The Iron Giant: the 25th Anniversary
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on April 21, 2024, 12:32 a.m. by DemonDragonJ
This year is the 25th anniversary of The Iron Giant, one of my favorite movies, an anniversary that I definitely feel is worth commemorating.
The Iron Giant is a homage to the science fiction movies of the 1950's, with the titular character being a giant robot, and is even set in the year 1953, but also to movies in which a young child befriends an extraordinary creature, and has various adventures with that creature. The movie is set during a time period when American life was supposedly perfect and ideal, yet the specter of the Soviet Union and potential nuclear war loomed over everything, creating an atmosphere of paranoia and suspicion, which is what drives the main conflict of the movie, in which the government distrusts anything that it cannot control or that is otherwise mysterious and different from the perceived societal norms of that time.
The Iron Giant was one several attempts by Warner Bros. to produce animated feature films to directly compete with the Walt Disney Company, but, unfortunately, all of their attempts fell short of those released by their competitor, although I personally believe that The Iron Giant was, by far, their best feature film, with its well-developed characters and heartfelt story, and I am very sad that Warner Bros. closed down their feature film division after releasing this film, as it could have ushered in a great era of animated films, if the studio had given it a chance.
The Iron Giant has been released on blu-ray, a format in which it looks excellent, but I definitely think that it deserves to be upgraded to 4K/UHD, as I am certain that it would be spectacular in that format (with a Dolby Atmos or DTS:X soundtrack to accompany it, of course), and the fact that Warner Bros. has released the original Space Jam in 4K makes it even more unusual and frustrating that they have not yet given the same treatment to The Iron Giant, as well. Hopefully, Warner Bros. shall do something to commemorate this momentous anniversary, as I feel that this film deserves to be honored, in such a way.
What does everyone else say about this? How does everyone else here feel about this year being the 25th anniversary of The Iron Giant?
I never cared for the movie. I was born in 1992 so its.not like I was too old or too young for the movie when it came out. I used to hate the movie as a child because cartoon network would run a 24 hour marathon of just that during either Thanksgiving or Easter every year.
May 1, 2024 10:39 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #4
shadow63, I am very sorry to hear that, but I understand that not every movie appeals to everyone (for example, I cannot understand why some people are so fond of The Big Lebowski).
SteelSentry says... #2
I love this movie, and it has been resurfacing as a cult classic recently as far as I can tell. I can't even remember how many times I've brought up this movie with someone else and it just unearths a memory they have of this movie. Dean is a beloved character of mine, and it's rare to see a character like him in kids movies any more, especially done so well.
Someone can correct me, but it feels like there's a lot of "slimeball" antagonists in late 90s/early 00s movies, much more than before or after that generation. Thinking about Mansley brought that back to mind. Looking at Disney at the time, you had the emperor's advisor in Mulan, Clayton from Tarzan, Randall from Monster's Inc. DreamWorks had Tzekel-Kan in the Road to El Dorado and Prince Charming in Shrek 2. Just a feeling I get from the movies at the time, focusing on more underhanded villains instead of traditional Big Bads.
April 22, 2024 2:48 a.m.