‘Iron Boy’ Trailer: Beloved Animated Feature Oscar Contender Throws a Whole Watercolor World Out of Whack

Maybe you’re the kind of person who thinks about the first 10 minutes of “Up” from time to time, and wishes there was a film out there that would emotionally break you like that again. Maybe you long for less-processed-looking Minionesque animation and more painterly, natural worlds that find as much beauty in negative space as in color. Maybe it’s been a minute since “Flow,” and you would like a protagonist to hang out with another very good animated dog. If your answer to any of the above is “yes,” then IndieWire has good news for you. The Annecy and Cannes Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize-winning film “Iron Boy” is coming to U.S. theaters for a one-week awards-qualifying run in December, then launching in select cities on January 22, 2027. Writer/director Louis Clichy is a veteran of Pixar’s most undefeated run of films, including “Wall-E” and “Up,” as well as two fantastical “Asterix” adventures in France. With “Iron Boy,” he shows how big a seemingly small story can feel. Young farmboy Christophe starts tilting his head unintentionally, which eventually leads to a scoliosis diagnosis and an iron corset he has to wear everywhere. But, of course, his spine is far from the only thing out of alignment in Christophe’s life — straightening those emotions and ambitions out, discovering who he wants to be, is the real journey. But it’s one that occasionally turns its entire watercolor world sideways like the most beautiful magical realist snowglobe you’ve ever seen. It’s one that, as Rafael Motomayor said in IndieWire’s review, “makes ‘Iron Boy’ stand out even amongst European animated films. The film employs mostly non-professional voice actors, including Clinchy’s own son (who plays Christophe), and the director would often record the lines on location, to give the performances a less constructed sound than if they were done in the clear confines of a studio. It makes the story feel quasi-documentary in its approach, an intimate and deeply personal story of a boy searching for more than what life has offered him, restrained by a physical affliction that nevertheless allows him to live an extraordinary life.” Watch the full trailer for “Iron Boy,” an IndieWire exclusive, below.