Flops have always existed in film history. Especially the science fiction genre is often affected because it’s quite expensive to produce such movies. This also applies to the animation sector. A sci-fi film from 1999 is considered a classic of the genre today, but back then it was a major flop.
Which film is it about? In 1999, The Iron Giant was released. The animated film was produced by Warner Bros. and tells the story of 9-year-old Hogarth, who finds a giant robot that must have come from outer space. However, it is peaceful, and they become friends.
The US agent Kent Mansley, however, has very different goals. He is convinced that the robot poses a great danger, which is why he wants to destroy it at all costs, even if it means endangering people.
Today, The Iron Giant is considered by many fans as an underrated animated classic, which deals with the topic of (weapon) violence in a child-appropriate manner. At the time of its release, however, the film was quite a significant flop. With an estimated budget of 70 million US dollars, the film only grossed about 23 million US dollars worldwide (via IMDb).
A major part of the blame for the flop falls, according to the director, on the studio Warner Bros.
Insufficient Marketing
Why did The Iron Giant flop? While you can never definitively say why a film flopped, you can look at the evidence. The film’s director, Brad Bird, commented on the issue in an interview with joblo.com and sees the lack of marketing as the culprit.
Although the film was produced by Warner Bros., according to Bird, they lost interest in animated films after The Magical Sword flopped in 1998. He said: They just thought that animation wouldn’t really work for them.
According to Bird, there was also a long period without a proper release date. They waited until a date was available. The test screenings reportedly received good ratings, but Warner Bros. was unprepared. They lacked marketing.
They were not ready for the film, meaning they hadn’t done all the groundwork that you have to do, with fast-food restaurants, cereals, teasers, posters. We only had a poster and that was a teaser poster. We never had a proper poster, because they didn’t do more than the teaser poster.
Brad Bird on The Iron Giant and the lack of marketing (via joblo.com)
Fans and Critics Love the Film
How is The Iron Giant received by critics and fans? Looking at the current ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, you can see that the film has left a strong impression to this day. With 144 critics, the film has a critic score of 96 %. And with over 100,000 user reviews, the film has a score of 90 %. Users particularly praise the themes and the emotional story:
- Peter F:
One of my all-time favorite movies that captures the imagination of a young child and the desire for adventure.
- TROY S:
This movie has a great balance, just enough character development, enough action scenes, and enough tension to keep the viewer engaged during its hour and a half runtime.
- Hao Ian L:
The concept isn’t really new, but it’s the simple yet profound themes of friendship and humanity that resonate with viewers of all ages.
What did Brad Bird do after The Iron Giant? After The Iron Giant, Bird continued making animated films, but this time for Pixar. With Ratatouille and the two Incredibles films, he created more movies that have stayed in the minds of fans of the genre to this day. In 2011, he even directed Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.
What do you think of The Iron Giant? Do you like the film? Feel free to share your favorite animated films that deserve more attention in the comments. Besides The Iron Giant, Treasure Planet is also a quite underrated film that unfortunately also became a flop: Due to Star Trek, a Disney film was not made for 15 years – In the end, it was a major flop
