Iron Giant

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The Iron Giant

Directed by Brad Bird Voices by Vin Diesel, Eli Marienthal and Harry Connick Jr. **** (out of five)

In 1968 Ted Hughes, England's poet laureate (until his death in 1998), wrote a story called The Iron Man for his children to console them after the suicide of their mother, the poet Sylvia Plath. An unusual and affecting story, The Iron Man had a comforting message -- life goes on.

Through the efforts of rock star Pete Townsend and theatre director Des McAnuff, this story has been brought to the screen as an animated feature directed by The Simpsons veteran Brad Bird. In the process, Hughes' story has been transposed from England to Maine, set …