★★★★★
Voices by Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Vin Diesel, Christopher McDonald, John Mahoney, Eli Marienthal, Cloris Leachman
1999 / 96 Minutes (Signature Edition) / Warner Bros.
In 1999 The Iron Giant came and went from theatres way too fast because of a poorly timed release and a weak marketing campaign. The critics and audiences loved it, but there wasn’t enough word of mouth at the time to bring people into the theatres. Fortunately over time more people have seen it and it’s gained a much larger following of devoted fans. Myself being one of them, but I was there in the beginning seeing it in the theatres years ago and fell in love instantly. However, at the time I didn’t really want to see it, but if it wasn’t for a cheap $2 matinee and 2 little nephews to take, I may never have seen this movie either.
The Iron Giant is an absolutely brilliant piece of work and is hands down one the most underrated films ever. The story is incredible and the message is perfect and even more relevant today as it was back then. Seeing it restored and back up on the big screen was exciting and witnessing a large audience of devoted fans show up for a little movie that deserved so much more was thrilling. The signature edition gives us two more extra little scenes that fit in perfectly to the point where I barely noticed them. The one scene in particular giving us a little flashback glimpse into where the giant may have come from was great and fit perfectly. Although I don’t think the scenes enhanced the film any more because it was already perfect to begin with, but they were certainly a welcome addition and a nice gift to the fans.
If you haven’t seen this movie you should get on it immediately. In Brad Bird’s directorial debut he created a breathtaking, heartwarming, emotional, funny and perfect animated film. Sorry Disney and Pixar and all the other studios, but The Iron Giant is my favourite animated film of all time and it’s going to take a lot to push it off the top spot. Loved.
Grade A+
