1999: The Podcast #094 – The Iron Giant – with Sam Summers
Our episodes on robots and animation have finally led us here: The Iron Giant, one of 1999’s most notorious duds, and also one of its most beloved films.
The Iron Giant was the feature directorial debut of Brad Bird, who would go on to direct landmark Pixar films The Incredibles and Ratatouille and now serves in Pixar’s senior creative team. Unfortunately released in the highly competitive first week of August, coming in at #9 behind the likes of, among others, The Thomas Crown Affair, Runaway Bride, The Blair Witch Project and, also debuting that weekend, the box office behemoth The Sixth Sense, going on to make just $23 million on a budget of $70 million.
How and why did such a lovely movie featuring a giant robot (and inspired by the suicide of Sylvia Plath) fail?
We discuss that and a lot more with someone who would know: Dr. Sam Summers, co-host of the Disniversity podcast, and a lecturer on Animation History and Theory at Middlesex University in England.
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