Synopsis

In 1957 Maine, young Hogarth Hughes discovers a gigantic robot that has fallen from space. Although the mysterious machine was built as a weapon, Hogarth teaches it about friendship, courage, and humanity while hiding it from a paranoid government agent. As military forces close in, the boy and the Giant must confront the machine's destructive programming and decide what kind of being it wants to become.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is loosely based on Ted Hughes' 1968 children's book The Iron Man. The adaptation shifts the story to Cold War-era America and gives the Giant a more explicitly pacifist identity.

• The project began as a potential musical connected to Pete Townshend's The Iron Man album and stage production. The finished movie is not a musical, although Townshend remained involved as an executive producer.

• The animation combines traditional hand-drawn work with computer-generated imagery. CGI was used especially for the Giant, allowing the filmmakers to move him with a weight and mechanical precision that would have been difficult to achieve entirely by hand.

• The production operated with a smaller budget and shorter schedule than many competing animated features. Despite those limitations, the film became known for its detailed staging, expressive character animation, and unusually restrained visual design.

• The film performed poorly during its original 1999 theatrical run, but strong reviews and later home-video exposure helped it develop a lasting cult following.

• The 2015 Signature Edition added two scenes that had been omitted from the original theatrical version, including material that expands the Giant's violent past and provides additional context for his nature.

• The film won nine Annie Awards at the 1999 ceremony, including the award for best animated feature. Its reputation has continued to grow, and it is now widely regarded as a landmark of American animation.

• An A113 reference appears in the film. The recurring animation in-joke refers to a classroom at the California Institute of the Arts associated with character animation and graphic design students.