionally Bad at that…but was pleasantly surprised when he turned out to be on the good side of neutral.
The Government guy was also personally evil, a type-A, ambitious and opportunistic fellow, not a personification of Bad Government.
On the critical side, I didn’t like the character very much (and the villain is usually my favorite)…he was the weakest part of the film for me. He’s going to prove grating over multiple viewings.
I just get bored with the “military people are homicidal maniacs” stereotype, with the “guns are bad” message, with the “nonhuman sacrifices self to save humanity” plot, and the “cartoon child is missing a parent” thang.
Well, then you should watch the film again with the following information in mind and look for the ‘between the lines’ thing. This was written (as you probably know) by Ted Hughes the poet lauriet for England for many years. He wrote it for his kids during a problematic time of his life. His second wife (poet sylvia plath) had just committed suicide. Oh did i mention is first wife did, too? So, people were making the assumption that the two deaths must have been related to some abuse he was administering. He would walk down the street and people would yell at him calling him a monster. He went from and English hero to a murder. Much like the government created the monster (they created him) and then tried to kill him (kill hughe’s spirit). So, the relationship between him and his kids (i think he lost custody) was drifting farther and farhter apart. So, in one viewing, he’s the iron giant (read monster) that’s alienated from the kid. The facists part of the movie reads into the way peoples perceptions can change and be based on heresy and propaganda. So there is a lot of subtext that really isn’t cliche.
We live in an age that reads to much to be wise, and thinks too much to be beautiful–Oscar Wilde
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