The Iron Giant

In October 1957, during the Cold War, an object (Vin Diesel) from space crashes in the ocean just off the coast of Maine and then enters the forest near the town of Rockwell. A fishing boat collides with the object, which appears to be a giant robot made of Iron. The boat sinks, but the skipper survives and swims to the coast, guided by the lighthouse. The skipper reaches Rockwell and makes a call to the Government about what he saw. Hogarth meets an artist named Dean in a diner, where Hogarth's mother Annie works as a waitress. The following night, nine-year-old Hogarth Hughes (Eli Marienthal) is watching a late-night movie on TV, as his mother is working late at the cafe. The TV suddenly has no picture, and Hogarth climbs to the roof to find the antenna cut off, and a trail going into the forest. Hogarth investigates a trail of destruction in the forest and finds the object, a 50-foot-tall alien robot. He runs away but then returns to save the robot when he gets electrocuted while trying to eat the transmission lines of an electrical substation. Hogarth turns the substation power off, to stop the robot from being electrocuted. Hogarth's mother returns from work and is worried at not finding him at home. She goes into the forest looking for him and finds him near the substation. Hogarth tries to tell her about the robot, but his mother refuses to hear anything and takes him home. Hogarth eventually returns and befriends the Giant, finding him docile and curious. The robot follows Hogarth back to his house, where he lives with his mother Annie (Jennifer Aniston). Upon their return, the Giant attempts to eat the rails off the ties of the nearby railroad tracks. Alarmed by the sound of an oncoming train, Hogarth tells the giant to repair the tracks. The Giant attempts this, but takes too long, causing the train to collide with his head. Hogarth and the robot flee before the train crew can investigate. Hogarth discovers that the giant is self-repairing, as loose parts from the collision return under their own power and reassemble. Hogarth hides the robot in their barn and helps to teach it about life. He is able to teach the robot how to speak English through his comic books. The robot is impressed with Superman but distressed when he discovers a comic about an evil robot; Hogarth tells the Giant that he can be "who you choose to be". Investigating the destroyed power station, US government agent Kent Mansley (Christopher McDonald) discovers evidence of the robot and decides to continue his inquiries in nearby Rockwell. At the substation, while he is investigating, the robot eats Mansley's car. Finding a BB gun Hogarth left near the substation, Mansley takes up a room for rent at Hogarth's home and trails the boy to learn more. He is paranoid about an alien invasion and alerts the U.S. Army to the possible presence of the robot. Worried that they will be discovered, Hogarth evades Mansley and takes the robot to beatnik artist Dean McCoppin (Harry Connick, Jr.). Hogarth enjoys his time with the Giant but is compelled to explain the concept of death to the Giant after he witnesses hunters killing a deer. Hogarth is detained and interrogated by Mansley when he discovers evidence of the Giant after finding a photo of him next to Hogarth and summons a U.S. Army contingent led by General Shannon Rogard to the scrapyard to prove the Giant's existence. Dean is able to pass off the robot as one of his works of art when Mansley and Lieutenant General Rogard (John Mahoney) investigate. Later, while playing with a toy gun, Hogarth inadvertently activates the Giant's defensive system, firing a laser beam in the process. Dean yells at him for nearly killing Hogarth, and the saddened Giant runs away with Hogarth giving chase. Dean realizes that the Giant was only acting in self-defense and catches up to Hogarth as they follow the Giant. In Rockwell, the Giant rescues two boys falling from a roof when he arrives, winning over the townspeople. Mansley, having seen the robot, orders an attack to stop it. Hogarth and the robot attempt to flee but Hogarth is knocked unconscious. Hogarth is knocked unconscious, but the Giant assumes that Hogarth is dead, and in a fit of rage and grief transforms into a war machine and returns to Rockwell. Mansley convinces Rogard to prepare a nuclear missile launch from the USS Nautilus, as conventional weapons prove to be ineffective. Hogarth awakens and returns in time to calm the Giant while Dean clarifies the situation to Rogard. Rogard is ready to stand down and order the Nautilus to deactivate its primed nuke, but a panicked Mansley snatches Rogard's radio and orders the missile launch. The missile is targeted to hit Rockwell, where it will destroy the town upon impact in the resulting nuclear detonation. Mansley attempts to escape, but the Giant intervenes, and Rogard has Mansley arrested. To save the town, the Giant bids farewell to Hogarth and flies off to intercept the missile. As he soars into the missile's path, the Giant remembers Hogarth's words, "You are who you choose to be," smiles contentedly, and declares himself "Superman" as he collides with the weapon. The missile explodes in the atmosphere, saving Rockwell, its population, and the military forces nearby, while the Giant is presumably destroyed, leaving Hogarth, Dean, Annie, and Rogard devastated. Months later, Dean and Annie, now a couple, have a chat at a memorial of the Giant made by Dean, standing in Rockwell. Hogarth is given a package from Rogard containing a screw from the Giant, which is the only remnant found. That night, Hogarth finds the screw trying to move on its own and, remembering the Giant's ability to self-repair, happily allows the screw to leave. The screw joins many other parts as they converge on the Giant's head on the Langjökull glacier in Iceland, and the Giant smiles as he begins reassembling himself.