In 1999, the film ‘The Iron Giant’ was released in theaters. It was an animated movie based on the 1968 novel ‘Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes. It takes place in 1957 during the Red Scare and is about a young boy who finds a giant robot that fell from the sky. The boy befriends the robot and tries to protect it from humanity’s way of killing anything that they do not understand. The film struck a chord with fans and critics alike, and impressed with its beautiful visuals and its thought-provoking story. However, some movies, while good for their time, do not age well. Is ‘The Iron Giant’ one of those movies? Or does it still hold up after more than 15 years?

The answer is quite simple: ‘The Iron Giant’ does hold up and it is still an incredible movie in 2015, just like it was in 1999. The film is filled with fantastic characters, voiced by some well-known actors. One of the best characters in the movie is Dean McCoppin, an owner of a scrapyard who creates art with the scrap-metal he gets. Dean is voiced by Harry Connick Jr., who would later go on to become a judge on American Idol.

Another great character is Hogarth Hughes, the boy that finds the giant robot. This youngster is quite clever and really gives the viewer a laugh from his antics. He is not just for comedic relief though. Eli Marienthal, the voice of Hogarth, gives a truly heartfelt performance that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled. Marienthal was only really known for his acting in ‘American Pie’ before ‘The Iron Giant’ was released and has unfortunately not really done much with his acting career since the release of ‘The Iron Giant.’ The last movie this actor starred in was ‘Confession of a Teenage Drama Queen,’ which came out in 2004.

The true star of the movie was the iron giant, himself. The giant evokes such a wide range of emotions, even though his dialogue is quite limited, seeing how he does not know how to speak English until Hogarth teaches him. This robot will make you bust a gut, and will pull at your heartstrings, especially at the end of the movie. Vin Diesel stars as the voice of the iron giant. At the time he was not seen as a big star with his only well-known appearance being in ‘Saving Private Ryan.’ Now Diesel is a megastar, and is best known for his appearances in the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise. In 2014, Diesel voiced a character quite like the iron giant. That character was Groot from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy.’ Clearly, Diesel is the go-to voice actor for gentle giants.

There are some other notable performances like Jennifer Aniston as Hogarth’s mom and Christopher McDonald as Kent Mansley, the FBI agent who tries to take down the giant.

The film was directed by Brad Bird. Bird is mostly known for directing Pixar movies. Two of his best movies are ‘Ratatouille’ and ‘The Incredibles.’ Both of them are Pixar classics that were critically acclaimed.

The animation of ‘The Iron Giant’ is beautifully astounding and still looks great to this day.

The fact is ‘The Iron Giant’ is one of the greatest animated films of all time, and is an absolute must-see to any person who has not been able to watch this masterpiece.