Forget The Wild Robot, This Gem With 96% on RT Is Still the Best Sci-Fi Animation Ever Made

On July 31, 1999, the animated film The Iron Giant, an adaptation of Ted Hughes' children's science fiction novel The Iron Man, premiered at Mann's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles.

The film failed to capture the public's attention, but despite disastrously low box office receipts, The Iron Giant went on to win a special place in the hearts of audiences and become one of the top sellers on DVD.

What Is The Iron Giant About?

Residents of a quiet town witness a blinding flash and the fall of an enormous object. A few days later, a boy named Hogarth Hughes finds a giant robot nearby that has flown to Earth from a distant galaxy.

Despite its menacing appearance, the alien guest turns out to be the kindest of creatures. A true friendship develops between him and the brave boy.

But the government and the military, having learned of the robot's existence, decide to destroy the alien. Hogarth is the only one who can save the iron giant.

The Iron Giant Was Made with Almost Complete Creative Freedom

Many creative concessions were made during the production of the film. There was a conditional agreement between the producers and the animation team: the former would provide the necessary freedom, and the latter would take on more responsibility for the result and the film's deadlines.

Despite the small budget compared to Disney films, the team was given the creative freedom they needed. The result is a movie that rivals even more expensive projects.

Director Brad Bird, along with the team, carefully planned each scene to ensure that there would be no budget problems at a later stage. The director sought to use advanced technologies that would allow for more detailed elaboration of camera movements.

The Iron Giant Teaches That Even in the Darkest of Times, One Can Find the Strength to Heal

The idea of the movie is quite simple: what if a weapon has a soul and no longer wants to be a weapon?

However, such a clear idea is revealed from another side if we take into account the original idea of Ted Hughes – after his wife committed suicide, he decided to help his children survive such a terrible event.

Hughes wrote for them a fairy tale with a simple metaphor: the robot, despite the damage received, reassembles again and again, and thus defeats a giant dragon.

The ending of the animation more than fits Hughes' idea of how to survive the "disintegration." The adaptation went further than the original novel, at the same time not changing it and adding something of its own.

The Iron Giant Is a Real Phenomenon

The Iron Giant has become a unique phenomenon in the history of world animation. On the one hand, it is on a par with such belated hits as Sleeping Beauty and Cats Don't Dance; on the other, it is still haunted by the fame of a movie that deserves more attention than it has received.

It is rightly considered one of the best children's sci-fi animations, but at the same time, not every child will like it – and not every parent will feel comfortable showing it.

Of course, we can't turn back time and motivate people to see it in theaters, but we can suggest that you see it now. After all, a good movie does not lose its value in one year, twenty or even fifty years – and The Iron Giant is excellent proof of this.