The Iron Giant (Special Edition)

Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: It takes a lot for me to give a movie five stars, and the only contenders in the running for that have been Titanic & Pearl Harbour so far. But now this has pride & place in my favourite movies - alongside Titanic, Pearl Harbour, Miss Congeniality, Freaky Friday, Mean Girls, and there's probably more.

I hardly watch animation anymore, unless its Simpsons or Family Guy, and I've never been that keen on Japanese animation particularly, and for some reason got this into my head as being Japanese animated. But it wasn't. (I hate the unrealistic HUGE eyes) I simply forgot after a while that this was just drawings or CGI. It's not one of those animations, where the words don't match the movements of the mouth etc.

And I loved the fact that some famous people were instantly recognisable just by the voices. I practically cheered when I recognised Jennifer Aniston's voice straight away, and although I've never heard Harry Connick Jnr speak (only sing), I wasn't sure about his voice, but his character looked really similar to him! Vin Diesel was a little harder to guess, as he was the voice of the giant, and his voice sounded overly processed, but obviously, it's not going to sound normal!

The difference between this movie, and any Disney movies, is the lack of songs. It's not as schmaltzy as a Disney movie, and it definitely makes it better. There's a fantastic score by Michael Kamen, and the good thing is there a definite lack of songs, which you might normally find. And Brad Bird has now joined Pixar and recently made the Incredibles movie.

It's has a lot of incredible laugh out loud moments, and scenes that you need to watch over & over. I particularly had to re-watch the scrapyard scene where the giant takes a bite out of a car and its alarm starts going off! The look on his face was unforgettable, and then he tries sitting on it, and then he starts smashing it to shut it up! It's so funny, I'm sitting at the computer trying to not to make it obvious I'm giggling at the memory. The other scene which had me creasing myself, and had me crying with laughter, was the lake scene, where the giant follows the little boy into the lake. BONZAI!!! The following scene is hilarious, where you see a racoon desperately trying to swim, or Dean ending up in the middle of the road, soaking wet.

The entire story seldom gets boring or slow, which I sometimes tend to find with animation, or any movie for that matter. It's quite short at the same time, only 86 minutes. I didn't like the FBI guy or whatever he was. He was drawn evil, and he was definitely not a good thing. But then he wasn't meant to be.

I don't remember much about this movie when it originally came out, which is 5 years ago, but apparently, Warner didn't do a great job of advertising it, so it probably sank without a trace, and only got to where it is by word of mouth.

It has bits of ET in it, but the sentimental, tear-inducing finale reminded me SOOOOOO much of the finale to Armageddon. Which was a neat touch I thought. I did get quite teary, although not full on bawling. I got choked up by the end.

I'm so glad that I was recommended to watch this movie, and would definitely rewatch it at some point, although you'll have to stop me trying to watch the funny moments over & over. I demand you see this movie, and just make sure you have a box of tissues somewhere. Just incase.

Rating:
Summary: One Of The Best Animated Features Ever!
Review: This film was horribly under-financed and under-publicized by Warner Bros. when it was released theatrically resulting in it being lost in the shuffle of Disney family films released at the same time. And that's truly a shame, as The Iron Giant is far superior to anything Disney has produced in the last 15 years (when they didn't have an assist from Pixar, that is). Wonderful animation seamlessly blending hand-drawn and computer-generated artwork, a talented vocal cast and a great story revolving around Cold War fears combine to make an exceptional family film.

Contrary to some of the other reviews, the language is non-explicit and not inappropriate for an older child. The movie as a whole isn't aimed for the toddler set anyway. There are a few images that younger children might find upsetting, and there is some violence towards the end of the film when the Giant is provoked by the military. And unlike the obviously pro-NRA review posted elsewhere, I don't feel this movie is anti-gun as much as anti-violence in general, and shows that there are alternatives to violence. And in the world we live in today, I really don't think that's such a bad thing for achild to learn, do you?

DEFINITELY worth adding to your family's video collection!

Rating:
Summary: Superman would be proud...
Review: This is a highly underated film that deserved alot more theater time than it got. I'm also guilty of passing it during its run because I thought it's another Disney rip-off. Far from it, no songs or dance detract from the basic plot. It's got great satirical comments on the atomic age paranoia, a cute sense of humor that would make even adults snicker, and a truly touching ending that would make even the souless shed a tear. The Iron Giant character is also a masterpiece of 3d animation that gives dimension to the robot without looking out of place as other 3d animated features have been in 2d backgrounds. Jennifer Aniston makes a great vocal actress as Hogarth's mom, Eli Marienthal does a superb job on his performance as the wide-eyed kid, Hogarth, and Harry Connick Jr makes the cool cat, Dean, look cooler. The DVD version, which I bought, sports The Making of the Iron Giant feature that was shown on the WB before. It was a decent add-on along with some cast bios. The picture quality on this renditiion though was excellent. Usually you'll find pixellation on the blacks of some DVD movies. Not on this one. Night scenes and space scenes were very sharp and crisp. This is one feature that should be in everyone's collection.

Rating:
Summary: The Iron Giant has Landed
Review: Vin Diesel and Jennifer Aniston lend their voices in the first-rate animated adventure "The Iron Giant". In the dawn of the Cold War, a curious New England boy discovers a gigantic metal-eating robot (voiced by Diesel) from another world. Their special friendship is put to the test when the boy must protect his new pal from an ambitious government agent and the US military. "The Iron Giant" is an amazing animated wonder that rivals Disney's best. From director Brad Bird ("The Simpsons"), the film combines a well-written story and some memorable characters. The talented voice cast also includes Eli Marenthal, Christopher McDonald, John Mahoney and Harry Connick Jr. as artistic scrap yard owner Dean McCoppin. The animation is colorful and quite enjoyable. The animated feature is presented in both 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and standard full screen formats. The DVD contains a detailed video transfer and a well-balanced 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. Its supplemental extras include a delightful "Making of The Iron Giant" featurette and a music video. Despite a lack of supplemental extras, "The Iron Giant" earns a pleasing "B+".