When Brad Bird’s directorial debut The Iron Giant was first released in the summer of 1999, the animated family film bombed at the box office, mostly due to some less than stellar marketing at the time. Although the story of a young boy who befriends a giant alien robot during the 1950s got stellar reviews upon release, Warner Bros. didn’t quite know how to sell the film, and it was crushed that summer by the likes of Disney’s Tarzan and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, proving there’s no justice in the world.

Luckily, the movie became a hit on home video, and director Brad Bird went on to great career success with movies like The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Now that most audiences recognizing the film for the true classic it is, Warner Bros. are re-releasing it in theaters for a special two-day engagement. Two new scenes will be added into the film, and there will be a video introduction from Bird. This new version of the movie will be referred to as The Iron Giant: Signature Edition, and these special screenings will be a precursor to a new Blu-ray edition arriving this fall.

The two-day event, which already has tickets up for pre-sale for screenings on Wednesday, September 30th and Sunday, October 4th, is being brought to fans by the good folks at Fathom Events, who bring classic movies, boxing matches, and even the opera to your local movie theaters (not to mention a certain upcoming horror flick called Nerdist Presents: The Hive). 

The Iron Giant is a movie best viewed on a nice, large theater screen. If you’ve never seen it that way (or have never seen it, period), do yourself a favor and catch it while it’s playing on the big screen, especially if you have any young children in your life you can take for the first time. Trust me, they’ll thank you for it.