4) The Iron Giant
The Matrix wasn’t the only film to come out in 1999 heralding a messianic figure. Brad Bird’s directorial debut The Iron Giant was released at the turn of the millennium and came packaged with a spiritual message within its towering metallic anatomy. Adapted from Ted Hughes’ 1968 novel, the story revolves around an enormous robot who, after crash landing on Earth with no memory, finds a friend in a young boy named Hogarth Hughes. It’s a heart-warming tale and one that is complimented, rather than smothered, by a religious dynamic, thereby allowing it to hold up more than a decade after its initial release.
While previous films that I’ve mentioned have looked at the saviour complex, The Iron Giant is an honest portrayal of humanity’s reaction to a messianic figure. After crashing in a small town named Rockwell outside of Maine, the robot’s presence unsettles the local community, so much so, he inadvertently induces mass panic. It’s an apt portrayal of societal paranoia. After all, here is a film set during the Cold War. At a time when Russia launched their Sputnik satellite into orbit and humanity fretted over the risk of nuclear war so, in this sense, The Iron Giant tapped into the zeitgeist with ingenuous accuracy. One of the film’s most poignant moments is when Hogarth and the giant are discussing death, particularly the robot’s own sense of mortality, as it contemplates its place on Earth.
During the climatic moments, The Iron Giant chooses to sacrifice himself in order to save the local town. Hunted by government agents, the titular being is a victim of humanity’s fear and, echoing Christ’s self-accepting banishment, sacrifices himself for the innocent – what’s more, the ending also hints to the machine’s resurrection. As a moral fable, The Iron Giant is an excellent film that, for a children’s animation, doesn’t shy away from themes of violence and prejudice.
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