Via Fathom Events, Warner Brothers has announced ‘The Iron Giant: Signature Edition’ will once more appear in  theaters on Wednesday September 30 at 7pm for a one off screening.  This release will be a remastered and enhanced version of the 1999 sleeper cult favorite, with two new scenes.  An encore screening will be held on Sunday October 2 at noon.  Tickets are not yet available, so the list of participating theaters is unknown at this time.  But when tickets do become available, they can be purchased at FathomEvents.com.

Originally released in 1999, ‘The Iron Giant’ was a Cold War-era animated drama chronicling the blooming friendship between a simple-minded towering metal behemoth and an awkward young boy named Hogarth, in a rural, New England town.  The movie, released by Warner Brothers, received rave reviews and award nominations for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Nebula Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and it won nine Annie Awards.  It remains a beloved milestone among its fans today.

But during its original theatrical release, the film flopped.  It was rendered in traditional 2D animation, at a time when computer animation was rapidly becoming king of the format.  It was not a Disney movie, a musical or a comedy, the usual domain of animated family films.  Instead, it was a heartwarming coming of age tale, masterfully constructed by first time director Brad Bird who went on to spearhead ‘The Incredibles’ and writer Tim McCanlies one of the principle writers of ‘Smallville.’

Those wise or lucky enough to have encountered this film in the ensuing years have embraced the beautifully made work and campaigned for Warner Brothers to revisit the film, at the very least as a deluxe DVD/BluRay release.  But the studio wasn’t interested in investing more money in a financial flop that had little chance of generating more ancillary dollars (i.e. toys, clothes, etc).

The movie features the voice talents of Eli Marienthal as Hogarth and a then-unknown Vin Diesel as The Giant.  The cast also includes Jennifer Anniston, Harry Connick Jr., James Gammon, Cloris Leachman, Christopher McDonald and John Mahoney.  The story was based on the book ‘The Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes.

Following the theatrical release, ‘The Iron Giant: Signature Edition’ will be released on DVD and BluRay in the fall.

Do you plan to attend this special event screening?  How much Kleenex are you planning to bring?  Comment below!

Source: Coming Soon