“The Iron Giant” as a picture-perfect movie [Mizumaru Kawahara’s CINEMONOLOGUE Vol.44]

Index

• A giant robot that is foreign yet friendly
• It was actually a pretty realistic anime.
• The magic of unfading fusion

A giant robot that is foreign yet friendly

　Last time, I gave a far-fetched introduction to Joe Johnston's ``Iron Man''-like character in ``The Rocketeer,'' but Johnston was also involved in the design of the character named ``Iron.'' That's the giant robot that plays the title role in Brad Bird's animated feature film, The Iron Giant.

In October 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched its first artificial satellite. Hogarth, a boy living in a small port town in Maine, discovers a giant robot in the forest. A while ago, a mysterious object was seen descending off the coast and a strange beam of light was witnessed, so no matter how you look at it, it's a suspicious robot, but inside it's as innocent as a young child. Hogarth, a lonely man whose father died in the Korean War and whose mother, who lives with him, works late at night at a diner and is often away from home, decides to make this robot his friend...

It has an inverted triangular body, long limbs, and friendly round eyes. It's a robot with a nostalgic atmosphere, with a somewhat toy-like appearance, just because it's large like a monster. It feels like a combination of Tetsujin 28-go and Ultraman, but what I particularly like is the way there are many bolts all over the body. Robots with bolts, screws, and rivets have a handmade feel to them, which makes them cute (I liked how the previous Rocketeer also had rivets in its jet pack). Also, the fact that the bolts are tightened indicates that this is not a creature made of metal, but something that was created, which I think is an important point in this story.

The nostalgic atmosphere of the 1950s era fits well with the robot. It's interesting because even though it fits, it stands out that it's also clearly a foreign object. This may be the reason why the robots are drawn using CG, even though it appears to be a classic two-dimensional animation. Although it is CG, it uses a technique called toon rendering to give it a flat animation look, so it blends in well with the other animation parts. Therefore, even when the Iron Giant takes flashy actions, the animation never breaks down. In contrast to Hogarth, who speaks and moves lively, his movements are precise and precise, making him act like an artificial object made of metal.

Although it is a foreign object, it blends into its surroundings, yet it still has a foreign impact. I think the way the Iron Giant is drawn perfectly matches its character. `` Toy Story '' had already been released, and Jar Jar Binks had made his screen debut just before, but this was a time when CG was still young. It's cool how CG is used to effectively support the familiar animation.

Brad Bird later directed Disney's `` Tomorrowland ,'' which, like Johnston's ``The Rocketeer,'' features a jetpack as a dream gadget. I am captivated by the retro-futurism depicted by Johnston and Bird.

It was actually a pretty realistic anime.