THE IRON GIANT (opens August 6th) *** out of **** stars =====================
DIRECTED BY: Brad Bird STARRING (THE VOICES OF): Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Eli Marienthal, Christopher McDonald, Vin Diesel, John Mahoney, M. Emmet Walsh WRITTEN BY: Tim McCanlies RATED: PG for fantasy action and mild language SCRIPTURE REFERENCES: Genesis 2:7, Psalms 104:29-30, Psalms 146:4
Moms around the world understand that there is something about stray animals and young boys. The words, "Can I keep him?" have been heard by mothers almost as much as the words, "I didn't do it!"
Stray animals are one thing. But how would you like your child to bring home a 50 foot metal robot from outer space? Such is the dilemma facing Annie Hughes (voice by Jennifer Aniston, FRIENDS) in the new Warner Brothers' film, THE IRON GIANT.
Warner Brothers has certainly improved their animated track record with this delightfully scripted and imaginatively drawn tale of a boy and his giant friend. There is something to please every age group in this film. In fact, in the screening audience (of which I was a part) was a 50/50 mixture of children and parents. In most instances, the laughter of the parents drowned out the higher pitched squeals of the younger set.
Hogarth Hughes (voice by Eli Marienthal, JACK FROST) is your average, over-imaginative American young boy circa 1957, who is always on the alert for invaders from Mars, or commie spies. After hearing a noise coming from his backyard, and seeing a path of destruction leading into the woods, he goes out to investigate. He soon finds the source of the inadvertent destruction. A 50 foot metal man/robot leaves quite a wake.
Befriending a giant metal-eating robot is relatively easy. Hiding him is something else entirely. With the help of beatnik/junk dealer/artist Dean McCoppin (voice by Harry Connick Jr, HOPE FLOATS) Hogarth shows great ability in keeping his new oversized friend a secret. But it isn't easy. The government, hearing of strange occurrences in Hogarth's small town of Rockwell, has sent a representative, Kent Mansley (voice by Christopher MacDonald, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER) to investigate. Soon, the entire army has been called in to destroy what they perceive to be a menace to the American way of life.
The script by Tim McCanlies (DANCER TEXAS, POP. 81) is based upon the characters from the British children's story, "The Iron Man." The story has been Americanized and set in the '50s in order to capture some of the paranoia of the times.
On one level, the movie is about Hogarth teaching the giant that everyone has the ability to choose who or what he will be. Though designed as a weapon of great destructive power, the giant can vow, like Superman, to only use his powers for good. Director Brad Bird (FAMILY DOG) apparently pitched the concept of the movie to Warner Brothers by asking the questions, "What if a gun chose not to be a gun? What if a gun had a soul?"
There are other themes running through THE IRON GIANT. Friendship, sacrifice, judging by appearances... But integral to the story is the idea of an eternal soul that lives on after we die. Certainly this concept makes for a sweet and happy story, one that is utilized to great effect in this movie. But it does not have the support of scripture.
According to God's own Word, there is nothing eternal about a man's soul. In Hebrew, the phrase, "living soul" is translated from the words, "nephesh chay" which are more literally rendered, "breathing creature." Defined by the scriptures, our soul is literally our breath life... which ends when we stop breathing.
It is the spirit in man, which is a gift of God and distinguishable from a man's soul, that is of an eternal and divine nature. Perhaps it may sound like splitting hairs or engaging in semantics, but keeping the distinction between spirit and soul is vitally important for one's understanding. Failure to do this has led many to the false doctrines of spiritualism, magic, reincarnation and a host of other erroneous beliefs.
With that one caveat, I can recommend THE IRON GIANT as a fun, entertaining and enjoyable film suitable for all ages.
Michael Elliott August 1999 http://www.christiancritic.com
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