Question: Was there another Iron Giant on Saturday morning years ago? I remember when I was younger, in the late '60s or early '70s, there was a cartoon on about a large robot with a young friend who would ride on his shoulder. Is the current Iron Giant born from this cartoon? Do you remember this cartoon? If so, what was the name of it? Thanks for any help. — Robby Gann

Televisionary: Sounds to me like you're thinking of Frankenstein Jr., who filled half of the Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles show on CBS's Saturday morning schedule starting in September, 1966. It was axed in September of '68, but popped up again in reruns from 1976-77.

While similar in appearance — little kid with huge, robotic friend — the two properties have nothing to do with each other. Frank Jr. was a product of the Hanna-Barbera factory (not that I'm trashing their high output, you understand — I grew up with them, too). The Iron Giant is an adaptation of Ted Hughes's The Iron Man, which also spawned an album by Pete Townshend (who gets an executive producer credit on the film).

While we're on the subject, let me throw in a plug for a personal favorite here: To my mind The Iron Giant was the most underrated movie of 1999. Rent or buy it and you won't be sorry, kids or no kids.