Corrected entry: The story takes place in late 1957, as is evidenced by the appearance of Sputnik. Near the very end the U.S. military launches a nuclear weapon on a missile from a submarine. Problem: the U.S. had no such nuke launching subs at that time. (01:13:10)
Corrected entry: In the scene where the two boys fall from the building and the giant catches them, the boys would still be very hurt, as the giant catches them just before they hit the ground by putting his hand out, since his hand is made of metal it wouldn't do much help, in actual fact landing in the snow would be better for the kids.
Correction: If you look closely, the giant brings his hand down with the kids as he's catching them, therefore taking away the momentum. Like if you throw something in the air and catch it with your hand still, it'll hurt much more than if you move your hand down with it.
Corrected entry: In the opening scene we see Sputnik orbiting the earth. On earth there is a hurricane raging on, which we shortly find out is off the coast of Maine. In 1957 the only hurricanes that took place were Hurricane Audrey (which hit Louisiana on June 27th) and Hurricane Carrie (which hit the Azores on September 17th). Carrie might have brushed Maine with its edges, but the hurricane in the movie can't have been Carrie due to Sputnik, which was launched October 4th.
Correction: There also wasn't a giant killer robot about in 1957. This is set in a fictional version of 1957 - anything can happen.
Corrected entry: At the end of the film the Iron Giant is persuaded by Hogarth to rescue the town by intercepting the nuclear bomb and in the process sacrifice his life. The Iron Giant flies straight into the path of the missile. The reason the missile was launched was the Iron Giant himself - he was just about to destroy a huge navy ship when he was distracted by Hogarth. An electric pulse discharges in the distance of the ocean as he misses the ship and the town temporarily is lit up by the flash. Therefore why didn't the Iron Giant simply use one of his sophisticated weapons to intercept the missile?
Correction: He was damaged in his original landing. His programming was a little messed up. He might not have been able to figure out how to activate his weapons again in time before the missile hit.
Correction: Not true. The first missile launch from a submarine occured in 1953. By 1955, there were two active nuclear patrol submarines: the USS Tully and the USS Barbero.
JC Fernandez