Product Details

• Actors: Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Vin Diesel, James Gammon, Cloris Leachman
• Directors: Brad Bird
• Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: November 23, 1999
• Run Time: 86 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (732 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000028U3R
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,443 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "The Iron Giant" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This gentle reworking of Ted Hughes's 1968 novella was the unseen gem of 1999. Hogarth, a young boy who lives in the Maine woods during the cold war, befriends a giant robot. As with E.T., the iron giant is a misunderstood outsider who becomes a child's best friend, and Hogarth does his best to hide the massive figure from his mom (voiced by Jennifer Aniston) and the local scrap-yard beatnik (Harry Connick Jr.). Soon the suspicions of neighbors and a government agent (Christopher McDonald) spell trouble.

With no songs, no sidekicks, and no cheap ending, The Iron Giant is a refreshing change-- like an off-Broadway production compared to the glitz of Disney's annual animated extravaganzas. Director Brad Bird may have Family Dog and The Simpsons to his credit, but this film doesn't have that brand of scatological humor. As with the best family entertainments, there are gags that adults will howl at while the kids are watching something else (see Bird's interpretation of cold war propaganda). And the star is one cool piece of animated magic. Voiced by Vin Diesel (Saving Private Ryan's hulking Private Caparzo) and filled with more gadgets than a Swiss army knife, the giant is a grand thing to behold. And like another famous cinema tin man, our hero--and the movie--has heart. Superb entertainment for ages 5 and up. --Doug Thomas

Product Description

Something humongous is among us! A young boy rescues a huge robot which has rocketed to earth from space - and tries to protect the genial giant from a nosey government agent and the military. A captivating animated feature that's part metal, part magic and all heart.

DVD Features:
DVD ROM Features
Documentary
Music Video
Theatrical Trailer

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

282 of 289 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Never mind the ad campaign, see the movie. August 29, 2000

By J. T. Nite

Format:VHS Tape

Due to horrendous advertising that buried most of the movie's charms, most people think this movie is a b-grade kiddie flick. But ignore the brainless trailers and the awful extreme-sport ad campaign that accompanied the video release, and you'll be rewarded with an astonishing film.

The Iron Giant is complex and sophisticated enough to be a live-action movie, indeed more complex and sophisticated than the movies that trounced it at the box office (I'm talking to you, Inspector Gadget). It is a remarkable achievement of all the elements of a movie working at their very best.

The visuals are astounding. The script is funny without resorting to cheap laughs. The characters are well-rounded. The voice talents are ideal, from the Giant's rumble to Hogarth's wide-eyed wonder (for a welcome change, a pre-adolescent boy does the voice instead of someone trying to sound like one).

Most interestingly, the movie makes such a dynamic, empathic character of the titular hunk of metal that we genuinely care about his fate. At the film's climactic scene, I was ashamed at the tears running down my face, until I saw that my three friends (all of us twenty-something, manly guys) were misty-eyed as well.

Anyone over the age of 8 will love this film. If you don't like animation, try this on for size. If you love all types of animation, see it NOW. Even though the film's marketing department apparently doesn't want you to see it, you'll be glad you did.

105 of 109 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolutely first rate animated film. March 21, 2002

By Matthew Horner

Format:DVD

It is a shame that Warner Brothers chose to give an uninspired prerelease publicity campaign to the gentle, joyous and original animated movie, The Iron Giant. Precious few saw it in theaters.
Thank God for film preservation in the form of DVD!

Like the book, the picture takes place in 1957, during the height of The Cold War. The Soviet Union's satellite, Sputnik, flies across American skies. Our country is filled with paranoia. What else may they have launched?

One stormy night off the coast of Maine, a huge object falls from the sky. A frightened sailor sees it and swears that it is a giant made of metal. The townsfolk chalk the tale off to the sailor's love of drink. A giant made of metal, indeed!

A night or so later, young Hogarth Hughes, whose Mom is working overtime at the local diner, gets mad when his TV starts acting up. He goes to the roof to check the antenna and finds it missing. He then notices huge footprints leading away from the house and into the woods. He grabs his deceased Dad's old army rifle and a flashlight and goes off in pursuit. He soon discovers that there is indeed a metal giant. In fact, he saves it when it bumps into some high voltage utility wires. The adventure has begun.

Rarely has a movie for children - or adults! - addressed the need to search for a peaceful solution to our problems as gently or as wisely as The Iron Giant. It never preaches and is always accessible. It does not address us from on high. It remains at our level. It also shows how clever we can be at overcoming the most unexpected obstacles. It reminds us that things alien to us are not always hostile to us. In fact, it is we who often initiate the hostilities.... Perhaps best of all, The Iron Giant examines these and other issues in the guise of a wonderful story that should hold almost anyone's attention.

The animation is first-rate. Most of the voices are good, especially Harry Connick, Jr.'s as Dean Cooper, a hip young artist. As Hogath's voice, Eli Marienthal speaks like a real boy, not a cartoon boy. Speaking for Hogarth's mother, Annie, Jennifer Anniston gives her a loving quality. Vin Diesel does well with the most difficult voice, that of The Iron Giant.

Rated PG for a couple of spooky scenes and a few mild profanities. Recommended without reservation for children seven and up. Read more ›

72 of 77 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best animated films ever made November 29, 1999

By Cosmo Kramer

Format:DVD

In the recent age of Disney films, the classic art of animated story telling has given way to 3d vine surfing and rock music. THE IRON GIANT is here to tell the world that the old art is alive and well. This is such a well made and touching film, with humor and heart, and superb voice overs. It resonantes like E.T., tackling childhood innocence, danger, death, and rebirth with the same funny and touching aplomb. It both pokes fun at and sympathises with the fears and prejudices of adults with equal care, demonstrating a lesson without demonizing anyone. As someone who writes and produces feature films, I am quite jaded, and usually leave a theatre fealing empty and critical. But THE IRON GIANT made me run out and tell everyone who would listen to go see it. They didn't, and it is their loss. So BUY THIS, watch it on your own, and with your kids as many times as they want. It's either this or Pokemon. Let them see what a real family film is all about.

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best American animated film made this decade December 7, 1999

By R. A. Prieto

Format:VHS Tape

This is a movie for all to enjoy. Kids, parents, and animation buffs of all ages will be impressed by this masterpiece. Some parents might be wondering about the PG rating -- it means just that; the parents should see it with their kids, but they don't really have to unless they are terribly sensitive towards certain subjects. Some parents might object to having their children hear about death ("It's bad to kill, but it's not bad to die, it's part of life" explains Hogarth, the boy, to the Giant) and such. But this is a far better movie in content and design than anything Disney has produced in the last several years, perhaps the decade. The animation is a lot of CG (the Giant is pure CG, believe it or not) disguised as old fashioned cell animation, and it looks spectacular. All of the characters were well done. 1)Hogarth, the boy, was actually pretty cool, never annoying. 2)The Giant was amazing animationwise and as a character, he is NOT a big dumb hulking mass. 3)The villain was creatively done and quite deceptive. And it is a breath of fresh air to have a (very, very) funny kids movie WITHOUT forced, saccharin-happy, sing-song scenes or completely lame comic relief "sidekicks". As for the violent scenes, Tarzan, Mulan, heck even the Little Mermaid, were worse. If anything, the superior animation might make the violence more impressive looking in "Giant". The only thing that could be classified as gore or maiming was a bloody nose Hogarth got when he ran into a tree. Oh, and somebody shoots a deer (offscreen). As for objectionable language, Hogarth says "Oh my God" and the villain and a military General say "hell". As for the dramatic scenes, they were impeccably done.... The characters displayed emotions that were convincing (even- nay -especially the Giant) Nothing felt artificial, nothing made me gag. The ending made my eyes water, my girlfriend cried, and my cynical, sourpuss brother whispered "wow!". Read more ›