The Iron Giant (film)
The Iron Giant is a 1999 animated science fiction film loosely based on the novel The Iron Man. 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 an 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 and deals with many pop culture festivities (most notably the McCarthy era, Duck and Cover and various science fiction films and comic books).
Development phase for the film started as
far back as the mid 1990s, though the project finally started taking route 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 but resulted in a financial failure. 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.
Tagline : It came from outer space!
Cast
Jennifer Aniston - Annie Hughes
Harry Connick Jr -. Dean McCoppin
Vin Diesel - The Iron Giant
James Gammon - Marv Loach / Floyd Turbeaux / General Sudokoff
Cloris Leachman - Mrs. Lynley Tensedge
Christopher McDonald - Kent Mansley (as Christopher MacDonald)
John Mahoney
- General Rogard
Eli Marienthal - Hogarth Hughes
M.
Emmet Walsh - Earl Stutz
Mary Kay Bergman - Additional Voices
Ollie
Johnston - Train Engineer #1
Jack Angel - Additional Voices
Michael
Bird - Additional Voices
Devon Cole Borisoff - Additional Voices (as Devon
Borisoff)
Rodger Bumpass - Additional Voices
Robert
Clotworthy - Additional Voices
Jennifer Darling - Additional Voices
Zack Eginton - Additional Voices
Paul Eiding - Additional
Voices
Bill Farmer - Additional Voices
Charles Howerton
- Additional Voices
Sherry Lynn - Additional Voices
Mickie McGowan -
Additional Voices (as Mickie T. McGowan)
Ryan O'Donohue - Additional Voices
Phil Proctor - Additional Voices
Patti Tippo - Additional
Voices
Brian Tochi - Additional Voices
rest of cast
listed alphabetically:
Bob Bergen - Additional Voices (as Robert Bergen)
Frank Thomas - Train Engineer #2
Plot
In the height of the Cold War in October 1957, a giant metal robot (the Iron Giant) crash-lands just off the coast of Rockwell, Maine, leaving a large dent on his head. Later that night Hogarth Hughes discovers the Giant after his TV antenna is chewed up, with a trail leading to the local electric power plant. There, Hogarth saves the giant robot from being electrocuted. Hogarth's single mother arrives, worried, at a time when the Giant is nowhere in sight. Meanwhile, a pompous and self-centered U.S. Government agent arrives in town to investigate the mysterious stories amongst the citizens dealing with "a giant metal man". Hogarth is able to hide the Giant in his barn, showing it comic books depicting Superman, an alien visitor who becomes a hero. Mansley, suspicious that Hogarth may be involved with the strange stories, rents a room at the Hughes house.
Trying to keep Mansley's 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. However, Mansley finds Hogarth's camera (which he dropped in the woods), sees a photo of the Giant, and convinces General Rogard to lead a brigade to Rockwell. Dean and Hogarth disguise the Giant as a massive iron statue to throw them off, (even offering to sell him to the Army). Rogard then gets severely mad at Mansley for wasting his time and government money for nothing. As the army leaves, the Giant has an accident dealing with a toy gun (held by Hogarth), and attempts to vaporize him. Dean rescues Hogarth and chases off the Giant, only realizing after the fact that the Giant didn't do it intentionally. He then assists Hogarth in giving chase.
As the Giant leaves town, he's spotted by Mansley, who tricks the military into deliberately opening fire as the Giant flees with Hogarth in hand. The Giant is eventually shot down by a group of F-86 Sabres. Hogarth, in the Giant's hands at the time, is knocked unconscious. Knowing no better, the Giant assumes that his best friend is dead, grief-stricken at the turn of events. As such, the military's next attack enrages it. The dent in his head is repaired and his body transforms into a heavily armored battle machine. As the Army realize 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.
By this point, Hogarth has regained consciousness, and is able to calm the Giant, which reverts to its regular form upon recognizing Hogarth. Rogard listens to Dean's earlier warning and calls a cease fire. Mansley seizes Rogard's radio transceiver and orders the Nautilus to launch, neglecting the fact that the Giant is now in town, not in the ocean as they had planned. When Rogard points this out to him, Mansley suggests "Duck and Cover" to survive. Rogard tells him that there's no way to survive a nuclear blast, and Mansley is "going to die with everyone else like a good soldier". The Giant, remembering the deer her saw killed by the hunters, decides he must sacrifice himself to save the town and takes off to intercept the missile. As it nears its target, it recalls Hogarth's words: "You are who you choose to be." Closing its eyes, the Giant utters the word "Superman" before colliding with the missile. A few months later, in the spring of 1958, Dean and Annie have started dating. Hogarth is sent a single 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 its self-repair mechanism, its eyes light up as it smiles.
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