Trivia for
The Iron Giant (1999) More at IMDbPro »

• In the scene where Kent is using the Hughes' phone, the humorous oven mitt hanging on the wall beside him appears to be a stylized version of the "family dog" from Brad Bird's animated short of the same title which appeared on "Amazing Stories" (1985). (Season 2, Episode 16: Family Dog, 16 February 1987).
  
  
• "Frank" and "Ollie", the two trainmen that Kent interviews after the derailment, are caricatures of Disney classic animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. They also perform the voices for the characters. Animation writer Earl Kress has said "that Frank and Ollie are also life-long train enthusiasts and have extensive scale model railroads in their backyards like Walt Disney used to have."
  
  
• When Hogarth first shows the Giant his Superman comics, the theme music from the Max Fleischer Superman (1941) cartoons of the 1940's is heard in the background.
  
  
• The comic book Hogarth shows the Giant with Superman on the cover is Action Comics #188, released January 1954.
  
  
• Executive-produced by Pete Townshend of The Who. Pete Townshend also produced a concept album based on the same book as the film.
  
  
• "Floyd Turbeaux" is the name of the flannel-wearing rube played by 'Johnny Carson' to lampoon the National Rifle Association.
  
  
• A landing, seen in the first shot of the coast near Rockwell, is named "Bird Landing", a reference to director Brad Bird.
  
  
• An animated version of The Brain from Planet Arous (1957) plays on the television.
  
  
• On the wall in Hogarth's bedroom is a poster for the film Forbidden Planet (1956)
  
  
• The last name for Annie and Hogarth, Hughes, is an homage to Ted Hughes, author of the original children's book upon which the movie is based.
  
  
• The newspaper headline that Dean McCoppin is reading ("Disaster Seen as Catastrophe Looms") is similar to the headline that Jim Dear is reading in Lady and the Tramp (1955) and that Jiminy Cricket is reading in Fun & Fancy Free (1947).
  
  
• First traditionally-animated feature to have a major character - the title character - who is fully computer-generated.
  
  
• The three tendrils emanating from the Iron Giant in battle form are inspired by The War of the Worlds (1953).
  
  
• On the scene where the Giant looks over the hill at Rockwell, there is a moving star near the moon on the right hand side. This is meant to be Sputnik.
  
  
• Hogarth's father was a fighter pilot. A photo of him is on his dresser, clearly visible during his standoff with Kent.
  
  
• As Hogarth arms himself to find the "invaders from Mars," a Bugs Bunny figure can be seen inside his toy chest.
  
  
• The Special Edition DVD contains 8 deleted scenes: - An alternate opening featuring a larger ship in the eye of the hurricane, witnessing the Giant's arrival. - Another scene of Hogarth at school. - A talk in the truck about the death of Hogarth's dad, between Hogarth and his mother, following the 'Power Station' scene. - Another part of the duel of wits between Hogarth and Kent involving what happens at breakfast the morning after Kent has his 'special' ice cream sundae. - A campfire scene with Hogarth, Dean, and the Giant. - A scene between Annie and Dean in the diner. - The Giant and Hogarth getting involved with a drag race. - A nightmare that the Giant has that gives clues to his origin and the bump on his head. These are mostly presented as animatic sequences, with some of them having partially completed animation.
  
  
• Was originally meant to be a musical. Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff developed it as a stage musical, using songs from Pete Townshend's concept album "The Iron Man" (much like the stage version of The Who's Tommy (1975)). Des McAnuff decided it would work better as an animated feature and pitched it to Warner Bros.
  
  
• When the Giant's hand is "watching" TV, the clip that was to be playing would have been the opening to "Disneyland" (1954), but the filmmakers couldn't secure the rights, and substituted the Maypo commercial instead.
  
  
• In order to better blend the computer-generated Giant into the traditionally animated film, technicians came up with a program that gave the Giant's lines a slight "wobble", in order to match the natural line imperfections found in hand-drawn animation.
  
  
• When Hogarth goes to check the antenna on the roof after the TV stops working, it has been bitten off. This is a deliberate reference to the "Metal-Munching Mice" in a Rocky and Bullwinkle story.
  
  
• Hogarth's mom drives a 1950 Chevrolet 3100 pickup.
  
  
• Kent drives a 1949 Chevy Fleetmaster, and the car that he borrows is a 1954 Oldsmobile 98.
  
  
• The freight train that runs into the giant is being pulled by an Alco 4-6-4 Streamlined Hudson passenger loco.
  
  

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