(Archive) Animated movie of the day: The Iron Giant (1999)
Originally posted: January 2nd, 2022
What if a gun had a soul? This is the question that motivated this film's director, Brad Bird, to pursue this project. Such a particular reflection didn't come from nowhere, however. Not unlike the children's book that inspired it(called The Iron Man), it came from a place of grief. While in Ted Hughes case it came from the loss of his wife, in Bird's case it came from the lost of his sister to an act of violence from her own husband.
And this grief and contempt for violence is at the core of the film. It's exploration of loss and mortality is as tender as it is elegant, where a kid can play the role of the older brother to the child-like giant thanks to knowing said loss. It's criticism towards violence is also nuanced and detailed, raging from discussing the human consequences to showing many of it's absurd motivators. It takes the chance to make a scathing statement about America's cold war paranoia and the poison that is the "strike first" mentality for what it is: A self destructive endeavor for which innocent people pay the price.
But more importantly, there's the theme of choice. No matter the circumstances, you choose what you do with what you have. If a killer robot from outer space can assert it's own identity as a hero who values the beauty of life, so can we. A beautiful modern fairy tale using scifi and comic book imagery for it's allegory, that is as fun as it is touching, but also genuinely valuable. An underrated masterpiece that is finally getting it's due.