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Review by Susan Granger
4 stars out of 4
The summer's best surprise is Brad Bird's fun-filled, superbly
crafted animated family film. Based on Ted Hughes' children's book,
"The Iron Man," the concept combines the sensitivity of Steven
Spielberg's "E.T." with a gleeful contemporary sensibility. Set in
peaceful, picturesque Rockwell, Maine, in 1957 - at the time of the
Russian satellite Sputnik - the story revolves around the friendship
of a nine year-old boy, Hogarth Hughes (voiced by Eli Marienthal), and
a gigantic robot who fell into the ocean from outer space. They meet
one night when his single mother (voiced by Jennifer Aniston) is
working late and Hogarth hears a noise outside. Curious, he follows a
trail of broken fences and downed trees into the woods where he finds
a 50' tall metal monster tangled in electrical wires. Feeling sorry
for the enormous beast, he turns the power off, thus saving its
life. Knowing his mother's aversion to pets, he tries to keep the
gentle Iron Giant (voiced by Vin Diesel) hidden but the creature's
voracious hunger for metal (cars, trucks, TV antennas, railroad
tracks) arouses the suspicions of a sneaky, trigger-happy Government
Agent (voiced by Christopher McDonald). Hogarth's only ally as the
precarious situation escalates is a cool beatnik scrap-metal
dealer/artist (voiced by Harry Connick Jr.) who tells him, "You are
who you choose to be." That's a key phrase in the heartfelt, honest,
intelligent script, which also works as a political allegory without
getting heavy-handed, teaching lessons about tolerance and
sacrifice. And Michael Kamen's musical score is subtle yet evocative.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "The Iron Giant" is a charming,
whimsical, magical 10. It's absolutely impossible not to love "The
Iron Giant" - a definite MUST SEE!
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
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out of 4
