The Iron Giant

The Iron Giant

Promotional poster for The Iron Giant
Directed by Brad Bird
Produced by Pete Townshend
Des McAnuff
Allison Abbate
John Walker
Written by Ted Hughes (The Iron Man)
Brad Bird (story)
Tim McCanlies (screenplay)
Starring Eli Marienthal
Jennifer Aniston
Harry Connick Jr.
Vin Diesel
Christopher McDonald
John Mahoney
Music by Michael Kamen
Cinematography Steven Wilzbach
Editing by Darren T. Holmes
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) August 6, 1999
Running time 86 min.
Country Flag of the United States.svg United States
Language English
Budget $48 million
Gross revenue $23.16 million (domestic)

The Iron Giant is a 1999 animated science fiction film produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on the 1968 novel The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. Brad Bird directed the film, which stars a voice cast of Eli Marienthal as Hogarth Hughes, as well as Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Vin Diesel, Christopher McDonald and John Mahoney. The film tells the story of a lonely boy raised by his single mother, discovering a giant amnesiac "iron man" that fell from space. Hogarth, with the help of a beatnik named Dean, has to stop a military force and an egotistical federal agent from finding and destroying the Giant out of paranoia. The Iron Giant takes place during the height of the Cold War (late 1950s) and deals with many pop culture festivities that occurred during that timeframe.

Development phase for the film started as far back as the mid 1990s, though the project finally started taking root once Bird came in to sign on as director and writing a story treatment, hiring Tim McCanlies to write the screenplay. The script was given approval by Ted Hughes, author of the original novel, and production continued on a strenuous struggle (Bird even enlisted the aid of a group of students from CalArts). The Iron Giant was released with high critical praise (scoring a 97 percent approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes), but was a commercial failure when released by Warner Bros. in the summer of 1999. It was nominated for awards that most notably included the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Nebula Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Contents

Plot

In 1957, a giant metal robot crash-lands just off the coast of Rockwell, Maine. It is seen by a man in a boat, who narrowly survives. After the big metal man eats a television antenna from a house dangerously close to the woods, the boy who lives there, Hogarth Hughes, follows its huge footprints into the dense forest. There, the giant becomes entangled in wires, electrocuting it. Hogarth shuts off the power, saving the robot. The next day he finds the robot again, and it follows him to his house. On the way, the Giant discovers train tracks. He attempts to eat them, but Hogarth explains that train tracks are off limits. While trying to fix the tracks, an upcoming train collides with the Giant. Hogarth panics, but he realizes that the Giant is assembling itself back together becasue of an apparent repair signal from its head. Meanwhile, Kent Mansley, a pompous and self-centered U.S. Government agent, arrives in town to investigate the sightings and stories amongst the citizens.

Hogarth hides the Giant in his barn, showing it comic books depicting Superman, an alien visitor who becomes a hero. Mansley later arrives at their doorstep to ask if he could use their telephone to phone General Rogard about the information he collected. Masnley becomes suspicious of Hogarth after seeing a BB gun with Hogarth's name on it in the woods, and rents a room in the Hughes' house. Trying to keep Mansley from discovering the Giant, Hogarth is able to convince a beatnik metal artist named Dean McCoppin to have the Giant stay at his scrap yard. Hogarth and the Giant have fun together, and Hogarth explains the concept of life and death after the Giant sees hunters killing a deer in the woods.

Mansley finds Hogarth's camera, which he dropped in the woods, and sees a photo of the Giant. He intimidates Hogarth into revealing the Giant's hiding place. To cover up the interrogation with the illusion of a nightmare, Mansley puts a chloroform-laced cloth over Hogarth's nose. Mansley convinces General Rogard to lead a brigade to Rockwell. Dean and Hogarth disguise the Giant as a massive iron statue to throw them off. Rogard then gets severely angry at Mansley for wasting his time and government money for nothing. An accident occurs when the Giant's weapon triggering system nearly kills Hogarth, but Dean saves him and makes the Giant leave Rockwell. Dean realizes the Giant's weapons were unintentionally activated in reaction to the toy gun Hogarth was using and assists Hogarth to find the Giant.

The climax ensues when Mansley sees the Giant in town and convinces the military to attack him. Hogarth becomes unconscious in the pursuit, while the Giant, misinterpreting this as death, transforms into a heavily armed battle machine. When the army realizes they are no match for the Giant, Mansley suggests using a nuclear missile to destroy it, with the USS Nautilus equipped to fire and Rogard consents. The plan was to lure the Giant away from the town so as to avoid collateral damage. Hogarth recovers and confronts the Giant by reminding him he is who he chooses to be. Even after all is calm, Mansley seizes Rogard's radio transceiver and orders the Nautilus to launch, neglecting the fact that the Giant is now in town, not out of town as they had planned. The Giant, remembering the deer he saw killed by the hunters, decides he must sacrifice himself to save the town and takes off to intercept the missile. The Giant does so in the upper atmosphere. As he flies near the missile, he remembers he can be who he chooses to be, to which he says "Superman." He intercepts the missile and the town is saved.

A few months later, in the spring of 1958, a memorial statue is erected in the Giant's honor. Dean and Annie appear to have started dating or are married. Hogarth is sent a single jaw-screw by Rogard, the only piece of the Giant recovered from the explosion. In bed that night, Hogarth hears a tapping noise at the window. The screw is attempting to leave, presumably in order to reunite itself with the rest of the Giant. Smiling and realizing what the piece's activity means, Hogarth opens the window and lets it roll away. The movie ends with the Giant's body parts traveling to the Langjökull glacier in Iceland, summoned there by the repair signal in the Giant's head, which opens its eyes and tilts forward.

Voice cast

Cloris Leachman, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, M. Emmet Walsh and James Gammon all have cameo appearances.

Production

In 1986, rock musician Pete Townshend became interested in writing "a modern song-cycle in the manner of Tommy",[1] and chose Ted Hughes’ The Iron Man as his subject. Three years later, The Iron Man: A Musical album was released, and in 1993, a stage version was mounted at London’s Old Vic. Des McAnuff, who had adapted the Tony Award-winning Tommy with Townshend for the stage, believed that The Iron Man could translate to the screen, and the project was ultimately acquired by Warner Bros.[1]

Towards the end of 1996, while the project was working its way through development, the studio saw the film as a perfect vehicle for Brad Bird, who at the time was working for Turner Feature Animation.[1] Turner Entertainment had recently merged with Warner Bros. parent company Time Warner, and Bird was allowed to transfer to the Warner Bros. Animation studio to direct The Iron Giant.[1] After reading the original Iron Man book by Hughes, Bird was impressed with the mythology of the story and in addition, was given an unusual amount of creative control by Warner Bros.[1] Bird decided to have the story set to take place in the 1950s as he felt the time period "presented a wholesome surface, yet beneath the wholesome surface was this incredible paranoia. We were all going to die in a freak-out."[2]

Tim McCanlies was hired to write the script, though Bird was somewhat displeased with having another writer on board, as he himself wanted to write the screenplay.[3] He later changed his mind after reading McCanlies' unproduced screenplay for Secondhand Lions.[1] In Bird's original story treatment, America and the USSR were at war at the end, with the Giant dying. McCanlies decided to have a brief scene displaying his survival, quoting "You can't kill E.T. and then not bring him back." McCanlies finished the script within two months, and was surprised once Bird convinced the studio not to use Townshend's songs. Townshend did not care either way, quoting "Well, whatever, I got paid."[3] McCanlies was given a three month schedule to complete a script, and it was by way of the film's tight schedule that Warner Bros. "didn't have time to mess with us" as McCanlies said.[4]

Hughes himself was sent a copy of McCanlies' script and sent a letter back, saying how pleased he was with the version. In the letter, Hughes stated, "I want to tell you how much I like what Brad Bird has done. He’s made something all of a piece, with terrific sinister gathering momentum and the ending came to me as a glorious piece of amazement. He’s made a terrific dramatic situation out of the way he’s developed The Iron Giant. I can’t stop thinking about it."[1]

It was decided to animate the Giant using computer-generated imagery as the various animators working on the film found it hard "drawing a metal object in a fluid-like manner."[1] A new computer program was created for this task, while the art of Norman Rockwell, Edward Hopper and N.C. Wyeth inspired the design. Bird brought in students from CalArts to assist in minor animation work due to the film's busy schedule. The Giant's voice was originally to be electronically modulated but the filmmakers decided they "needed a deep, resonant and expressive voice to start with" and Vin Diesel was hired.[1]

Themes

Writer Tim McCanlies addressed Hogarth's message to the giant, "You are who you choose to be" played a pivotal role in the film. "At a certain point, there are deciding moments when we pick who we want to be. And that plays out for the rest of your life" citing that he wanted to get a sense between right and wrong. In addition, this turning point was to make the audience feel as if they are an important part of humanity.[4]

Reception

""We had toy people and all of that kind of material ready to go, but all of that takes a year! Burger King and the like wanted to be involved. In April we showed them the movie, and we were on time. They said, "You'll never be ready on time." No, we were ready on time. We showed it to them in April and they said, "We'll put it out in a couple of months." That's a major studio, they have 30 movies a year, and they just throw them off the dock and see if they either sink or swim, because they've got the next one in right behind it. After they saw the reviews they [Warner Bros.] were a little shamefaced."
— Writer Tim McCanlies on Warner Bros.' marketing approach[3]

The Iron Giant opened on August 3, 1999 in the United States in 2,179 theaters, accumulating $5,732,614 over its opening weekend. The film went on to gross $23,159,305 domestically, making it a financial disaster based on US sales.[5] Analysts at IGN feel it "was a mis-marketing campaign of epic proportions at the hands of Warner Bros, they simply didn't realize what they had on their hands."[6] Tim McCanlies felt, "I wish that Warner had known how to release it."[3]

Lorenzo di Bonaventura, president of Warner Bros. at the time, explained, "People always say to me, 'Why don't you make smarter family movies?' The lesson is, Every time you do, you get slaughtered."[7] Stung by criticism that it mounted an ineffective marketing campaign for its theatrical release, Warner Bros. revamped its ad strategy for the video release of the film, including tie-ins with Honey Nut Cheerios, AOL and General Motors and secured the backing of three U.S. congressmen (Ed Markey, Mark Foley and Howard Berman).[8]

Based on 98 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, The Iron Giant received an average 97% overall approval rating;[9] with the 27 critics in Rotten Tomatoes' "Cream of the Crop", which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs,[10] still averaging a 96% approval rating.[11] By comparison, Metacritic calculated an average score of 85 from the 27 reviews it collected.[12] The film has since then gathered a cult following.[6]

Roger Ebert very much liked the Cold War setting, feeling "that's the decade when science fiction seemed most preoccupied with nuclear holocaust and invaders from outer space." In addition he was impressed with parallels seen in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and quoted, "[The Iron Giant] is not just a cute romp but an involving story that has something to say."[13] In response to the E.T. parallels, Bird quoted, "E.T. doesn't go kicking ass. He doesn't make the Army pay. Certainly you risk having your hip credentials taken away if you want to evoke anything sad or genuinely heartfelt."[2]

Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle agreed that the storytelling was far superior to other animated films, and cited the characters as plausible and noted the richness of moral themes.[14] Jeff Millar of the Houston Chronicle agreed with the basic techniques as well, and concluded the voice cast being excelled with a great script by Tim McCanlies.[15]

The Hugo Awards nominated The Iron Giant for Best Dramatic Presentation,[16] while the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America honored Brad Bird and Tim McCanlies with the Nebula Award nomination.[17] The British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominated the film for a Children's Award as Best Feature Film.[18] In addition The Iron Giant won nine Annie Awards and was nominated for another six categories,[19] with another nomination for Best Home Video Release at The Saturn Awards.[20] IGN ranked The Iron Giant as the tenth favourite animated film of all time in a list published in 2008.[21]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "The Making of The Iron Giant". Warner Bros.. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sragow, Michael (1999-08-05). "Iron Without Irony", Salon Media Group. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Black, Lewis (2003-09-19). "More McCanlies, Texas", The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Holleran, Scott (2003-10-16). "Iron Lion: An Interview with Tim McCanlies", Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 
  5. ↑ "The Iron Giant (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Otto, Jeff (2004-11-04). "Interview: Brad Bird", IGN. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. 
  7. ↑ Irwin, Lew (1999-08-30). "The Iron Giant Produces A Thud", Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 
  8. ↑ Irwin, Lew (1999-11-23). "Warner Revamps Ad Campaign For The Iron Giant", Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 
  9. ↑ "The Iron Giant (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  10. ↑ "Rotten Tomatoes FAQ: What is Cream of the Crop". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-09-09.
  11. ↑ "The Iron Giant: Rotten Tomatoes' Cream of the Crop". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  12. ↑ "Iron Giant, The (1999): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  13. ↑ Ebert, Roger (1999-08-06). "The Iron Giant", RogerEbert.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. 
  14. ↑ Stack, Peter (1999-08-06). "`Giant' Towers Above Most Kid Adventures", San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. 
  15. ↑ Millar, Jeff (2004-04-30). "The Iron Giant", Houston Chronicle. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. 
  16. ↑ "Hugo Awards: 2000". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  17. ↑ "Nebula Award: 2000". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  18. ↑ "BAFTA Awards: 2000". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  19. ↑ "Annie Awards: 1999". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  20. ↑ "The Saturn Awards: 2000". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  21. ↑ "Top 25 Animated Movies of All Time", IGN (2008-03-11). Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 

Further reading

External links