title: THE IRON GIANTyear: 1999
voices: M. Emmett Walsh, John Mahoney, Vin Diesel
Beautifully drawn cartoon in a simple old school fashion, centering on a robot from another planet aka The Iron Giant landing in a small town. He's discovered by a young boy, who teaches it to speak and that violence isn't good. The direction, with suspenseful, anticipating moments much like a live-action Speilberg film... as boy and robot stay clear of a cunning CIA agent... is quite good. Set in the 1950s, the G-MAN is overly paranoid for security reasons, making the only other good guy an artistic beatnik who keeps our heroes safe: till the second half as the government wants the gentle giant destroyed. Here's where the movie descends into typical Hollywood fare, depicting the U.S. Military as cliched villains wherein the budding relationship between boy and robot, the best aspect of the film, ends too soon.
rating: ***
Beautifully drawn cartoon in a simple old school fashion, centering on a robot from another planet aka The Iron Giant landing in a small town. He's discovered by a young boy, who teaches it to speak and that violence isn't good. The direction, with suspenseful, anticipating moments much like a live-action Speilberg film... as boy and robot stay clear of a cunning CIA agent... is quite good. Set in the 1950s, the G-MAN is overly paranoid for security reasons, making the only other good guy an artistic beatnik who keeps our heroes safe: till the second half as the government wants the gentle giant destroyed. Here's where the movie descends into typical Hollywood fare, depicting the U.S. Military as cliched villains wherein the budding relationship between boy and robot, the best aspect of the film, ends too soon.
I remember loving this one as a kid. I don't know what I'd think of it now.
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