Cinemanalysis: The Iron Giant (1999)

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The Iron Giant (1999) asks what would you do if a giant, robot alien crash landed in your town? Would you befriend it, or would you fear it?

Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant is the story of a boy who misses his dad. Hogarth Hughes (Eli Marienthal) lived in a small town in Maine with his hard working and loving mother (Jennifer Aniston) during the height of the Cold War when a giant robot (Vin Diesel) crash landed near his house. Like any curious kid, Hogarth grabs his flashlight, his camera, and his dad’s pilot gear and heads off into the woods to investigate.

What Hogarth found there set him on a journey he may not even have realized he was on. Hogarth was planted right in the middle of one of the greatest human dilemmas of all time: should he befriend The Giant? Or should he run away in fear? Fortunately, Hogarth was a young and untainted child. In his purity of heart, he made absolutely no hesitation in committing to befriending and ultimately defending The Giant.

Hogarth’s father died in what was likely the Korean War shortly before the events of the film. While Hogarth was busy fighting on behalf of his new friend The Iron Giant, he was also undergoing an unconscious attempt to fill a void his late father left in his life. Throughout the film, an underlying component to Hogarth’s story is the various father figures he encounters, adopts, and rejects.

My Dad the Friend

There are a lot of different kinds of dads out there. The men that come into Hogarth’s life after his father’s passing represent for him some of both the positive and negative father figures he might imagine. Dean McCoppin (Harry Connick Jr.) is kind of guy who understands his place in the world in totality, but, while he does not necessarily aim to shirk it, he certainly does not go barreling after it either. When he meets Hogarth for the first time, he is reading the kind of tabloids that would entertain the imagination of a child.

In the next booth over at the Chat n’ Chew Diner where Annie Hughes works was a kindly fisherman, Earl Stutz. Dean overhears Earl telling the tale of his encounter with a giant alien off the coast. The others in his party, however, did not believe a word of it. That is when Dean jumped in. With no introduction, no grounds for butting in, Dean claims “Hey! I saw it too,” immediately dissolving the tension and winning Hogarth’s admiration forever. At that moment, Hogarth saw something in Dean that Dean himself began reluctant to accept but slowly warmed up to over time. Dean cares deeply about others.

Throughout their time together, Dean plays a part in Hogarth’s life as the father figure who is your best friend. Dean treats Hogarth like an equal. He gives the boy coffee just because he asks. He keeps The Giant a secret on Hogarth’s behalf even though he has no reason to. Dean is even found playing around with The Giant in the same way that Hogarth does, albeit more sophisticated. There is a great need in the life of a child to have an authority figure and role model who sees you and treats you as a peer. That is, even if that authority figure detests authority himself.

My Dad the Soldier

It is hard to imagine the Hughes family has an exceptionally positive view of the Federal Government. While the Korean War was not nearly as widely unpopular as the Vietnam War or other military actions during the Cold War, it would be fair for the Hughes to resent those who coldly sent their husband and father to die. So, when Kent Mansley (Christopher McDonald) rolled into town and invaded Hogarth’s life, it assuredly put a foul taste in the boy’s mouth even before the antics began. For Hogarth, Agent Mansley is the embodiment of the part of his father he misses the least: his duty and commitment to the Federal Government.

Mansley is a manipulative, self-absorbed bureaucrat looking to make a name for himself. His interest is in being right and being recognized above seeking justice and closing his case correctly. He is unlikable save for when he puts on the act of being a nice guy. What Mansley’s character represents in truth, is a warning that the greatest enemies to peace and safety are not always abroad. They are just as well found at home.

Kent commits acts that even by the standards of his time would have been deemed questionable. He commits domestic surveillance on American citizens. He drugs and interrogates a child in his own home. The man even usurps the command of General Rogard (John Mahoney) and illegally orders the launch of a nuclear missile on a civilian population. His reckless action served far more a danger to American lives than the Iron Giant ever did. Mansley’s character parallels, uncomfortably, Mr. Hughes’ sacrifice. The Korean War was not a sweeping victory for the United States or its allies. Fighting in the war, in the likely perspective of at least Hogarth, did his father more damage than it did his country good.

My Dad the Superhero

Like many kids his age, Hogarth loves the escapism of comic books and pulp fiction. He has a fine collection and a clear knowledge and passion for the medium. The Cold War was by no means a gray time in the American political consciousness. There was an absolute and clear good and an equally absolute and clear evil. The comics of this time reflected that societal mentality. There were superheroes, and there were supervillains, and there was never a question which was which.

Members of the United States Armed Forces are heroes, regardless of the sentiments held towards the wars they fight in. As Hogarth tries to teach The Giant, sometimes violence is necessary, but it should never be used to hurt others, only to help people. No matter the feelings Mr. Mansley elicits in Hogarth, the child still seems to know his father died a hero, not a villain. In this black and white world, it can be assumed this view of his father is unwavering.

Hogarth wants another hero in his life. The combination of his enchantment with pop-media and the reverence he holds towards his real-life hero, his father, rubs off strong on the way he hopes to train The Giant. It is powerful, the range of emotions The Giant, this towering metal man is able to express. The way his eyes and giant jaw are animated show deep sorrow as clearly as child-like joy. The wagging wrist of The Giant’s one-time disjointed hand artfully sheds a puppyish innocence onto his every intention. The Iron Giant wants to make his friend happy and intends to do no wrong, even though he unknowingly does from time to time.

Souls Don’t Die

The Iron Giant was a blessing for Hogarth. He gave Hogarth a purpose and an opportunity to heal. Hogarth was able to shape The Giant in the image he longed for. It helped him navigate the kinds of relationships he was missing in his life, the ones he wanted and did not want. Through each of the relationships Hogarth formed throughout The Iron Giant, he found that souls truly do not die. That when Hogarth longs for his father, he need only look to those who remain still in his life.

In the very last scene of the film, Hogarth has an opportunity he was never afforded with his father. He gets to say goodbye, see you later, and to let go on his own. While his dad was taken away from him unfairly, for Hogarth, this moment with The Giant’s final piece is not a loss of what remains of his friend. It is a chance to learn that saying goodbye is okay.

The Iron Giant is set to appear as a major character in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Earnest Cline’s Ready Player One, coming March 30, 2018. Check out The Iron Giant in all of his trailer glory here.