History Trivia / TheIronGiant

* ApprovalOfGod: Ted Hughes, author of book this movie is based on, absolutely adored the movie. Sadly, [[AuthorExistenceFailure he didn't live to see it completed]] because he succumbed to a heart attack on October 28, 1998. The film was dedicated to his memory.

** Other early casting choices included Creator/JohnTravolta as Dean and Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger as Kent Mansley, whom Brad Bird passed up in favor of less well-known actors.

* {{Deleted Scene}}s

** The film was going to have a more cartoony style as seen in the very early concept art for both [[http://www.ultimateirongiant.com/prodart/515.jpg The Giant]] and [[http://www.ultimateirongiant.com/prodart/521.jpg Hogarth]].

* ApprovalOfGod: Ted Hughes, author of book this movie is based on, absolutely adored the movie. Sadly, [[AuthorExistenceFailure he didn't live to see it completed]]. The film was dedicated to his memory.

** Warner Bros.' ambitions to get into feature animation were dampened after ''WesternAnimation/QuestForCamelot'' bombed and were reluctant to spend money on advertising, constantly pussyfooting around Brad Bird's perpetual request for a release date, even when production was nearing its deadline. It eventually got to the point that a crew member had to leak a workprint of the film to several journalists just to get word-of-mouth going. Warners eventually settled on a release date after several extremely positive test screenings, but only gave the film a few weeks to advertise as a result (compare to Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'', which was being advertised a year in advance).

* DuelingMovies: With Disney's entry for its [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon canon]] that year, ''Disney/{{Tarzan}}'', though [[DavidVersusGoliath it was hardly a duel]]: the Disney film had a year's worth of hype, not to mention notoriety out the wazoo, which this scrappy little film made by a tentative subsidiary of Warner Bros. and only saw a few weeks of advertisement couldn't compete with. ''The Iron Giant'' won out in the long run, though, for ''Tarzan'' has since faded into a footnote on Disney's history while ''Giant'' is now called one of the greatest animated features ever.[[note]]At the film's wrap party, Brad Bird bragged about how their film finished all its animation three months before the ''Tarzan'' animators and jokingly called them "pussies."[[/note]]

** Warner Bros.' ambitions to get into feature animation were dampened after ''WesternAnimation/QuestForCamelot'' bombed and were reluctant to spend money on advertising, constantly pussyfooting around Brad Bird's perpetual request for a release date, even when production was nearing its deadline. It eventually got to the point that a crew member had to leak a workprint of the film to several journalists just to get word-of-mouth going. Warners eventually settled on a release date after several extremely positive test screenings, but only gave the film a few weeks to advertise as a result (compare to Disney's ''Disney/{{Tarzan}}'', which was being advertised a year in advance).

* WordOfStPaul: Christopher [=McDonald=] jokingly claimed that Kent's desperate attempts to gain respect from his government superiors by capturing the giant are all in the hope that he'll be able to eventually run for congress.
* WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: The film was made in the span of 2-and-a-half years, half the production time of the typical animated feature. Thankfully, Brad Bird's television background, as well as his sheer tenacity, helped the film get finished ahead of schedule. It was the first animated feature to crudely animate its storyboards (using a primitive version of Adobe [=AfterEffects=]) to give a clearer idea of how shots would look in their final form, a practice used to this day.

* WriteWhatYouKnow: During the scene where Hogarth is watching the B-Horror Movie, you see him filling a Twinkie with whipped cream before eating it. This was something Brad Bird had done when he was a kid, calling it a “Turbo Twinkie”.

* WriteWhatYouKnow: During the scene where Hogarth is watching the B-Horror Movie, you see him filling a Twinkie with whipped cream. This was something Brad Bird had done when he was a kid, calling it a “Turbo Twinkie”.

* WordOfGod: When asked about making a sequel Brad Bird said:

* DoingItForTheArt: A new rendering software was created specifically for the CGI giant to give him small imperfections so as to blend better with the 2D characters.

* InMemoriam: A dedication of Ted Hughes appears in the ending credits, along with a dedication of Susan Bird, who was Brad Bird's sister.

* InMemoriam: A dedication of Ted Hughes appears in the ending credits.

* AcclaimedFlop: Critics gave the film overwhelmingly positive reviews (96% "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes, and 85 out of 100 "universal acclaim" on Metacritic), moviegoers loved the film as well (earning an "A" grade from Cinemascore), ''and'' it won '''nine''' [[UsefulNotes/AnnieAward Annie Awards]] (out of '''15''' nominations), including Best Animated Feature Film. Unfortunately, the movie flopped at the box office, making only $31.3 million worldwide against a production budget of $48 million ($80 million including prints and advertising), mostly due to the [[InvisibleAdvertising lack of marketing]] by Warner Bros. The studio later did a 180 and gave it a marketing blitz on home video instead, and the movie's [[VindicatedByHistory gathered a large cult following since then]]. Much of its following also comes from Creator/CartoonNetwork, which used to run the film in annual [[MarathonRunning all-day marathons]] on Thanksgiving.

* BoxOfficeBomb: Even on a relatively small budget of $50 million (with another $30 million for prints and advertising), its original theatrical run grossed barely half of that amount. It would later go on to earn over $100 million in video sales, making it profitable from there.

* AcclaimedFlop: Critics gave the film overwhelmingly positive reviews (96% "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes, and 85 out of 100 "universal acclaim" on Metacritic), moviegoers loved the film as well (earning an "A" grade from Cinemascore), ''and'' it won '''nine''' [[UsefulNotes/AnnieAward Annie Awards]] (out of '''15''' nominations), including Best Animated Feature Film. Unfortunately, the movie flopped at the box office, making only $31.3 million worldwide against a production budget of $48 million ($70 to $80 million including prints and advertising), mostly due to the [[InvisibleAdvertising lack of marketing]] by Warner Bros. The studio later did a 180 and gave it a marketing blitz on home video instead, and the movie's [[VindicatedByHistory gathered a large cult following since then]]. Much of its following also comes from Creator/CartoonNetwork, which used to run the film in annual [[MarathonRunning all-day marathons]] on Thanksgiving.

* AcclaimedFlop: Critics gave the film overwhelmingly positive reviews (96% "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes, and 85 out of 100 "universal acclaim" on Metacritic), moviegoers loved the film as well (earning an "A" grade from Cinemascore), ''and'' it won '''nine''' [[UsefulNotes/AnnieAward Annie Awards]] (out of '''15''' nominations), including Best Animated Feature Film. Unfortunately, the movie flopped at the box office making only $31.3 million worldwide, mostly due to the [[InvisibleAdvertising lack of marketing]] by Warner Bros. The studio later did a 180 and gave it a marketing blitz on home video instead, and the movie's [[VindicatedByHistory gathered a large cult following since then]]. Much of its following also comes from Creator/CartoonNetwork, which used to run the film in annual [[MarathonRunning all-day marathons]] on Thanksgiving.

** The film was going to be more cartoony with a goofier style as seen in the very early concept art for both [[http://www.ultimateirongiant.com/prodart/515.jpg The Giant]] and [[http://www.ultimateirongiant.com/prodart/521.jpg Hogarth]].

** Concept art shows that the Giant [[http://www.ultimateirongiant.com/prodart/515.jpg originally looked a lot more goofy]].

* AcclaimedFlop: Critics gave the film overwhelmingly positive reviews (96% "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes, and 85 out of 100 "universal acclaim" on Metacritic) and moviegoers also loved the film; the film earned an "A" grade from audiences polled by Cinemascore, but the box office numbers do not reflect this, mostly due to the [[InvisibleAdvertising lack of marketing]] by Warner Bros. The studio later did a 180 and gave it a marketing blitz on home video instead, and the movie's [[VindicatedByHistory gathered a large cult following since then]]. Much of its following also comes from Creator/CartoonNetwork, which used to run the film in annual [[MarathonRunning all-day marathons]] on Thanksgiving.

* AcclaimedFlop: Critics gave the film overwhelmingly positive reviews and moviegoers also loved the film; the film earned an "A" grade from audiences polled by Cinemascore, but the box office numbers do not reflect this, mostly due to the [[InvisibleAdvertising lack of marketing]] by Warner Bros. The studio later did a 180 and gave it a marketing blitz on home video instead, and the movie's [[VindicatedByHistory gathered a large cult following since then]]. Much of its following also comes from Creator/CartoonNetwork, which used to run the film in annual [[MarathonRunning all-day marathons]] on Thanksgiving.

* RealLife: The coordinates transmitted to the ''Nautilus'' are in Maine. The towns of Milbridge, Cherryfield, Harrington, Addison, and Jonesport are nearby, but the actual spot specified is a wooded area near the Atlantic coast.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: While ''Giant'' was a box office flop in the US that gained a CultClassic status over time, it is ''very'' popular and highly-acclaimed in Japan. One of the ex-presidents of Studio Gainax had this to say about it:
-->"Full of nostalgia to modern Americans. It is like ''Anime/MyNeighborTotoro'' to Japanese."

* DuelingMovies: With Disney's entry for its [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon canon]] that year, ''Disney/{{Tarzan}}'', though [[DavidVersusGoliath it was hardly a duel]]: the Disney film had a year's worth of hype, not to mention notoriety out the wazoo, which this scrappy little film made by a tentative subsidiary of Warner Bros. and only saw a few weeks of advertisement couldn't compete with. Ironically, ''Tarzan'' has since faded into a footnote on Disney's history while ''Giant'' is now called one of the greatest animated features ever.[[note]]At the film's wrap party, Brad Bird bragged about how their film finished all its animation three months before the ''Tarzan'' animators and jokingly called them "pussies."[[/note]]

** What little advertising that eventually saw the light of day was either vague or [[TrailersAlwaysLie inaccurate]]. One of its only two posters was in the style of a '50s BMovie-style with the tagline "It came from outer space!" while the trailers played it up as a TotallyRadical movie about "The newest face of heavy metal," complete with cheesy thrash metal music. Brad Bird remembers having a panic attack when he went to a multiplex in LA opening weekend and saw no posters or even a lobby card, instead a descheveled cardboard cutout outside its one theater and a ''hand written note'' scotch-tapped to the times, respectively. The screening itself only had an audience of about a dozen.

* ActorSharedBackground: Just like his character Shannon Rogard, the late Creator/JohnMahoney served in the U.S. Army.