Best year ever: ‘The Iron Giant’ is perfect

Brad Bird’s animated fable still thrills, moves.

It’s tempting to want to call The Iron Giant one of the greatest kids’ movies ever made. But to do that would be a disservice. Brad Bird’s animated film is funny, thrilling, thoughtful and moving in a way that few films – for any audience – manage. It juggles big ideas and navigates multiple tones, and it does so effortlessly. It’s at once a story of fr…