Rating: 
Summary: Great film!
Review: As far as animated films go, it doesn't get much better than this. The Iron Giant ranks right up there with some of the best Disney films. The kids will love it! It's fun, exciting and carries a significant anti-war message which I think it is important to instill in our children.
Rating: 
Summary: At last a good US animated picture!
Review: This movie is beautiful. Great story, great feelings, great soundtrack (by Michael Kamen)... Surprisingly for a CGI-assisted cartoon, the animation is one of the best I have ever seen in any Western production.
Rating:
Summary: The Iron Giant
Review: I actually saw this movie in the movie theater and have not seen it on video yet. It was great. I think I enjoyed it more than my kids (5 and 3). I laughed, I cried...it is truly wonderful. A refreshing change from the old Disney formula. I definitely want to own this film.
Rating:
Summary: this film rocks
Review: this film was so amazing. i admire an animated feature that can almost bring me to tears and have such a great ending without being sappy. this is one i have to add to my collection. just watch it, you'll like it.
Rating:
Summary: An Underrated Classic!
Review: This movie is the closest thing to perfection in animation in a long time! I read it didn't do too well in the box office. I got to see it in the dollar theatres. Jennifer Aniston is great as the patient understanding mother as is Harry Connick, jr. as the hip artist who's ahead of his times. Of course, Hogarth is believable as the kid, but the true star is the Giant himself! He's friendly, impulsive, and learns from Hogarth how to use his power for good. The scenery of rural Maine is as beautiful as anything Disney could come up with (Did you think this review was going to get by without a Disney comparison?). I'll be very disappointed if South Park or Tarzan get an Academy Award over this gem!(P.S. This is the 2nd review I've printed for The Iron Giant and I hope this one gets printed!)
Rating:
Summary: Watch this film with a friend
Review: Director Brad Bird hit the nail on the head with his disgust that any animated film without a Disney branding on the label seems to dry up and blow away after a few days at the theaters. Tragically, that happened with The Iron Giant this year and it's a motion picture that is deserving of any number of awards. A friend and I howled with laughter and cheered throughout our first time with The Iron Giant and we're two 30 year old guys, so you can easily imagine a child's eyes lighting up. There isn't one moment that doesn't enchant in some way or other, be it the wonderful character expressions, the rich blend of voices or what has to be one of the most intelligent and heart-felt film themes this year. No furry animals, rousing soundtrack or massive marketing content...just a very special story about a young boy and his new friend growing up a little.
Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING!
Review: THE BEST animated film in years! Brad Bird and Warner Brothers have just put Disney to shame. A truly unique and wonderful story, great characters, and flawless animation. Full of wonderous imagination, side splitting humor, and genuine human emotion. This is as close to perfection as animated movies get. Perfect for kids AND adults.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant cartoon-- great for EVERYONE!
Review: When my best friend took me to see this film, I was skeptical. Cartoons for college students? But this blew me away. The animation is cool and sleek-- a great combo of old-school and futuristic. The story is moving and beautiful. Wonderful for anyone.
Rating:
Summary: How is the DVD version?
Review: The previously posted reviews already contain many words of praise for the exceptional film making that has produced this fine movie, so I will comment on the quality of the DVD. The video quality is superb. The image is sharp and the colors are true. This is especially appreciated when viewing some of the more spectacular animated sequences, such as the storm at sea at the very beginning of the film, or the combat scenes near the end. Contrary to the reviewer who said the sound is inadequate, the package states that the movie is recorded in Dolby Digital Surround 5.1, and my player also stated that it was playing AC-3 sound when queried. My ears heard sound from all six speakers, and the sound is very nicely done. There are many quiet scenes in the story, but when full blown sound is called for, it is there. There are not a lot of extras on this disk, but it is better supplied than most family films. For some reason, the studios have decided that those who buy family oriented movies are not interested in the additional features that other DVDs provide. This disk does include a trailer (see for yourself if Warner botched the advertising for this film or just released it at a bad time), bios and filmographies of the cast, and a -Making of- documentary. The latter was apparently made for television and shown prior to the release of the movie to build interest. It contains clips of interviews with the cast and director and not much else. There is really little about the actual production of the movie. The disk also contains some DVD-ROM material but this is also rather limited. Please note that I don't consider interactive menus and scene access to be special features, they are, or should be, standard features of all DVDs. All though these extras are limited, they are far more than commonly found on DVDs intended for a comparible market. The only really negative thing I can offer about the DVD version of The Iron Giant is that it is packaged in the cheap and shabby cardboard Snap case that Warner insists on using. I would have much prefered an Amaray Keep case. In conclusion, I think this disk would be an invaluable addition to anyone's collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Anxiety in the Atomic Age
Review: Stories often have a deeper meaning, something besides the pure entertainment value of their story. Even animated movies (that realm where Disney has reigned for most of this century) have told their share of morals. But no animated film has dared to work on as many levels as the new Warner Bros. release, The Iron Giant. Set at the height of the Cold War, The Iron Giant is set in a small, isolated town in Maine. Sputnik rules the sky, showing the world the USSR's dominance in the space race. Children in school watch films reminding them to "duck and cover" in the event of nuclear war. In spite of all this, it's still America, and life goes on. But when Hogarth Hughes (Eli Marienthal) has his television antenna eaten off his roof by some unseen force, he grabs his BB gun and marches off into the dark woods in search of the rumored monster from space. To his surprise, he finds not a monster but a machine. Hogarth befriends the metal giant and tries to bridge the gap in their languages and cultures. As one expects in a time of Cold War paranoia, however, the rumors of a giant metal man have put the U.S. government and its military on alert. They don't care if the giant came from Russia or from the stars. They perceive it as a threat. Like a lot of science fiction of that time, the alien is used as a substitute for the unseen menace of Communism. Standing sixty feet tall, the metal giant is a visible threat, something we can -- as a country -- stand up and fight. But in this story the perceived threat isn't really a threat at all. The danger comes from ourselves, and our blindness to see past our fears. The Iron Giant is, in fact, a modern revision of those old 1950s War of the Worlds kind of movies. The young boy is independent and a paragon of American virtue. His single mother (Jennifer Aniston, The Object of My Affection) works to support him and -- as a result -- leaves him to his own devices most of the time. The only break from the old sci-fi formula is Harry Connick, Jr.'s (Independence Day) character of Dean McCoppin, who is a struggling artist instead of the obligatory pipe-smoking scientist. Rather than retaining the original ideals of the 1950s, The Iron Giant has a more enlightened point of view. It shows that our unwillingness to accept others is as dangerous as any nuclear threat. There is also a wonderful message that teaches children they can be anything they choose to be.
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