Some of the most effective cinema of all time is made for children.
(SeeThe NeverEnding Story, which brings adults to tears, or the sad beauty ofThe Last Unicorn.)
But perhaps one of the most well-regarded examples of this phenomenon isBrad Bird’s 1999 animated masterpieceThe Iron Giant.
Image via Warner Bros.
What Is ‘The Iron Giant’ About?
Almost immediately,The Iron Giantshows us that it takes place in a world of tension.
The boat sinks, sending him onto the rocks.
Image via Warner Bros.
We must work backward to get to see him for what he really is.
I go,“the Giant utters and hearts everywhere shatter.
They’d been the product of a volatile relationship between Plath and another poet,Ted Hughes.
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Hughes had not been a perfect husband during the marriage,taking part in affairs and allegedly abusing Plath.
(In the book, it’s called the Space-Bat-Angel-Dragon.)
Originally conceived as an animated musical, Warner Brothers eventually gave the project to Bird after the Turner merge.
Image Via Warner Bros.
Bird had previously read the book and was interested - with some changes.
In 1989, Bird’s sister Susan was murdered by her husband in an act of gun violence.
They had been very close.
That was in many ways the hardest part I had to deal with.”
It’s obvious upon a re-watch: One of the film’s most prominent themes is self-determination.
The Giant doesn’t understand.
He tries to pick up its lifeless body with his massive hands.
“They shot it,” Hogarth says.
“With that gun.”
It’s part of life.
It’s bad to kill.
But it’s not bad to die."
