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The Kid From The Iron Giant Is Definitely Getting Cancer
The end of The Iron Giant isn't exactly happy, but it is hopeful. While the giant sacrifices himself to save the town, our protagonist, a little boy named Hogarth, does get an iron bolt found in the fallout of the nuclear explosion, which he keeps as a memento of his fallen friend.
Warner Bros. PicturesIf this were a human, that'd probably be like a finger or something.
Later that night, we see the bolt moving by itself, implying that the Giant's various pieces are slowly coming together again. Look for Vin Diesel to return in 2 Iron 2 Giant.
The Problem:
You know who wouldn't return if there was a sequel? Hogarth. Because he'd be dead.
Hogarth keeping a token from his buddy is a really sweet thought ... except for the fact that it was completely bathed in radiation. Radiation from nuclear catastrophes stays on scrap metal for a very, very long time. We're even experiencing a worldwide problem right now wherein metal used in military or industrial hardware has been melted down and reused, but the dangerous radiation lived on. In 2005, Taiwanese residents living in apartments made of this reused metal saw massive increases in leukemia and breast cancer. Again, this is reused and refined metal, decades after the fact.
Warner Bros. Pictures"Mom, another hair clump fell out ... some teeth, too."
Hogarth receives that bolt not long after it survived a nuclear explosion. If he doesn't die soon after from radiation poisoning, he has about a 100 percent chance of developing cancer. So if you weren't already weeping at the ending of The Iron Giant, you should be now.
Tim Chawaga writes here, on Twitter, and http://www.pentaxlas.com. Please follow him. Jordan Breeding also writes for Paste Magazine, the Twitter, himself, and has been described by his parents as the horrifying aftermath of an otherwise-great thing. S.S.A is also on TopBuzz.
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For more deceivingly happy movie endings, check out 6 Happy Movie Endings That Actually Ruin the Hero's Life and 6 Off-Screen Tragedies That Follow Happy Movie Endings.
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