THE IRON GIANT (1999)

MORGAN'S RATING

A giant robot falls from the sky, scaring the townsfolk of a small town. A young boy befriends the towering machine, and through their friendship, this unlikely duo shows their neighbors that you don't have to be afraid of people who are different from you ... even if they are about 60 feet tall, are made of metal, and weigh 200 ton.

Featuring the Voices of: 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), John Mahoney (General Rogard), Eli Marienthal (Hogarth Hughes), M. Emmet Walsh (Earl Stutz), Mary Kay Bergman (Additional Voices), Frank Thomas (Train Engineer), Oliver M. Johnston Jr. (Train Engineer), Jack Angel, Michael Bird, Devon Cole Borisoff, Rodger Bumpass, Robert Clotworthy, Jennifer Darling, Zach Eginton, Paul Eiding, Bill Farmer, Charles Howerton, Sherry Lynn, Mickie McGowan, Ryan O'Donohue, Philip Proctor, Patt Tippo, Brian Tochi, Bob Bergen (Additional Voices).

IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE!

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

DIRECTOR: Brad Bird. WRITERS: Brad Bird and Tim McCanlies and based on the book Iron Man by Ted Hughes. PRODUCERS: Allison Abbate and Des McAnuff. ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: John Walker. EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Pete Townshend. ORIGINAL MUSIC: Michael Kamen. DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros.

QUOTES

FACTS

Kent Mansley: The biggest thing in this town is probably the homecoming queen.

RELEASE DATE: August 6th, 1999 (USA) BOX OFFICE OPENING: $5.7 million (USA) BOX OFFICE RESULT: $23.1 million (USA) BUDGET: $48 million (USA) - In the scene where Kent is using the Hughes' phone, the humorous oven mitt hanging on the wall beside him appears to be a stylized version of the family dog from Bird's animated short of the same title which appeared on "Amazing Stories". - "Frank" and "Ollie", the two trainmen that Kent interviews after the derailment, are caricatures of Disney classic animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, but they also perform the voices for the characters. Animation writer Earl Kress has said "that Frank and Ollie are also life-long train enthusiasts and have extensive scale model railroads in their backyards like Walt Disney used to have." - When Hogarth first shows the Giant his Superman comics, the theme music from the Max Fleischer Superman cartoons of the 1940's is heard in the background. - Executive-produced by Pete Townshend of The Who. Townshend also produced a concept album on the same book as the film. - "Floyd Turbeaux" is the name of the flannel-wearing rube played by Johnny Carson to lampoon the National Rifle Association. - A landing, seen in the first shot of the coast near Rockwell, is named "Bird Landing," a refrence to director Brad Bird. - The boy Hogarth is named after Golden Age comics illustrator Burne Hogarth, best known for the Tarzan adventure strip as well as a series of "Dynamic Anatomy" textbooks for comic book illustrators. - An animated version of "The Brain from Planet Arous" plays on the television. - On the wall in Hogarth's bedroom is a poster for the film Forbidden Planet (1956) - The last name for Annie and Hogarth is a homage to Ted Hughes, author of the original children's book upon which the movie is based. - The newspaper headline that Dean McCoppin is reading ("Disaster Seen as Catastrophe Looms") is the same headline that Jim Dear is reading in Lady and the Tramp (1955) and that Jiminy Cricket is reading in Fun and Fancy Free (1947).

The Iron Giant: I am not a gun.

Hogarth Hughes: Welcome to downtown Coolsville. Population: us.

Hogarth Hughes: You are what you choose to be.

General Rogard: You'll be Chief Inspector of Subway Toilets by the time I'm through with you!

Dean McCoppin: If we don't stand up for the kooks, who will?

The Iron Giant: No Atomo...I Superman!

Hogarth Hughes: You can fly? YOU CAN FLY!.

Kent Mansley: Hogarth? That's an embarrassing name. They might as well have called him Zeppo or something.

CRITICAL COMMENTS

"The Iron Giant achieves what most animators can only dream of, a story so affecting and characters so real that you forget that you're watching an animated film."   -- Chuck Schwartz, Cranky Critic

"Animated films excel in conjuring up colorful fantasy worlds, but few evoke an actual time and place as vividly -- and playfully -- asThe Iron Giant does." -- Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune

"The Iron Giant is a solid, not to say ironclad, winner in the less than overcrowded family animation arena." -- Jay Carr, Boston Globe

" This is a film the whole family can enjoy -- and talk about afterward." -- Nancy Churnin, Dallas Morning News