I watched The Iron Giant over the past few evenings. I thought it was pretty good, although I think some of the themes (the red scare, the hysteria following the sputnik launch) will probably be lost on children. And this is a children's movie. Other than the killing of a deer by hunters, there really are no other deaths in the movie and the hero is a young boy. Essentially, the Iron Giant crashes on earth with no memory and the befriends the boy. There is a constant struggle to keep the giant fed (must eat metal) and hidden from the Government agent sent to investigate.I don't think this one did very well at the theater, and maybe it was because of the time it is set in. Children may just not "get it". The humorous thing to me is that it could be set in present day and the subtext would be just as impactful. For a movie released in 1999 its lessons are very timely in this post-9/11 world. Perhaps if it had been made just 2 years later and set in present day it would have been more successful.
Thump up.
Approved for the kids.
NYC
1 comment:
I enjoyed it as well, but I agree that much of the historical shades in it just won't click with many kids.
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