A Giant in Film

For a long time now, I'd heard good things about the animated film The Iron Giant. Directed by Brad Bird years before he joined Pixar and helmed The Incredibles, The Iron Giant was a traditionally animated film adapted from a 1960s novel. A young boy in Maine discovers a massive alien robot that fell to Earth, losing its memory in the process. The boy tries to care for the robot as a pet and teach it right and wrong, as a government agent zeroes in with hostile intentions.

Watching the movie really made me sad that you just don't see many hand-animated films anymore out of the U.S., because this one is gorgeous. The first 20 minutes are loaded up with amazing sequences both flashy and nuanced, but each truly impressive -- a hurricane tossing about a poor ship at sea; a crowded diner in chaos when a wild animal gets loose inside; a night trek into the forest lit by flashlight. The level of detail and complexity here is staggering.

There's solid voice acting here too. The young boy is voiced by an actual child actor, Eli Marienthal (Stifler's younger brother, American Pie fans), lending an air of authenticity to the film. His mother is voiced by Jennifer Aniston, with soft but effective charm. Cool beatnik Dean is embodied by Harry Connick, Jr. A great group of veteran actors round out the cast, including Christopher McDonald, John Mahoney, M. Emmet Walsh, and Cloris Leachman. And from the "it's weird, but it works" file, the Iron Giant itself is voiced by Vin Diesel.

The story is a bit lightweight, but it works overall. There are some good, sweet moments scattered throughout, though nothing that wrenches at the heart quite like, say, Finding Nemo or Up. Overall, the film does deserve the good reputation it has among critics. I give it an A- myself. Lovers of the art in animation in particular should check it out.