The Iron Giant: Signature Edition

I may be biased since Brad Bird is probably my favorite living filmmaker. But The Iron Giant is still a genuinely incredible film (much like its successor) that packs a structurally airtight, good-natured, exhilarating, poignant tale into less than an hour and a half. Rife with heart-pounding action, relatable characters, and heart-wrenching moments, the movie is worthy of in-depth analysis. But for now, I'll be focusing on the Signature Edition, just released to theaters for a limited engagement.

I won't spoil the particulars of the plot here, but the basic premise is a giant robot crash lands on Earth and becomes the ward of a boy named Hogarth Hughes. Hughes finds allies in his mother, Annie, and a laid-back scrap yard owner named Dean McCoppin as he tries to conceal the giant's existence from the government, especially the pesky Agent Kent Mansley (who works for the government).

The Iron Giant did poorly at the box office in 1999; I didn't become aware of it until I saw the video at a relative's house. As a youngster, I remember being awed by the action and bold filmmaking choices. To this day, Iron Giant and The Lego Movie are still the only mainstream American animated films that I think can stand beside the very best of Disney and Pixar. So to see this film in a packed house of fellow fans was a singular opportunity I didn't want to miss.

And the audience reception was fantastic. The "hand underfoot" and lakeside scenes in particular nearly brought the house down, and there was a healthy amount of applause (and even a few cheers) at the end. The thunderous, dynamic sound mix brought clarity to every resounding footfall, weapon, and gastrointestinal burble; the late, great Michael Kamen's alternately playful and stirring score was mixed loud and proud.

The new material included an intro by Bird (expressing appreciation to the film's fans and rightly extolling the virtues of hand-drawn animation), a brief (~1 minute) sneak peak at a documentary planned for the film's Blu-ray release, a change of the Maypo commercial to something equally charming, and two entirely new scenes. Well, if you have the DVD already (and who doesn't?) you've seen the scenes already in storyboard form. But the second scene in particular is glorious to see in full animation, hinting at an even darker world lurking in the background (or the skies) of the film. The first added scene is a pleasant little moment, adding to the dramatic arcs of two of the major characters. These scenes were animated at talented animator Ken Duncan's studio; at Disney, Duncan served as supervising animator for Thomas in Pocahontas, Meg in Hercules, Jane in Tarzan, and Captain Amelia and Scroop in Treasure Planet. Other returning names I caught in the Signature Edition credits were supervising animator Tony Fucile (a regular Bird collaborator and veteran of several Disney and Pixar films) and effects supervisor Michel Gagné.

There's so much more I could say about this sublime film, but if you've seen it, you know how excellent it is already. And if you haven't seen it, what are you doing still reading this? Even if you have seen it, go see it in the theater to marvel at its splendor on the big screen. As of this writing, there's one more showing on October 4 at noon (tickets through Fathom Events). It's an awe-inspiring film, a breathtaking experience, helmed by a director about to launch a spectacular career.