The Iron Giant (1999)

25 October 2019

The Iron Giant (1999) is a film set in the 1950s, when a creature from space crashes on Earth in the middle of the red scare. It's well animated and original: this was through Warner Bros. Animation Studios before Pixar really became a major force in the genre, and probably the most successful animated film they have ever done. It's 8.0/10, and used to be on the IMDb top 250 years ago (it's since fallen off but the bottom of the 250 is 8.0/10 so it's not that far to get back on the list).

This was Brad Bird's [non-TV] directorial debut, and his second screenplay credit (his first being 1987's *batteries not Included, which was surprising to me). It was had Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., and an early role for Vin Diesel (as the robot). It's wholesome, well written and entertaining for kids and adults. The academy awards didn't start a best animated film category until 2001, but it hands down would've gotten the award if it was available that year. Originally reviewed a decade ago on 2/1/2009, it still holds up as a fantastic film. 10/10