The Iron Giant

At the early cusp of computer animation Warner Bros. produced a classic animated film that combined the best of conventional animation with the then new computer animation.  The result was The Iron Giant full-length animated film that has garnered a cult following.

In a nutshell the story goes like this: The time is the 1950s when the Communist threat and The Cold War were in full swing.

When a mysterious object crash lands a young boy investigates and discovers a giant metal eating robot with no memory of what it is or what its mission is.

The military gets involved and injures the boy thus setting the robot in motion as its memory is restored and it proceeds to make kindling out of the military’s weapons in retaliation for the boy being 'hurt'.

As a last resort the military decides to drop an A-bomb to destroy the robot, even thought there will be civilian casualties.  Only at the last moment the robot regains its senses after is finds out its human friend is uninjured.

The robot stops the bomb and saves many lives.

It’s a wonderful story of friendship and loyalty-sort of a robotic E.T.

Trendmasters Toys put out a very limited amount of The Iron Giant toys.  Being as the film is such a classic the figures demand high prices due to their scarcity.

One such toy was Trendmasters’ The Iron Giant Animated Bank.

The large toy is packaged in a oversize rectangular box with a clear plastic front piece for viewing the bank.

The massive Iron Giant sits upon a pile of metal junk.  On his right knee sits his human friend.

When a hidden button is pushed at the garbage-strewn base the Giant opens his mouth, his left arm lifts to his mouth as it opens and he speaks as his eyes light up and his right leg raises slightly.

The details of the figure are amazing, perfectly matching the film’s robot.

Angular cut legs and arms with round pivot joints of knees and ankles, wrists and elbows fit snugly into place and look incredible real.

The robot's massive chest is festooned with rivets. His neck air vent area, large shoulder mounts, huge head with a protruding lower jaw, round eyes and a fin running from his nose area over his cranium are perfect.

Large platter like feet attach to its legs via swing hinges, two massive articulated hands extend from Popeye-like lower arms and the robot’s waist looks like a convoluted overlapping section of steel rings.

The base is strewn with various pieces that appear to be rusted and crumpled metal and the small human figure is dressed in blue jeans, a red and white stripped shirt and red tennis shoes.

It’s an amazing figure with lots of small details, first rate sculpting, clever animated capability, clean and crisp color application, a sound chip with Vin Diesel’s voice and a cool place to set your coins in his hand and watch him gobble up your change.

Is it any wonder this figure is so sought after by fans?

Depending on its condition, the bank can be purchased from $125 to $250.