Review of Iron Giant, The

Introduction

This is what dreams are made of! Well, I know it`s what mine are made of. Imagine, having your own giant robot. Way cool! It`s based on the book, The Iron Man, by Ted Hughes and is scripted and directed by Brad Bird with few changes.

The story unfolds wonderfully as we watch the relationship develop between Hogarth and the Iron Giant, and this is where the animation and story telling is played out really well. I find it very involving as the Giant and we discover he`s true purpose, and the meaning of human life. It`s done with such subtlety and reels you in, Michael Kamen`s musical score playing well with the movie.

Good voice characterisations from Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick, Jr. and Vin Diesel plus the rest of the cast bringing their parts to life. The colours, while using a subdued palette, reflect the 1950`s scene all too well. It`s wonderfully animated with a discreet blend of CGI and traditional 2D cell animation.

Video

Video on the whole seems very good. Good colours are present throughout the 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer with a fanatastic 1950`s palette in use. Detail is very high and the animation is simply great. It all works so well for the story and I was simply enchanted. No problems in sight at all in the film.

Audio

The sound effects and music play really well, and it sounds good with all speakers being employed. Michael Kamen`s score is a delight and plays out with gusto in all the right places and certainly paints the general mood and tension.

Features

There are quite a few extra`s here on the disc and these include features for those with a DVD-ROM player too. The 22min Making Of featurette is quite interesting and is presented by Vin Diesel as it goes behind the scenes of the production. The Trailer for The Iron Giant gets me in the mood all the time to sit and watch the movie. The eternal kid in me loves it! The Music Video sets off the 50`s period quite well.

DVD-ROM features some nice things, such as information on the voice cast, info on the filmmakers, dozens upon dozens of artwork in the Flip Book, a Shockwave game, Cool Junk (screensaver, webcards and photos) and a link to Warner`s online store. The Making Of...on the DVD-ROM is a breakdown of the Iron Giant concept art, costume design concept art, the characters, and a page with a lot of information on Making the Movie. I found the latter to be quite interesting.

Conclusion

Even though some people have rated this as more of a kid`s movie, I love it and I`m thirtysomething. I still get caught up in the spirit of it all and the story just makes me feel good. I expect no less from Writer/Director Brad Bird from his involvement with The Simpsons series. If you love animation and haven`t seen this, you`ve got to at least rent it just to see what we`re talking about here. It`s certainly made well enough for me to be intrigued to find a copy of Ted Hughes original story. The animation is simply superb.

I think it`s a worthy title to have in any respectable DVD collection; it`s a lot of fun and has mass appeal for kids and adults alike. It`s a shame that little was known about it when it was on general theatrical release, so check it out on DVD.