--- title: "The Iron Giant" year: 1999 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-iron-giant" fi1m_id: "the-iron-giant" imdb_id: "tt0129167" tmdb_id: 10386 wikidata_id: "Q867283" fi1m_score: 88 critics_score: 84 critics_reviews: 7 published: "2026-09-14" updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:43.088764+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Iron Giant (1999) Directed by Brad Bird · 1h 26m · MPA PG · Animation, Drama, Family, Science Fiction, Adventure ## Identity The Iron Giant - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-iron-giant - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-iron-giant - **IMDb ID:** tt0129167 - **TMDB ID:** 10386 - **Wikidata ID:** Q867283 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0129167/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/10386, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q867283 **Fi1m score: 88** · Critics 84 from 7 reviews *In a sentence:* A giant robot learns to be decent while the adults make it look difficult > Brad Bird makes a boy’s friendship with a robot funny, tender and worth worrying about. The adults are sometimes too neatly drawn, but the film takes its young audience seriously and earns its feelings. ## Synopsis In 1950s America, a boy called Hogarth Hughes befriends a giant robot from space. Their friendship develops amid Cold War fears, with the unfamiliar visitor drawing attention in a society quick to see a threat. The Giant has to learn what sort of creature he wants to be, while the people around him face a choice between understanding him and using force. Eli Marienthal voices Hogarth and Vin Diesel voices the Giant, with Jennifer Aniston as Annie Hughes, Harry Connick Jr. as Dean McCoppin and Christopher McDonald as Kent Mansley. ## Review Brad Bird’s *The Iron Giant* is a funny, moving family film that takes its objections to violence seriously. It gives us a boy and a robot to care about before asking us to consider what people do when they are frightened. That order matters, because a story about nuclear anxiety could easily become a lecture with drawings. Bird keeps the friendship interesting enough that the lesson rarely needs announcing. We recommend it warmly, with a reservation about how neatly some of the adults illustrate the problem. Eli Marienthal voices Hogarth Hughes with an eagerness that makes the unlikely friendship easy to believe. Vin Diesel gives the Giant a voice with weight and uncertainty, letting a powerful creature sound as though he still needs help. We were moved by the trust between them. The size difference makes the boy’s willingness to befriend him particularly affecting, while Marienthal keeps Hogarth from sounding saintly. Their exchanges are funny enough that we enjoy their company before worrying about what might happen to them. Mark Whiting’s production design borrows from 1950s comic art and science fiction, giving the fear of an outsider a setting that makes sense. The Giant is the computer-generated element among the hand-drawn characters, and his different construction helps him look foreign without making him seem to belong in another film. Steven Wilzbach’s cinematography makes the contrast in scale clear without letting size become the only interesting thing in the picture. The robot has enough personality to hold our attention without being put to destructive use. At 86 minutes, there is little time spent waiting for the next useful scene. Darren T. Holmes’s editing gives the action pace and still leaves room for the boy and the Giant to become companions. The humour helps too, allowing the film to return to serious matters without a conspicuous change of tone. Michael Kamen’s music is less restrained than we would sometimes like. The central voices have already earned our affection, and the score need not work quite so hard to confirm it. The weaker passages involve the adults, whose fear can seem too conveniently arranged for the film to correct it. Tim McCanlies’s screenplay gives us more reason to understand the Giant’s uncertainty than the suspicion he encounters. That makes the warnings about conformity easier to agree with, but it also makes some of the opposition feel thin. A little more curiosity about those frightened people would help, though pursuing it might cost the film some of its welcome speed. Within the familiar story of a child and an unlikely friend, Bird finds a question worth asking: does being capable of harm oblige someone to cause it? The Giant’s reluctance to be a weapon gives the science fiction a purpose beyond providing something large to chase. We like the film’s refusal to treat pacifism as a nice idea that sensible people must eventually abandon. It lets that belief complicate the adventure. The question matters because the Giant has become someone we care about. The U certificate is no promise that every small child will find this easy. Weapons and frightened adults can be disturbing subjects, and the humour does not make them harmless. We would leave time afterwards for whatever questions the film brings up, rather than treating it as a convenient way to fill 86 minutes. Choose it for a family evening when nobody has to rush off as soon as it finishes. *Fi1m score 88, published 14 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The consensus is warmly positive, with praise clustering around the friendship between the boy and the robot, the retro animation and the film’s pacifism. Most critics find the humour and sentiment well judged, with enough narrative confidence to carry serious ideas without turning the story into a lecture. The 1950s setting also earns attention: Cold War fears and atomic paranoia give the adventure substance, while the giant’s gentle character keeps it accessible to children. The reviews differ more in emphasis than in judgement, and there is no substantial negative dissent in the supplied responses. Some concentrate on the action, visual wit and emotional force; others foreground the challenge to conformity and reliance on weapons. The New York Times offers a modest qualification, suggesting that the messages about nonconformity and the dangers of weapons may resonate more with adults. ## Straight answers **Is The Iron Giant worth watching?** *The Iron Giant* is worth watching for families and anyone who likes a story that takes its objections to violence seriously, and we scored it 88. Brad Bird makes the friendship between a boy and a robot funny and moving before asking what frightened people do. The adults are drawn too neatly at times, but the feeling is earned. **How long is The Iron Giant, and what is it rated?** *The Iron Giant* runs 1h 26m and is rated PG by the MPA in the US. It is an animation and drama film. **Where can I watch The Iron Giant in the US?** *The Iron Giant* is streaming on The Roku Channel and Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $5.99. It leaves The Roku Channel on 1 October. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How does The Iron Giant compare to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?** *The Iron Giant* and [*E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial*](https://film.one/film/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial) tell much the same story: a lonely boy befriends a strange visitor and the frightened adults around him have something to learn. Spielberg's film is the warmer and more purely sentimental of the two, while Bird's has a sharper question about whether being able to cause harm obliges anyone to do so. Both have music that works harder than it needs to. **What should I watch after The Iron Giant?** After *The Iron Giant*, try [*E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial*](https://film.one/film/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial) (1982, Fi1m 91): Another lonely child finds an unusual friend and gives frightened adults something to consider. Then [*My Neighbour Totoro*](https://film.one/film/my-neighbor-totoro) (1988, Fi1m 89): Children meet strange creatures in an animation that allows wonder without demanding constant peril; and [*The Spirit of the Beehive*](https://film.one/film/the-spirit-of-the-beehive) (1973, Fi1m 87): A child’s response to a screen monster becomes a troubling study of adult silences. ### Reviews we read (15) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it the best animation of the year and the best family movie for Christmas, describing it as a little gem with tremendous sweetness and narrative confidence, like an apocalyptic ET or pre-teen Terminator 2. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/1999/dec/17/tedhughes) - **Empire**, Kim Newman (85/100, inferred): A delightful surprise and refreshing animated feature with an unfashionable commitment to pacifism. The critic singles out the sophisticated 1950s depiction, including atomic paranoia and the giant's fully realised character as a lovable old-fashioned robot who does not want to be a weapon. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/iron-giant-review/) - **Radio Times**, Alan Jones (4/5): The critic hails it as a first-class achievement in cartoon virtuosity that borrows from 1950s comic art and sci-fi to stunning effect. They single out its blend of political allegory for adults with dazzling visuals and excitement for children. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-qwyuk8/the-iron-giant/) - **Slant Magazine**, Joseph Jon Lanthier (80/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as an Americana fairy tale with emotional intelligence, praising its subtle moral themes, visual wit, and the giant's struggle for agency against its destructive programming. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-iron-giant/) - **The AV Club**, Scott Tobias (80/100, inferred): The critic highlights the film's singular, personal vision as a cult favorite that rejects typical animated formulas, praising its retro style, earnest take on 1950s America, and the bond between the boy and the pacifist robot. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-iron-giant-1798216153) - **Total Film** (80/100, inferred): A touching and hilarious film that delivers laughs, tears and food for thought in a picture aimed at kids. The critic singles out the effective mix of knowing humour, well-paced action, retro animation (with the giant as the only CG element) and a dramatic finale. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-iron-giant-review/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan: The critic calls the film straight-arrow yet subversive, blending old-fashioned 2D animation with computer effects to create a warm, timeless tale of a boy and his robotic friend that feels like a classic. Its dry humor, anti-establishment tone, and gentle lessons against guns and nuclear weapons are singled out for praise alongside its heartfelt simplicity. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-aug-04-ca-62286-story.html) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert: The critic praises the film as an enchanting animated feature with an E.T.-like story about a boy befriending a giant robot from space, noting its charm and underlying Cold War parable about choice and self-determination. The simple, story-driven approach without musical numbers or cute animals, along with its visual style reminiscent of Japanese animation, is highlighted positively. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-iron-giant-1999) - **Sight and Sound**, Leslie Felperin: The critic calls it one of the more emotionally satisfying films of the year and a welcome non-Disney animated success. They praise the skillful mix of humour and sentiment that delivers its moral message without preachiness. [Read](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/537) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Hunter: The critic calls the film outstanding and a giant leap for Warner Bros. animation, praising the wonderful central character of the Iron Giant and the sense of joy in scenes between Hogarth and the robot. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/iron-giant-review-1999-movie-1025363/) - **The New York Times**, Lawrence Van Gelder: The review describes the film as a polished animated work that re-examines 1950s Cold War fears through a modern lens, turning sci-fi tropes upside down to critique conformity, paranoia, and military dependence. It notes the story of a boy befriending the robot and the messages about nonconformity and the perils of weapons, which may resonate more with adults. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/04/movies/film-review-the-attack-of-the-human-paranoids.html) - **Time Out**, WH: The review describes the film as entertaining and intelligent, a delightful animation that effectively dramatises the conflict between imaginative solutions and forceful ones. It notes the moral elements while keeping it suitable for younger audiences. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-iron-giant) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (A+): The critic finds the film a timeless classic that continues to resonate with its blend of humor, heart, and anti-war message. The animation, humor, and 1950s sci-fi affection are singled out for praise, along with the emotional impact of the Giant's sacrifice. [Read](https://collider.com/the-iron-giant-review-signature-edition-tiff-2015/) - **Den of Geek**: The critic calls The Iron Giant one of the very best animated films of its generation and an exceptional, special film that has aged brilliantly. They single out its tight, fat-free storytelling, character focus, and refusal to rely on sugary Hollywood tropes for praise. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/looking-back-at-the-iron-giant-the-best-family-film-youve-never-seen/) - **Digital Spy**, Sam Ashurst: The critic praises The Iron Giant as a vivid, funny, and emotionally rich animated classic with wonderful characters and heart. They single out its combination of comedy, detail, and emotional depth (comparing it favorably to the best Pixar output) for praise. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/re-viewed/a647491/how-the-iron-giant-influenced-guardians-of-the-galaxy-and-what-it-means-for-tomorrowland/) ## Details - **Director:** Brad Bird - **Director:** Brad Bird - **Screenplay:** Tim McCanlies - **Cinematography:** Steven Wilzbach - **Editor:** Darren T. Holmes - **Music:** Michael Kamen - **Production design:** Mark Whiting - **Producer:** Allison Abbate, Des McAnuff - **Cast:** Jennifer Aniston as Annie Hughes (voice); Harry Connick Jr. as Dean McCoppin (voice); Vin Diesel as The Iron Giant (voice); James Gammon as Foreman Marv Loach / Floyd Turbeaux (voice); Cloris Leachman as Mrs. Lynley Tensedge (voice); Christopher McDonald as Kent Mansley (voice); John Mahoney as General Rogard (voice); Eli Marienthal as Hogarth Hughes (voice) - **Runtime:** 1h 26m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG - **Release (the US):** 6 August 1999 - **Genres:** Animation, Drama, Family, Science Fiction, Adventure - **Budget:** $50 million - **Box office:** $23 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obLtyj8hfFk ## Where to watch in the US - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd, leaving 2026-10-01 - Amazon Prime Video: add-on - Amazon Prime Video: rent $5.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-14.* Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, IE, IN, IT, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - BAFTA Film Awards 2000: BAFTA's Children & Young People Award - Feature Film (won) - Annie Award for Best Animated Feature 1999: Annie Award for Best Animated Feature (won) ## If you liked this - *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial* (1982), Fi1m 91: Another lonely child finds an unusual friend and gives frightened adults something to consider. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial.md) - *My Neighbour Totoro* (1988), Fi1m 89: Children meet strange creatures in an animation that allows wonder without demanding constant peril. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/my-neighbor-totoro.md) - *The Spirit of the Beehive* (1973), Fi1m 87: A child’s response to a screen monster becomes a troubling study of adult silences. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-spirit-of-the-beehive.md) - *The Day the Earth Stood Still* (1951), Fi1m 82: A visitor from space finds humanity’s attachment to weapons rather difficult to overlook. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-day-the-earth-stood-still.md) - *Ernest & Celestine* (2012), Fi1m 84: An unlikely friendship tests a society’s prejudices without losing its appetite for mischief. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ernest-and-celestine.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-iron-giant