The Iron Giant

I figured that it's about time "The Iron Giant" gets a post of its own, and so I figured that this is probably the best starter for my research into Character and Narrative (Though it will mostly be about characters), seeing that it had actually made one of my lecturers cry (And most definitely a lot of other folks), and so it was today that I finally sat myself down to properly watch it.

A 1999 American animated science fiction and comedy (Or should I say dramedy) film that used traditional and computer animation techniques, "The Iron Giant" was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and was based on the 1968 novel "The Iron Man" by Ted Hughes. The film was directed by Brad Bird (Known for serving as a creative consultant for "The Simpsons" during its golden age, where he helped developed the show's animation style), and scripted by Tim McCanlies (Also known for writing the screenplay for "Dennis the Menace Strikes Again").

The film centres around a lonely boy named Hogarth Hughes, raised by his mother (A widow of an air force pilor), who discovers the titular iron giant who fell from space. With the help of a beatnik artist named Dean McCoppin, they have to stop the U.S. military and a federal agent named Kent Mansley from finding and destroying the Giant. Interesting the story takes place in October 1957 in the American state of Maine during the height of the Cold War, it was quotes by Bird that the time period "presented a wholesome surface, yet beneath the wholesome surface was this incredible paranoia. We were all going to die in a freak-out."

This film's style is definitely a break away from the usual Western feature film animation style that we see in Disney and Don Bluth films (WHICH I am not saying is a bad thing, I swear I have to add this in every single time I say something like this...), I wouldn't say that their facial designs are a lot simpler as compared to that of the previously mentioned examples, but it does come off that way at times. There is however, also a notable collection of diverse face shapes, there aren't just the usual heart shape faces that we see for our more normal looking characters, there are angular faces, torpedo shaped faces, and if you just take a look at the designs for the background characters, you will see what I mean.

So first off let's start with the humans, as I mentioned before, there is a lovely form of simplicity to how they are designed, notably when it comes to the design of their features, they don't have sparkly pupils nor particularly big eyes (Save for Annie Hughes), they are also considerably round unlike the almond shapes used in a lot of other animations... which make for the most amazing expressions the world has ever seen (And without having to resort to any form of derpiness either):

Okay, I cheated for this one.

Dean McCoppin and Kent Mansley were two characters especially created for this film, and I believe that it was these two human characters that made this film. Despite some of the stereotypical qualities they seem to portray based on their occupations, Dean and Kent are two amazingly well written characters. 

Dean McCoppin (Oh my god, bless Dean), is a fascinating tritagonist, despite his attempts at being a nonchalant beatnik, the best moments are when he freaks out or when he eventually takes the craziest situations in stride, and clearly, despite his sassiness, the guy clearly has one of the biggest hearts around. Hogarth would have been pretty screwed without a friend like Dean eventually giving in and helping him out when it comes to hiding the Iron Giant.

Kent Mansley is that character that makes you want to scream at the top of your lungs in anger and frustration, but I suppose it is understandable as he reaches extreme levels of desperation near the end, and will do anything at any cost to be believed by the army. He is also pretty hilarious during the first and second act of the film, and you have to admit that his dedication (Or desperation) is pretty admirable. 

And of course, there is the titular character himself, our beloved Iron Giant. When people say that robots or any sort of mechanical beings can't be made expressive as human characters (Regardless of what media), all I can say to them is, that that is all a pile of bupkis. While he doesn't have that wide a range of expressions as compared to the rest of the cast, I believe that all the important ones were already well evoked just from mere adjustments to his optics and jaw component, though I believe, what made him so amazing expressive was his body language. As he grows, you can see the astounding amount of emotion he portrays just through his body alone, as he becomes more than a mindless machine thanks to the care of Hogarth.

It is not surprising that Vin Diesel decided to use a really similar voice for the adorable sentient tree-like creature Groot in "Guardians of the Galaxy", it grows on you, and while it begins to show some obvious emotion, it still suits the mechanical creature. That voice most definitely tugs at your heart strings when it mourns the death of that poor deer or when he had nearly hurt his first and dearest friend.

In terms of writing, when it comes to the humour, it is definitely well executed and well paced and is frankly pretty timeless (I believe one of the biggest challenges when it comes to comedy writing is whether those jokes will age well or not as time passes). The right amount of drama and tension mixes in just wonderfully with it all, especially when it comes to the relationship between our two main characters.

Despite focusing on anti-gun and anti-war themes, it is interesting to note that Brad and Tim decided not to take the easy way by simply demonising the army, and instead, made Kent, a civilian, the power hungry fool that nearly screws everything up. Everyone else is still rational and sympathetic enough towards this scary alien force, especially considering the time period this story takes place in.

"The Iron Giant" remains to this day one of the best animation films known to any animator, animation fan, or movie buff, with its interesting characters and incredibly well written and executed story that is able to mix comedy and drama so well together. So it's alright if you cried, don't be ashamed about it.