The Iron Giant
Rent/Purchase
In the small town of Rockwell, Maine in October 1957, a giant metal machine befriends a nine-year-old boy and ultimately finds its humanity by unselfishly saving people from their own fears and prejudices.
What critics thought
Brad Bird's debut feature earned near-universal praise on release and has only grown in reputation since, with critics consistently singling out its emotional ambition and willingness to engage Cold War anxieties and mortality in a film nominally aimed at children. The one real note of dissent was not about craft but attitude — a handful of reviewers found the film's self-satisfaction a little too easy to detect.
“straight-arrow and subversive, [and] made with simplicity as well as sophistication ... it feels like a classic even though it's just out of the box”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
“not just a cute romp but an involving story that has something to say”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“a smart live-and-let-live parable”
Richard Schickel·Time
“deliciously funny and deeply affecting”
Joe Morgenstern·The Wall Street Journal
Genres
Action, Adventure, Animation
Cast & Crew
DirectorBrad Bird
StarringJennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Vin Diesel, James Gammon, Cloris Leachman
ComposerMichael Kamen
The Iron Giant
In the small town of Rockwell, Maine in October 1957, a giant metal machine befriends a nine-year-old boy and ultimately finds its humanity by unselfishly saving people from their own fears and prejudices.
What critics thought
Brad Bird's debut feature earned near-universal praise on release and has only grown in reputation since, with critics consistently singling out its emotional ambition and willingness to engage Cold War anxieties and mortality in a film nominally aimed at children. The one real note of dissent was not about craft but attitude — a handful of reviewers found the film's self-satisfaction a little too easy to detect.
“straight-arrow and subversive, [and] made with simplicity as well as sophistication ... it feels like a classic even though it's just out of the box”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
“not just a cute romp but an involving story that has something to say”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“a smart live-and-let-live parable”
Richard Schickel·Time
“deliciously funny and deeply affecting”
Joe Morgenstern·The Wall Street Journal
Genres
Action, Adventure, Animation
Cast & Crew
DirectorBrad Bird
StarringJennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Vin Diesel, James Gammon, Cloris Leachman
ComposerMichael Kamen
Rent/Purchase