Dean's Story

Is he a junkman who sells art or an artist who sells junk? As the creator of junk sculpture and the owner of McCoppin Scrap in Rockwell, Maine, Dean McCoppin hasn't been able to answer that question himself yet! A coffee addict with a good heart, Dean befriends Hogarth Hughes after the boy's "pet" squirrel decides that Dean's pants would be a good place to hide. Against his better judgement (and after 37 minutes of nagging from Hogarth) Dean agrees to give Hogarth's usual friend, an incredible iron giant, food and shelter in his junkyard. After all, what's a better place for a giant who eats metal? After informing the giant of exactly WHAT kind of scrap he can and can't eat, Dean begins to form a friendship with the incredible giant, who seems to have a knack for arts and crafts.
When the army comes looking for the Giant to destroy him, fearing he is the weapon of an enemy country, Dean helps Hogarth hide his gigantic friend by disguising him as a work of art. He also meets Annie Hughes, Hogarth's mom, when she comes out to his yard with the army, a woman who actually *likes* his artwork!
When the giant later goes berserk and turns into a deadly killing machine, it is Dean who realizes that the giant is not a horrible monster, but rather he only reacts defensivly! He convinces of the general of this and the giant and the town of Rockwell seem to be saved... until agent Kent Mansley orders that the giant be bombed anyhow. To save the town, the giant sacrifices himself.
In memory of the amazing giant, the town's hero and his friend, Dean creates a statue of the metal man which is erected in the town's park. By now, the spark between he and Annie has turned to love and they married, making him Hogarth's stepfather.