Continuity mistake: Throughout the film the size of the Iron Giant varies from being able to hide in a barn shed to sticking out well above a town to be spotted from a fair distance. A good example is when the Iron Giant launches himself after a fall from a cliff in front of Hogarth's mother.
The Iron Giant (1999)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Brad Bird
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Vin Diesel, Harry Connick Jr., James Gammon
Once the nuclear missile is launched, the Iron Giant sacrifices himself to save the town of Rockwell, Maine by flying into space and colliding with it before it reenters Earth's atmosphere.After his presumed death, a statue is built in his honor. Hogarth is now friends with the kids that bullied him; Dean and Annie are now a couple (married?). Hogarth discovers a stray bolt from the giant's remains, but it reactivates and makes its way (along with all the giant's other parts) to a glacier in Iceland, where he is self-reassembling.
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More mistakes in The Iron Giant
Kent Mansley: Launch the missile now.
Trivia: The Iron Giant has only 53 words of dialogue in the entire film.
Answer: Turn back to/from what? Can you please expand on the question so we know what you're referring to?