Thanks for watching, gang! I am SO sorry about the inconsistent uploads lately. I've been working on some BIG projects behind the scenes (major update video coming soon) and have a cross-country move + Lauren and I's wedding coming up next month so the schedule is going to be a littleee weird until July. I am truly grateful for all your support and patience during this chaotic time and I hope the content I'm able to put out until then is worth the wait. (❍ᴥ❍ʋ)
You've been as consistent as possible with your uploads, Jon, even when life has been Hella hectic and we are here for it. Thank you for bringing these stories to life!
Invaders from mars 1953? Or am I thinking of a different movie? I remember there were a couple im probably confusing Old late night TV with nothing else to watch back in the 90's
gotta say, I prefer the movie, the story felt more coherent. The dragon plot made it feel more like a fantasy and dream-like. Nothing wrong with that, but the movie just works better as a story.
Who would've thought that a continent-sized space dragon would have so much shame and pride that it would scorch itself in the sun and submit to being a slave to a tiny metal man, just to avoid "looking weak/like a coward" in front of billions of inferior creatures that it was just going to eat anyway. Brilliant story writing
@@schizophrenic_rambler Some dragons do embodiment the 7 sins but not all of them, there are dragons that embodiment wisdom and luck, though all dragons universally embodiment power.
Just the idea of seeing the Iron Giant battle a 'space-bat-angel-dragon' sounds awesome, but it still sounds so random knowing this happened in the original book. Maybe if they used that concept in either "Ready Player One" or the second "Space Jam," then it could probably work. Also, the book had a sequel?!
Honestly really enjoyed that rant at the end about people being so annoyingly focused on villainizing anyone who doesn't think exactly the same as them.
I couldn't agree more with every word he spoke, I'm definitely subbed after hearing how clearly tight your head is screwed on. Just because I'm curious to learn more about something doesn't mean I support it.
I read the book in school when I was a kid. I saw the movie right afterwards, it was interesting to me that the movie had a very, very different plot to the book. I only saw the movie as a kid hadn't rewatched it as an adult yet, I definitely should. For that matter I should also reread the book for nostalgia reasons. I now understand as an adult the book isn't that well formatted for a film and the movie needed to make the changes that it did.
This is the first time I've read/heard someone addressing the practical reasons for a screen adaptation. For me, it was the mini series Pillars of the Earth. I wanted to read the book afterwards, and discovered there were very significant changes and omissions in the series. But, there was no way the series could have been kept true to the book, and would in fact ruin the pace, duration, and audience appeal of the screen version. In short, it would've been a dud. The series was great. The book was great. I'm glad they were different.
I never knew the movie was inspired by a book. I've seen the movie a couple of times since I was a kid and still say it's another one my favorite animated movies from my childhood, shoot I still remember my mom taking me and my little brother to this movie-library store to pick out some movies for the weekend and The Iron Giant was one of them; ever since I loved the movie. Since I'm really into reading I'ma see if I can buy the book on Kindle.
As far as box office receipts, it had nowhere to go but UP. We're looking at it through the lens of a quarter century of longevity but this is yet another film, like so many others that stand up to repeated viewings, that basically got made by accident. The studio wanted crap and when Bird didn't deliver they worked against it pretty much every way they could.
Agreed. That front cover terrified me as a child. That glassy-eyed stare drawn in that gritty old-timey style was the stuff of nightmares to 8-year old me.
To me it just looks like a very generic 60's sci-fi autonomus robot, but i dont know, maybe it was terrifying back then too, or maybe it was just a normal thing, only someone from the 60's could tell us.
@@fisharmor And the only reason it did bad in the box office was because of horrendously bad marketing. Nobody knew it was even out or what it was about. But it got great reviews by everybody who watched it.
Personally, I always thought the movie (having read the book also) resonated a little more because it was a “the monster doesn’t always look like one to everyone (or themselves)” theme stuck more with me than a creature with outside influences, though both are a poignant parallel of the truth of our world/humankind. The dragon also seems to emphasize, as does the Iron Giant, the nature v nurture debate.
I agree. With the title of the video referring to it as the "messed up" origins, I was expecting something darker and more sinister. That said, aside from a dragon big enough to drawf a kaiju in size randomly appearing at the end of the book, it wasn't all that different than the movie it got adapted into, especially in tone
One thing I noticed is that in the movie, when the giant thought that hogarth was dead, the giant literally turns into the most dangerous weapon in history, but in the book, it does not say any of that
Honestly, I was somewhat excited when the star began approaching, thinking it was heading down a Lovecraft or Junji Ito style horror, but then it became a children's bedtime story with the dumbest villain I've seen in a long time.
I mean, technically it *is* a children's book. The normal world is scary enough for a child, you don't need to introduce the Lovecraftian horror so soon.@@schizophrenic_rambler
I feel like the ending of the film did hint at a possible sequel but we never got it sort of like with monsters vs aliens. Edit: but, if they did do a sequel, it would be interesting where they would take the movie.
Ted Hughes was one of the great writers of the twentieth century. Poet Laureate, famous as much for his stormy marriage to American writer Sylvia Plath as for his dark and disturbing poetry. The Iron Man (renamed Iron Giant for the US) takes many of Hughes favourite tropes (Shamanistic death and rebirth particularly) and weaves them into a bedtime story for children. Plath’s suicide (often blamed on Hughes) was still fresh when this book was written and it’s amazing to see how such a simple narrative can carry such a heavy load. Death and rebirth, sin and redemption. It’s mythic stuff.
THAT Ted Hughes! Thank you! I just let the video play while halfheartedly scrolling the comments and where I knew the from nagging my brain. So, cool! Unpausing.....
After hearing this story, it makes me wonder if the song "Iron Man" was inspired by that book. But they explored the idea of "what if the giant wanted revenge instead?"
Inspired by the Ted Hughes book I always assumed. I imagined the song being from the perspective of the villagers who got the Iron Man wrong in the first instance. A Frankenstein type theme.
It isn’t. Neither the Marvel comics superhero nor the giant metal visitor, but it’s own story. Though much like the sci-fi movies of the 50s as we see in Iron Giant, it follows a man who goes to the future and witnesses the apocalypse, goes back to his own time, but space radiation or some such renders him into a metal… thing that cannot speak. Despite being mute and immobile, he tries to warn everyone of the impending doom, but is ridiculed. He eventually gets so enraged that he brings about the very cataclysm he came back to warn everyone about.
The dragon kind of reminds me of Alduin, the World-Eater from Skyrim. The Iron Giant from the movie resembles the alien ships from War of the Worlds. And I'd definitely be curious about the Iron Woman. Thanks for this! I can't wait for the next one! :D
When I was growing up in the UK there was a time in classes where we read this book followed by listening to the radio broadcast of war of the worlds, not sure exactly why we did that
@@fae206 That sounds epic! But that's just me. X) I heard War of the Worlds once and that was when I was living in a hotel just before or just as the pandemic hit.
I was so sad last week when i saw you didn't have a new episode out but I'm glad you're back with another great story for us. The screenplay sounds a lot like how star girl was written. The writer's sister died in a car crash so he created star girl and gave her the same name as his sister and designed her to look like her too.
I'm kinda surprised at no one mentioning how there are some similiarities to Studio Ghibli's castle in the sky. Maybe Miyazaki drew some inspo from this story?
I don't know. Giant but metal doesn't strike me as the most difficult concept to come up with. Couple that with the fact Miyasaki is very anti war himself and it's entirely possible both men came up with the same idea independently of each other. This seems more like a case of two people with similar mindsets coming up with a similar idea to me. Edit: spelling.
Certain aspects of the “Iron Giant” (book and movie) remind me of the story behind the heavy metal classic “Iron Man” (Black Sabbath). A mysterious man/creature/something who means no harm the human race is shunned, hated and feared for simply existing (or in the case of the song, trying to save humanity from the future he witnessed) only to get redemption in one or another. Wow that was longer that expected
you really need to read a copy of Ozzy's lyrics, Iron Man was built to save humanity then treated as useless garbage when he was no longer needed so he went insane and turned to killing people - Iron Giant is a stranger to humans who treat him badly that still saves everyone from a real threat.
One of my earlist memories from school, in what must have been the late 70's, is of our teacher reading The Iron Man to us one chapter a day in the story corner just before home time. The whole class looked forward to it, and we all got completly wrapped up in the story. I remember telling the chapters back to my mum and brother on the way home after school. This video brought the memory flooding back, much more than the film ever did. Thank you!
One of my favorite movies. (Never read the book) I *never* suspected the giant of being a malicious killing machine and member of an invading force. (Especially after seeing the "dream sequence") Rather, he was a part of a planetary defense system that ultimately failed as his planet was obliterated.
I guess the civilization that built him was extremely xenophobic. That explains why his AI is on a hair trigger to go into destructo mode and why his weapons are so destructive.
I wasn’t expecting this rant but SOOooo refreshing to hear another person tired of the divide. Thank you for using your platform to bring people together instead of apart
I remember reading this book back in primary school. Was so disappointed when the giant space dragon wasn't in the film. In hindsight this book actually Inspired a fair few of my ideas.
Now that you told us about a sequel called “The Iron Woman”, you have to cover that! As for this video, I absolutely loved it! Your analysis at the end came with an important message that voices what most of us are thinking. We’re tired of this dehumanization and divide that is tearing us all apart! Your depth and insight have always been a treasure, Jon! And this one is one of the greats!
To dehumanise is to be human. As it's our best talent and skill. It's why we watch police car chases, Touring Car races and Stock Car races, expecting a massive crash, it's why we wish death on people, it's why we seek conflict, and it's how we rationalise our hypocrisies. We are simple animals, primates specifically, who refuse to understand the unknown because our brains and our species as a whole have evolved to be lazy and constantly desiring to seek out what's easy for us to do and live with. To fight with each other is to be as human as we can be, again, we're simple, stupid and incompetent animals addicted to conflict and warfare, and we'll continue to be simple, stupid and incompetent animals until the day we die. To wish for hope and optimism is only demonstrating to the whole world (especially the internet, for the internet never forgets or forgives anything or anyone) how idiotic you are as a human being, proving my point that humans are idiotic and simple animals just like everything else. No lives matter for a reason mate, it's the way of the world and it will never change. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Jon have you ever been interested in others cultures gods and goddesses? You could have your pick of mythology and current religious deities. I'm most interested in Japanese and Chinese religious practices and deities. You could also do a run down of the Emperors, emperors wives, and the royal concubines through the eras. Not sure if you'd be interested, but I thought I could at least ask.
I know he mentioned he'd be delving into Egyptian mythology soon :) and I know he did Polynesian mythology not too long ago, or some of it that is. But yes I'd love to hear from other cultures and learn.
The Iron Man and Iron Giant seem to share some of the same theme's as The Day The Earth Stood Still. It's not hard to imagine following WWII and the Start of the atomic age that man's ability to destroy things was going to eventually spill over into our own destruction. Keep in mind if you were in your 30s in the early 1950s you probably grew up with horses being used as practical transportation. Then over the course of your fairly short time on earth we developed practical planes, jets, nuclear bombs, TV, and digital computers. The early 1900s was a hell of a time.
What a wonderful video. Love the message at the end and the entire theme of this movie/book. This is one of my favorite movies of all time, and I never knew it was so deep. Thank you!
Okay wow I wasn’t expecting to feel emotional today the iron giant is truly a beautiful film and a staple to my childhood! Also Vin diesel as the giant just hits different
The book also has the same emotional impact as you gotta REALLY feel bad for the giant, having to defend the guys that initially wanted to kill him because of their own arrogance and corrupted ideologies due to fear and paranoia consuming them.
Dang Jon, you're looking like a straight Chad these days. I just wanted to say thank you for the content, I have been watching you for some 5 years now and your content is still great,. Keep it up!
Your video is amazingly composed. You kept me continuously entertained through it all. The Iron Giant is my favorite animated movie, so learning about its origins has been a real eye opener. Thanks much!
The moral of the story section provided Jon to drop some real talk on the internet. That hit me on so many levels and mad respect for expressing the middle-man perspective on alignment and band wagons. It's truly unfortunate that media (in its many embodiment) has set blinders on the general public. One doesn't always have to always agree or disagree, but expanding perspective by understanding the underlying issues is how we'll grow as individuals, society and specie. Post war stories (any and all wars) are always fascinating to read. They all carry a lot of similar morals and sentiments when it comes to humanity and our struggle for unity and peace. Iron Giant in both of its renditions is a great example.
I like the way you presented the differences between the book and the movie, and you are so right with the moral of the story. If we let society's opinions and expectations get the best of us, we will never have an identity of our own. We will end up destroying ourselves for a mass of people that doesn't give a dime on us.
Iron Giant is the movie that's always in my head and makes me question myself whether or not I just made this movie up or did I actually watch it as a kid. I have to rewatch this as an adult. I know I loved it before and watched it many times but somehow couldn't remember it anymore.
that ending speech you had is exactly what I have been ranting about in countless recent internet posts recently. two groups, tow opinions, each group wants to be right, each group considered the other wrong and each group makes any one who disagrees with them out to be a monster who needs to die and both groups claim to have truth on there side and claim the other side is full of lies. No one ever stops to ask the other group "Why do you believe what you believe?" or "Why is the other side wrong?" no one stops to consider that maybe BOTH sides are both right and wrong about thing. and before you ask what am I talking about, this statement applies to EVERY issue you think I might be talking about its one of the few times you have said some thing that I didn't have an other opinion on. Also I like how the Giant isn't a threat but the Dragon is a threat it shows that the same situation happened twice and had a different outcome each time and that no one reaction was correct in both cases. I am only interested in the Iron woman if its a romantic love story that ends with small iron children running around or maybe a moral about not trying to marry some one only because they are the only other member of your species around and you have no choice.
Interesting fact: the author, Ted Hughes, was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom for 15 years until his death in 1998. He was also Sylvia Plath’s (The Bell Jar) husband at the time of the latter’s death.
The iron giant is one of my favorite movies, it's message has always resonated with me. Thank you for covering this, it was really interesting to see the difference between the book and the movie.
I still don't think you get enough love or thanks for the level of geek you take on in historical pop-culture. Mad unique and precise content to enjoy. As I am happy to see how far you are after about 3 years of watching your work! I still say you deserve twice the views if not 10 x!
Thank you for all your hard work and intelligent story telling. I can't express how much I'm grateful for your videos. although few may not necessarily be "kid friendly" you have given my kids and I something we enjoy together and talk about after and that means the world to me. Thank you so very much.
There's a sequel? How have I not heard of it? Yes, please! It had been so long since I saw the story (movie version) @ a friend's house that I literally forgot everything it was about. Also I somehow missed that the book was different or else I would've gotten it from the school library & read it.🙂
Thanks so much for not only sharing this story but your final comments, we I completely agree! Our differences should be our strengths and we should learn from each other's points of view, if only to grow our own understanding of the world. Blessings to you, we love your show!!
I've listened to a few of your episodes tonight while doing some schoolwork, and your soapbox moment made me stop what I was doing, very well put. Definitely got a subscribe out of me there.
There was an open ending in The Iron Giant movie. With him reassembling. If they ever get to it, I wonder if we will get an Iron Giant Kaiju fight. Because that would be as "rad" as the nuclear bomb irradiated Giant.
Thanks for covering this amazing movie and for giving your 2 cents on the atmosphere of society today. Nice to know I am not the only one that feels like that and that you covered this amazing story!
Pete Townsend of The Who was one of the producers of the movie, he was slated to musicalize it, having done so previously with an IRON MAN musical concept album (which has some good tracks on it and a ton of guest artists). Even though the musical idea was abandoned, he and Des MacAnuff(who directed TOMMY on Broadway) maintained their credits.
I want to hear anything you have to give us. Your content is so wholesome and intriguing. You never fail to capture my attention and deliver a great message. Thanks Jon.
The original story sounds so amazing. I haven’t seen the movie in years but it’s a great film, and honestly the book sounds even cooler to me. One drawing of the giant kinda looks like the original Iron Man design. I’m really interested in reading the original story. And yes, please do one on The Iron Woman.
You hit the nail on the head on how I feel today about talking to people about politics and the such. You can't have a conversation these days about anything without you being labeled as one side or the other. You can't say you don't like one person without instantly be accused of supporting the other side.
Holy shit... there is a sequel!! I read the original book (it was required reading in my school in UK at the time) Out of all the stories and myths you have covered this is news to me. Please do the sequel!! As always you did an amazing job!
Absolutely excellent. I knew this was going to be good, so I waited until I got some peace and quiet on Sunday morning to watch it. And I wasn't disappointed. This was just brilliant. Many thanks to Jon and the team.
I never actually read the book (the front cover scared me as a child), but I'd learn about the story years later through a friend who had read it, though I had seen the movie by then. While I certainly appreciate the message that both book and film were trying to convey, the film did it in a more coherent and less bat-shit crazy way.
Anybody remember Gigantor?…. The book in some way is like a fairy tale, and it also sort of sounds like a Japanese monster movie! The movie also comes across as a Japanese monster movie as the military is brought in to fight the Iron Giant. Good video about the Iron Giant and his two stories….
This book was one of the very few I ever read start to end in School, I also vaguely recall there being an "The Iron Woman" book but barely able to recall much of the story aside the cover it had. No mention of it on Wikipedia either, still it's a memory burnt into trivia for me.
Well this story tapped into one of the few genuine fears I have. A giant space serpent coming to Earth. But way bigger than the dragon in this story. I mean so big it could swallow the Earth. Just imagine seeing nothing but its head and glowing yellow eyes in the sky. During the day. Gives me chills. 🥶
@@cthulhupolar60 My mind has been taken to many strange places over the years. But to point to specifics it started with a phobia of water, which I got over once I taught myself how to swim. Then it was a phobia of huge animals underwater. As a kid I had nightmares of a giant tsunami wave with a colossal whale bigger than the largest cities inside of it. Got over that but between that old fear combined with the Crystalline entity from Star Trek and my love of dragons and there you go 😂
I think I read the book in primary school when I was about 6 or 7. We also acted it out and I had to pretend to be the giant. I remember lying on the floor, kicking my legs out, while the other kids pretended to be the villagers burying the giant. I’ve seen the Iron Giant movie and thought it was great but to be honest I don’t really remember much about the book.
This story is could very well be a cryptic reference to The Golem ...(Legendary Ancient Jewish Myrhology). Not sure how this angle might have been missed as it's definitely worth mentioning due to the similarities and the fact the The Golen myth predates anything else... **mythology is wrong term ..it's listed in wiki as folklore
Thanks for watching, gang! I am SO sorry about the inconsistent uploads lately. I've been working on some BIG projects behind the scenes (major update video coming soon) and have a cross-country move + Lauren and I's wedding coming up next month so the schedule is going to be a littleee weird until July. I am truly grateful for all your support and patience during this chaotic time and I hope the content I'm able to put out until then is worth the wait. (❍ᴥ❍ʋ)
You've been as consistent as possible with your uploads, Jon, even when life has been Hella hectic and we are here for it. Thank you for bringing these stories to life!
@Jon Solo can u do the Origin of nezha
Love your videos!! Just a suggestion; Origins of Prince and the Pauper? ❤
Nice to get the trademark for messed up Origins
I had no idea that you were getting married, I thought that you are already married? Congratulations anyway and may your life be happy and fruitful
A giant metal robot of unknown origins fighting a continent sized dragon from space is the most 50’s sci-fi story plot ever and I love it
This sounds like Godzilla vs mecha Godzilla but the roles are reversed
Sounds like the plot to a sleep song
Invaders from mars 1953?
Or am I thinking of a different movie?
I remember there were a couple im probably confusing
Old late night TV with nothing else to watch back in the 90's
Spoilers!
@@Midget32 Spoiled!
gotta say, I prefer the movie, the story felt more coherent. The dragon plot made it feel more like a fantasy and dream-like. Nothing wrong with that, but the movie just works better as a story.
Maybe the nuclear bomb was a stand-in for the dragon. Y'know, both involve giant balls of fire.
They're both from space, and who knows what's out there
@@LostSoulSilver mmmm *totally not sweating profusely*
@@LostSoulSilver galaxies
you like the movie
better because youre nostalgic of it and therefore biased.
Iron giant is a movie that never gets old.
Who would've thought that a continent-sized space dragon would have so much shame and pride that it would scorch itself in the sun and submit to being a slave to a tiny metal man, just to avoid "looking weak/like a coward" in front of billions of inferior creatures that it was just going to eat anyway. Brilliant story writing
Well, dragons are the embodiment of the seven sins
@@schizophrenic_rambler Some dragons do embodiment the 7 sins but not all of them, there are dragons that embodiment wisdom and luck, though all dragons universally embodiment power.
@@doctor-void2004 Its mostly the western dragons that embody sins, like Pride or Greed. While eastern dragons are wisdom and luck and what not.
"Do it no balls"
@@gilgameshthetreasurehunter2750the dragon shown clearly has the likeness of a western dragon
"what if a gun had a soul" is such a great way to put it. I love it.
Just the idea of seeing the Iron Giant battle a 'space-bat-angel-dragon' sounds awesome, but it still sounds so random knowing this happened in the original book. Maybe if they used that concept in either "Ready Player One" or the second "Space Jam," then it could probably work.
Also, the book had a sequel?!
It almost feels like the plots of two separate books Frankensteined together, doesn't it?
Yeah the iron woman, I remember reading it as a kid expecting a sequel to the movie but it was a bizarre read.
300th like
The closest to this fight is The Mecha Godzilla vs Iron Giant fight in Ready Player One.
@@ShuTheIdiot Nowadays people would say it's "Woke" if they made Iron Woman today lmao
Honestly really enjoyed that rant at the end about people being so annoyingly focused on villainizing anyone who doesn't think exactly the same as them.
That was one heck of a moral.
I couldn't agree more with every word he spoke, I'm definitely subbed after hearing how clearly tight your head is screwed on. Just because I'm curious to learn more about something doesn't mean I support it.
What the fuck is with kindness
That’s too fucking much of it
Videos
I read the book in school when I was a kid. I saw the movie right afterwards, it was interesting to me that the movie had a very, very different plot to the book. I only saw the movie as a kid hadn't rewatched it as an adult yet, I definitely should. For that matter I should also reread the book for nostalgia reasons. I now understand as an adult the book isn't that well formatted for a film and the movie needed to make the changes that it did.
This is the first time I've read/heard someone addressing the practical reasons for a screen adaptation.
For me, it was the mini series Pillars of the Earth. I wanted to read the book afterwards, and discovered there were very significant changes and omissions in the series. But, there was no way the series could have been kept true to the book, and would in fact ruin the pace, duration, and audience appeal of the screen version. In short, it would've been a dud.
The series was great. The book was great. I'm glad they were different.
I never knew the movie was inspired by a book. I've seen the movie a couple of times since I was a kid and still say it's another one my favorite animated movies from my childhood, shoot I still remember my mom taking me and my little brother to this movie-library store to pick out some movies for the weekend and The Iron Giant was one of them; ever since I loved the movie. Since I'm really into reading I'ma see if I can buy the book on Kindle.
i like the movire
The movie is definitely worth a rewatch or 20 as an adult.
You will fall in love with the story all over again.
@RogerwilcoFoxtrot how do they love to hate anti-communism, when some of their big block buster movies goes against communism.
The old iron giant looks absolutely horrifying, i cant imagine how badly the movie would have done if he kept the same design as the original.
As far as box office receipts, it had nowhere to go but UP. We're looking at it through the lens of a quarter century of longevity but this is yet another film, like so many others that stand up to repeated viewings, that basically got made by accident. The studio wanted crap and when Bird didn't deliver they worked against it pretty much every way they could.
Agreed. That front cover terrified me as a child. That glassy-eyed stare drawn in that gritty old-timey style was the stuff of nightmares to 8-year old me.
To me it just looks like a very generic 60's sci-fi autonomus robot, but i dont know, maybe it was terrifying back then too, or maybe it was just a normal thing, only someone from the 60's could tell us.
Reminds me of that weird baby robot thing from Dragon Ball GT.
@@fisharmor And the only reason it did bad in the box office was because of horrendously bad marketing. Nobody knew it was even out or what it was about. But it got great reviews by everybody who watched it.
I am so impressed that they made a touching movie out of this fantastic acid trip of a book
Personally, I always thought the movie (having read the book also) resonated a little more because it was a “the monster doesn’t always look like one to everyone (or themselves)” theme stuck more with me than a creature with outside influences, though both are a poignant parallel of the truth of our world/humankind. The dragon also seems to emphasize, as does the Iron Giant, the nature v nurture debate.
It's not really messed up. It's kind of heart warming and just makes you feel good that he saved all of humanity.
it is
I agree. With the title of the video referring to it as the "messed up" origins, I was expecting something darker and more sinister. That said, aside from a dragon big enough to drawf a kaiju in size randomly appearing at the end of the book, it wasn't all that different than the movie it got adapted into, especially in tone
I'd be pretty much horrified if I knew there were Lovecraft style monstrous man-children just out there that were constantly listening to what we do.
One thing I noticed is that in the movie, when the giant thought that hogarth was dead, the giant literally turns into the most dangerous weapon in history, but in the book, it does not say any of that
For some reason I really love the introduction of the dragon and the inclusion of a space dragon itself
the part with the giant red star approaching from Orion's Belt was pretty freaky its mind boggling how different the book is from the movie
Honestly, I was somewhat excited when the star began approaching, thinking it was heading down a Lovecraft or Junji Ito style horror, but then it became a children's bedtime story with the dumbest villain I've seen in a long time.
I mean, technically it *is* a children's book. The normal world is scary enough for a child, you don't need to introduce the Lovecraftian horror so soon.@@schizophrenic_rambler
I've been waiting for this video for a while and I'm so happy it's here!! Please cover the messed up origins of The Black Cauldron in the future!!
Me and you have the same thoughts!!
I like the idea. Because even has dark scenes, the film The Black Cauldron is good.
I've been asking for the Matter of Britain for ages. Maybe linking it to The Black Cauldron series will make my wish come true.
Jon needs to make a Messed-up Origins of Sweeney Todd! He could talk about the real-life events that inspired the story.
There's already a video on Sweeney that he's done. He has a wide variety of subjects. Just check it out and enjoy all your future endeavors!
@@constipatedinsincity4424 where because I can’t find it
I just watched that movie last week.
Oh my goodness, I was telling my brother the same thing! Lol
@@luwanabennett1054 Great Minds Think Alike 🤔
Honestly I want to see what the dragon would’ve looked like in the movies style
I'm guessing there are some old Godzilla/Japanese monster movies that might have something similar!
He said the dragon was as big as a continent
Godzilla is only 400 to 500 feet tall
Nowhere near that
Probably bad...
@@sydneytuah7853
Godzilla Earth or whatever his name is, its pretty darn big
@@A-G-F- he's only 300 meters tall. Ghidorah is 4km long(neck only) and is still TINY
The Iron Giant is one of my favorite stories of all time. I’ve been watching it ever since I was a little kid. It really stuck with me.
The Iron Giant was definitely a childhood favourite. I’ve seen it so many times and I cry every time at the ending!
I always imagined that if the Iron Giant got a sequel, he would have had to fight an animated version of the Space Bat Angel Dragon.
Makes sense to me.
There is a sequel to the book.
@@iamanowl26 godzilla vs space bat angel dragon who would win
@@Fold-103 don't care
I feel like the ending of the film did hint at a possible sequel but we never got it sort of like with monsters vs aliens. Edit: but, if they did do a sequel, it would be interesting where they would take the movie.
Ted Hughes was one of the great writers of the twentieth century. Poet Laureate, famous as much for his stormy marriage to American writer Sylvia Plath as for his dark and disturbing poetry. The Iron Man (renamed Iron Giant for the US) takes many of Hughes favourite tropes (Shamanistic death and rebirth particularly) and weaves them into a bedtime story for children. Plath’s suicide (often blamed on Hughes) was still fresh when this book was written and it’s amazing to see how such a simple narrative can carry such a heavy load. Death and rebirth, sin and redemption. It’s mythic stuff.
THAT Ted Hughes! Thank you! I just let the video play while halfheartedly scrolling the comments and where I knew the from nagging my brain. So, cool! Unpausing.....
Great narration. Great story. Great moral in the story.
After hearing this story, it makes me wonder if the song "Iron Man" was inspired by that book. But they explored the idea of "what if the giant wanted revenge instead?"
Who's song is it I wanna listen to it now what's the artist or band and the song please and thanks
Black Sabbath - Iron Man
Inspired by the Ted Hughes book I always assumed. I imagined the song being from the perspective of the villagers who got the Iron Man wrong in the first instance. A Frankenstein type theme.
It isn’t. Neither the Marvel comics superhero nor the giant metal visitor, but it’s own story. Though much like the sci-fi movies of the 50s as we see in Iron Giant, it follows a man who goes to the future and witnesses the apocalypse, goes back to his own time, but space radiation or some such renders him into a metal… thing that cannot speak. Despite being mute and immobile, he tries to warn everyone of the impending doom, but is ridiculed. He eventually gets so enraged that he brings about the very cataclysm he came back to warn everyone about.
@@thisiswhatilike54 That's pretty interesting! Thank you for the information.
The dragon kind of reminds me of Alduin, the World-Eater from Skyrim. The Iron Giant from the movie resembles the alien ships from War of the Worlds. And I'd definitely be curious about the Iron Woman. Thanks for this! I can't wait for the next one! :D
When I was growing up in the UK there was a time in classes where we read this book followed by listening to the radio broadcast of war of the worlds, not sure exactly why we did that
@@fae206 That sounds epic! But that's just me. X) I heard War of the Worlds once and that was when I was living in a hotel just before or just as the pandemic hit.
Reminded me of Ancalagon The Black from Tolkien’s writings. Although I think that is probably what Skyrim was paying homage to with Alduin.
@@chrisa7905 I think I remember hearing about that dragon when looking up Tolkien's works, but haven't read them myself.
Skyrim idea, be a Dwemer centurion in full on armor and roleplay as a giant, then you have to fight Alduin the dragon
I was so sad last week when i saw you didn't have a new episode out but I'm glad you're back with another great story for us. The screenplay sounds a lot like how star girl was written. The writer's sister died in a car crash so he created star girl and gave her the same name as his sister and designed her to look like her too.
I'm kinda surprised at no one mentioning how there are some similiarities to Studio Ghibli's castle in the sky. Maybe Miyazaki drew some inspo from this story?
I don't know. Giant but metal doesn't strike me as the most difficult concept to come up with. Couple that with the fact Miyasaki is very anti war himself and it's entirely possible both men came up with the same idea independently of each other.
This seems more like a case of two people with similar mindsets coming up with a similar idea to me.
Edit: spelling.
Also dents. Both iron /metal men characters got dents in em hehe
@@vicenteabalosdominguez5257Nah Ghibli is just a loser
I can even see some resonances in Miyasaki's Nausicaa with the Giant Warrior...
Certain aspects of the “Iron Giant” (book and movie) remind me of the story behind the heavy metal classic “Iron Man” (Black Sabbath). A mysterious man/creature/something who means no harm the human race is shunned, hated and feared for simply existing (or in the case of the song, trying to save humanity from the future he witnessed) only to get redemption in one or another. Wow that was longer that expected
you really need to read a copy of Ozzy's lyrics, Iron Man was built to save humanity then treated as useless garbage when he was no longer needed so he went insane and turned to killing people - Iron Giant is a stranger to humans who treat him badly that still saves everyone from a real threat.
One of my earlist memories from school, in what must have been the late 70's, is of our teacher reading The Iron Man to us one chapter a day in the story corner just before home time. The whole class looked forward to it, and we all got completly wrapped up in the story. I remember telling the chapters back to my mum and brother on the way home after school. This video brought the memory flooding back, much more than the film ever did. Thank you!
One of my favorite movies. (Never read the book)
I *never* suspected the giant of being a malicious killing machine and member of an invading force. (Especially after seeing the "dream sequence")
Rather, he was a part of a planetary defense system that ultimately failed as his planet was obliterated.
I guess the civilization that built him was extremely xenophobic. That explains why his AI is on a hair trigger to go into destructo mode and why his weapons are so destructive.
I wasn’t expecting this rant but SOOooo refreshing to hear another person tired of the divide. Thank you for using your platform to bring people together instead of apart
I cried so hard during this movie when I was a kid. Then I showed it to my son and we cried together lol
I remember reading this book back in primary school. Was so disappointed when the giant space dragon wasn't in the film. In hindsight this book actually Inspired a fair few of my ideas.
Like what ocs?
This made me cry twice. 1st, at the end of the book's story & 2nd, at the part about "if a gun had a soul".
One of my favourite episodes of yours.
Now that you told us about a sequel called “The Iron Woman”, you have to cover that!
As for this video, I absolutely loved it! Your analysis at the end came with an important message that voices what most of us are thinking. We’re tired of this dehumanization and divide that is tearing us all apart! Your depth and insight have always been a treasure, Jon! And this one is one of the greats!
Isn't that Maggie Thatcher? 🤣
To dehumanise is to be human. As it's our best talent and skill. It's why we watch police car chases, Touring Car races and Stock Car races, expecting a massive crash, it's why we wish death on people, it's why we seek conflict, and it's how we rationalise our hypocrisies. We are simple animals, primates specifically, who refuse to understand the unknown because our brains and our species as a whole have evolved to be lazy and constantly desiring to seek out what's easy for us to do and live with.
To fight with each other is to be as human as we can be, again, we're simple, stupid and incompetent animals addicted to conflict and warfare, and we'll continue to be simple, stupid and incompetent animals until the day we die. To wish for hope and optimism is only demonstrating to the whole world (especially the internet, for the internet never forgets or forgives anything or anyone) how idiotic you are as a human being, proving my point that humans are idiotic and simple animals just like everything else. No lives matter for a reason mate, it's the way of the world and it will never change. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
@@iamanowl26 sounds like Statue of Liberty tho
Jon have you ever been interested in others cultures gods and goddesses? You could have your pick of mythology and current religious deities. I'm most interested in Japanese and Chinese religious practices and deities. You could also do a run down of the Emperors, emperors wives, and the royal concubines through the eras. Not sure if you'd be interested, but I thought I could at least ask.
I know he mentioned he'd be delving into Egyptian mythology soon :) and I know he did Polynesian mythology not too long ago, or some of it that is. But yes I'd love to hear from other cultures and learn.
Fing hell Jon.. you said it, you have said what a lot of people need to hear thank you for you bravery!! I am now forever a fan!! So insightful.
The Iron Man and Iron Giant seem to share some of the same theme's as The Day The Earth Stood Still.
It's not hard to imagine following WWII and the Start of the atomic age that man's ability to destroy things was going to eventually spill over into our own destruction.
Keep in mind if you were in your 30s in the early 1950s you probably grew up with horses being used as practical transportation. Then over the course of your fairly short time on earth we developed practical planes, jets, nuclear bombs, TV, and digital computers. The early 1900s was a hell of a time.
What a wonderful video. Love the message at the end and the entire theme of this movie/book. This is one of my favorite movies of all time, and I never knew it was so deep. Thank you!
Considering everything that’s happened over the past week, this story and its message hits so hard.
Okay wow I wasn’t expecting to feel emotional today the iron giant is truly a beautiful film and a staple to my childhood! Also Vin diesel as the giant just hits different
The book also has the same emotional impact as you gotta REALLY feel bad for the giant, having to defend the guys that initially wanted to kill him because of their own arrogance and corrupted ideologies due to fear and paranoia consuming them.
Dang Jon, you're looking like a straight Chad these days. I just wanted to say thank you for the content, I have been watching you for some 5 years now and your content is still great,. Keep it up!
Chad 😂😂😂
Your video is amazingly composed. You kept me continuously entertained through it all. The Iron Giant is my favorite animated movie, so learning about its origins has been a real eye opener. Thanks much!
The moral of the story section provided Jon to drop some real talk on the internet. That hit me on so many levels and mad respect for expressing the middle-man perspective on alignment and band wagons. It's truly unfortunate that media (in its many embodiment) has set blinders on the general public. One doesn't always have to always agree or disagree, but expanding perspective by understanding the underlying issues is how we'll grow as individuals, society and specie.
Post war stories (any and all wars) are always fascinating to read. They all carry a lot of similar morals and sentiments when it comes to humanity and our struggle for unity and peace. Iron Giant in both of its renditions is a great example.
I like the way you presented the differences between the book and the movie, and you are so right with the moral of the story. If we let society's opinions and expectations get the best of us, we will never have an identity of our own. We will end up destroying ourselves for a mass of people that doesn't give a dime on us.
Iron Giant is the movie that's always in my head and makes me question myself whether or not I just made this movie up or did I actually watch it as a kid. I have to rewatch this as an adult. I know I loved it before and watched it many times but somehow couldn't remember it anymore.
that ending speech you had is exactly what I have been ranting about in countless recent internet posts recently.
two groups, tow opinions, each group wants to be right, each group considered the other wrong and each group makes any one who disagrees with them out to be a monster who needs to die and both groups claim to have truth on there side and claim the other side is full of lies. No one ever stops to ask the other group "Why do you believe what you believe?" or "Why is the other side wrong?" no one stops to consider that maybe BOTH sides are both right and wrong about thing.
and before you ask what am I talking about, this statement applies to EVERY issue you think I might be talking about
its one of the few times you have said some thing that I didn't have an other opinion on.
Also I like how the Giant isn't a threat but the Dragon is a threat it shows that the same situation happened twice and had a different outcome each time and that no one reaction was correct in both cases.
I am only interested in the Iron woman if its a romantic love story that ends with small iron children running around or maybe a moral about not trying to marry some one only because they are the only other member of your species around and you have no choice.
Interesting fact: the author, Ted Hughes, was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom for 15 years until his death in 1998. He was also Sylvia Plath’s (The Bell Jar) husband at the time of the latter’s death.
I would honestly be absolutely love if they made another movie following the books story I think it could be really cool
The iron giant is one of my favorite movies, it's message has always resonated with me. Thank you for covering this, it was really interesting to see the difference between the book and the movie.
I've been in a bad place. Your videos make me feel better and help me keep going. Thank you Jon Solo.............Jon Shot First.
I still don't think you get enough love or thanks for the level of geek you take on in historical pop-culture. Mad unique and precise content to enjoy. As I am happy to see how far you are after about 3 years of watching your work! I still say you deserve twice the views if not 10 x!
Thank you for all your hard work and intelligent story telling. I can't express how much I'm grateful for your videos. although few may not necessarily be "kid friendly" you have given my kids and I something we enjoy together and talk about after and that means the world to me. Thank you so very much.
Great analysis. What you said at the end hit home in so many ways and summed up much of the huge problems with modern day social media. Well done.
There's a sequel? How have I not heard of it? Yes, please!
It had been so long since I saw the story (movie version) @ a friend's house that I literally forgot everything it was about. Also I somehow missed that the book was different or else I would've gotten it from the school library & read it.🙂
Wait what
Thanks so much for not only sharing this story but your final comments, we I completely agree! Our differences should be our strengths and we should learn from each other's points of view, if only to grow our own understanding of the world.
Blessings to you, we love your show!!
May you do the messed up origins of “The Town Musicians of Bremen”?
My sister-in-law is from there and it’s a huge cultural story.
25:00 Standing ovation and a breath of fresh air.
I've listened to a few of your episodes tonight while doing some schoolwork, and your soapbox moment made me stop what I was doing, very well put. Definitely got a subscribe out of me there.
I appreciate that ending analogy, it was well said and well needed these days.
There was an open ending in The Iron Giant movie. With him reassembling. If they ever get to it, I wonder if we will get an Iron Giant Kaiju fight. Because that would be as "rad" as the nuclear bomb irradiated Giant.
Thanks for covering this amazing movie and for giving your 2 cents on the atmosphere of society today. Nice to know I am not the only one that feels like that and that you covered this amazing story!
Pete Townsend of The Who was one of the producers of the movie, he was slated to musicalize it, having done so previously with an IRON MAN musical concept album (which has some good tracks on it and a ton of guest artists). Even though the musical idea was abandoned, he and Des MacAnuff(who directed TOMMY on Broadway) maintained their credits.
That message at the end; powerful.
I'm really glad you are covering this movie. It's amazing and I'm excited to see what your video has offer regarding it 🤖
Thank you, Jon for all the very hard work that you put into each and every video that you create for us. We truly appreciate it!
I want to hear anything you have to give us. Your content is so wholesome and intriguing. You never fail to capture my attention and deliver a great message. Thanks Jon.
😑
22:45 the hand gesture with "space bat angel dragon thats bigger than Australia" I died 😂
Multiversus definitely sparked my interest in Iron Giant lore, thanks so much!
The original story sounds so amazing. I haven’t seen the movie in years but it’s a great film, and honestly the book sounds even cooler to me. One drawing of the giant kinda looks like the original Iron Man design. I’m really interested in reading the original story. And yes, please do one on The Iron Woman.
Also, if the Dragon appeared in the movie, I think he would have been voiced by Tim Curry. What do you think?
This was great - but I especially connected with your closing monologue- 100 percent spot on!
The way you edit your videos to add sound effects and photos is superb.
You hit the nail on the head on how I feel today about talking to people about politics and the such. You can't have a conversation these days about anything without you being labeled as one side or the other. You can't say you don't like one person without instantly be accused of supporting the other side.
I'm so happy your videos started popping up in my feed. It's a pleasure to watch and learn something new.
I've always thought the cartoon was severely underrated.
Holy shit... there is a sequel!! I read the original book (it was required reading in my school in UK at the time) Out of all the stories and myths you have covered this is news to me. Please do the sequel!! As always you did an amazing job!
Had no clue the iron giant was more than just an animated movie I loved as a kid! Good shit as usual Jon
Just LOVED this video! Thank you for showing us this story! ❤️
Love the wrap-up
Absolutely excellent.
I knew this was going to be good, so I waited until I got some peace and quiet on Sunday morning to watch it.
And I wasn't disappointed. This was just brilliant.
Many thanks to Jon and the team.
"Misunderstood Murder Machine"... hey guys,... I found my new spirit animal.
He was spitting facts at the end, amazingly put
This is the best cartoon of my childhood!!!! Is there a sequel?
Nope! And let's keep it that way.
I never actually read the book (the front cover scared me as a child), but I'd learn about the story years later through a friend who had read it, though I had seen the movie by then. While I certainly appreciate the message that both book and film were trying to convey, the film did it in a more coherent and less bat-shit crazy way.
I think you simply didn't get the book that's all.
The Iron Giant is one of my favorite movies.
Anybody remember Gigantor?….
The book in some way is like a fairy tale, and it also sort of sounds like a Japanese monster movie!
The movie also comes across as a Japanese monster movie as the military is brought in to fight the Iron Giant.
Good video about the Iron Giant and his two stories….
Yes, I remember. I also remember a Saturday-morning cartoon about Gigantor.
Gigantor was a Shonen manga first and foremost.
The movie reminded me of the Japanese live action series, "Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot."
@@MrBschwarz also created by Mitsuteru Yokoyama.
This book was one of the very few I ever read start to end in School, I also vaguely recall there being an "The Iron Woman" book but barely able to recall much of the story aside the cover it had. No mention of it on Wikipedia either, still it's a memory burnt into trivia for me.
Someone messed with the timeline again 🤣🤣
This story is so wholesome. It starts out with everyone hating the iron giant until they realize that he isn't bad and saves the world
Back in my Jon Solo era with my favorite cartoon
This is my favorite video that you've made!!! I was obsessed with this movie as a child
The movie is a classic!!! I never new there was a sequel and yes I want you to cover it!!!
Well this story tapped into one of the few genuine fears I have. A giant space serpent coming to Earth. But way bigger than the dragon in this story. I mean so big it could swallow the Earth. Just imagine seeing nothing but its head and glowing yellow eyes in the sky. During the day. Gives me chills. 🥶
Look up hellstar remina
Look up hellstar remina
@@johnlawful2272 one of my favorite mangas from junji ito
how is that something you even think of fearing?
@@cthulhupolar60 My mind has been taken to many strange places over the years. But to point to specifics it started with a phobia of water, which I got over once I taught myself how to swim. Then it was a phobia of huge animals underwater. As a kid I had nightmares of a giant tsunami wave with a colossal whale bigger than the largest cities inside of it. Got over that but between that old fear combined with the Crystalline entity from Star Trek and my love of dragons and there you go 😂
I think I read the book in primary school when I was about 6 or 7. We also acted it out and I had to pretend to be the giant. I remember lying on the floor, kicking my legs out, while the other kids pretended to be the villagers burying the giant. I’ve seen the Iron Giant movie and thought it was great but to be honest I don’t really remember much about the book.
I love how you integrated your life’s woes into the plot ;) 👍
Jon should make Messed-Up Origins of the Wendigo
This story is could very well be a cryptic reference to The Golem ...(Legendary Ancient Jewish Myrhology). Not sure how this angle might have been missed as it's definitely worth mentioning due to the similarities and the fact the The Golen myth predates anything else... **mythology is wrong term ..it's listed in wiki as folklore
Bro, I literally just finished rewatching the movie today, this one hell of a coincidence
both stories are amazing
😊❤thank you Sir, for covering this movie ❤😊