Cinematic Point Of View

Last week, my son was sick with the Flu. It was a rough ride and a long week for him. One of the night’s he was feeling good enough to come out and hang on the couch before bed, we decided to put on a movie.

We landed on what has become, over the past decade at least, my favorite comfort movie.

The Iron Giant.

I can’t count how many times we’ve watched it.

In case for some reason you’ve never seen it, The Iron Giant (directed by Brad Bird) is about a young boy named Hogarth who becomes friends with a giant robot from outer space that’s being hunted by a paranoid government agent.

There are so many things that help make this movie pure comfort.

It’s got beautiful, classical animation. Most of it looks hand drawn. The vintage style and those soothing fall colors of the countryside. Perfection. Heck, you even get snowfall.

The voice cast is first rate charming including Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Aniston, and M. Emmet Walsh . The characters are down-to-earth, relatable and easy to root for. You have an even easier-to-dislike, villain (Christopher McDonald) as the sneaky, snooping government agent.

Add on to this laundry list of comforts, the excellent, short running time and a great message about guns and violence. Comfort city, baby.

It always leaves me feeling good and it did the trick again, when we watched it last week.

So, what’s your favorite comfort movie? And why?

What’s the film you turn to more often than not, when you’ve had a long week or the world is too much or you have a cold and just need to huddle up under a blanket on the couch and escape?

I’d love to hear your point of view.