Brad Bird

Philip Bradley Bird(born September 24, 1957) is an American filmmaker, animator, and voice actor. He has had a career spanning over four decades in bothanimationandlive-action.
Bird was born inMontanaand grew up inOregon. He developed an interest in the art of animation early on, and completed his first short subject by age 14. Bird sent the film toWalt Disney Productions, leading to an apprenticeship from the studio'sNine Old Men. He attended theCalifornia Institute of the Artsin the late 1970s, and worked for Disney shortly thereafter.
In the 1980s, he worked in film development with various studios; he wrote the screenplay forBatteries Not Included(1987), and developed two episodes ofAmazing StoriesforSteven Spielberg, including its spin-off (based on a segment written by Bird for the show), the widely panned animated sitcomFamily Dog. Afterwards, Bird joinedThe Simpsonsas creative consultant for eight seasons. He directed the traditional animated featureThe Iron Giant(1999), adapted from a book by poetTed Hughes; though critically lauded, it was abox-office bomb. He moved toPixarwhere he wrote and directed two computer-animated films,The Incredibles(2004) andRatatouille(2007) that were worldwide critical and financial smash hits; they earned Bird twoAcademy Awards for Best Animated Feature winsandBest Original Screenplaynominations. He transitioned to live-action filmmaking with similarly successfulMission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol(2011), he then directed Disney'sTomorrowland(2015). He returned to Pixar to developIncredibles 2(2018), which became thesecond-highest-grossing animated film of all time during its theatrical run, and earned him another nomination for the Academy Award.
Bird has a reputation for supervising his projects to a high degree of detail. He advocates for creative freedom and the possibilities of animation, and has criticized itsstereotypeas children's entertainment, or classification as agenre, rather than an art.
Philip Bradley Birdwas born in September 24, 1957, inKalispell, Montana, the youngest of four children to Marjorie A. (née Cross) and Philip Cullen Bird. His father worked in thepropanebusiness, and his grandfather, Francis Wesley "Frank" Bird, who was born inCounty Sligo, Ireland, was a president and chief executive of theMontana Power Company.Bird's fascination with filmmaking began at an early age. He starteddrawingat age three, with his firstcartoonsclear attempts atsequential storytelling. He was particularly enamored with animation after a screening ofThe Jungle Book(1967), and a family friend who had taken animation classes explained how the medium worked. Bird's father found aused camerathat could shoot one frame at a time, and helped him setup the device for making films.He began animating his first short subject at age 11; that same year, his family connection introduced him to composerGeorge Bruns, who set him up a tour ofWalt Disney ProductionsinBurbank, California.Bird met theNine Old Men—the animators responsible for the studio's earliest and most celebrated features—and proclaimed he would join them one day.
Bird has characterized his parents as generous and supportive of his interests. His mother once made a rainy drive two hours each way to the only theater playing a reissue ofSnow White and the Seven Dwarfsfor Bird's education.After two years, Bird had completed his first short, a fifteen-minute adaption ofThe Tortoise and the Hare.On his parents' advice, to "start at the top and work your way down", he sent the film to his idols at Disney. The studio responded with an open invitation for Bird to stop by whenever in town, which led him to make several visits to the studio's California headquarters in the ensuing years.This opportunity—an "unofficial apprenticeship" of sorts—was "never offered" to anyone previously. He worked closely withMilt Kahl, whom he considered a hero. He began another film, titledEcology American Style, which was more ambitious and in color, but the workload was intense. Instead, Bird focused on other interests in hishigh schoolyears, including dating, athletics, andphotography. "Animation is the illusion of life, and you can't create that illusion convincingly if you haven't lived it," he later remarked.The family relocated toCorvallis, Oregonin his youth, and he graduated fromCorvallis High Schoolin 1975.
That year, he was awarded a scholarship by Disney to attend the newly formedCalifornia Institute of the Arts(CalArts) inValencia, California; Bird has joked he was a "retired" animator by the time he received this offer. Instead, he considered attending the acting program atAshland University.After a three-year break, Bird chose CalArts and moved down south.Bird's classmates included prominent future animators such asJohn Lasseter,Tim Burton, andHenry Selick.Like many students, they were dazzled by thespecial effectsinStar Wars(1977); both Lasseter and Bird agreed these feats were possible in animation.First-year students met in the room labeledA113—a small, sterile classroom with no windows.Bird later used A113 as anEaster eggin his films; it has since become a fixture of media made by the school's alumni. The first use of A113 was in the pilot episode for the short-lived television seriesFamily Dog(1993). The pilot episode was a part of the seriesAmazing Stories(1985–1987), which aired February 16, 1987, and was titled "Family Dog". He used it for the license plate number on a van. The first Disney movie he used it in wasThe Brave Little Toaster(1987), for which he was an animator.
Within two years, Bird accepted a job as an animator at Walt Disney Productions. Bird arrived at the studio in the midst of a transition: much of the studio's original creative staff were retiring, leaving the studio to a new generation of artists. What was left of the original staff got along with the newcomers, but Bird clashed with the middlemen in charge. While animating at Disney, he became a part of a small group of animators who worked in a suite of offices inside the original studio called the "Rat's Nest".There, Bird openly criticized the state of the studio, and characterized senior leadership as unwilling to take risk. He felt as though he was standing behind the studio's original principles. This volatile attitude prompted his firing by animation administrator Edward Hansen.He left Disney after only two years; he received credits onThe Small One(1978) andThe Fox and the Hound(1981), and went uncredited onMickey's Christmas Carol(1983) andThe Black Cauldron(1985).
Bird was dispirited with thestate of the American animation industry, and he considered his departure from Disney as the end of his long-held love of the form.Still, he pulled together funds to makeA Portfolio of Projects, ademo reelof potential animated projects, ones he felt the medium was capable of. Bird was hopeful of receiving financial backing from other studios, but ended up frustrated byHollywood's development system: "for every good project I've made, I've got equally good projects that are sitting [un-produced by] various studios," he said in 2018.He relocated to theBay Area, eager to become a part of its burgeoning film scene, which birthed films likeApocalypse NowandThe Black Stallion.He tried for several years to adaptWill Eisner's comic bookThe Spiritto feature animation,but studios declined, unwilling to take a risk given Disney's dominance. He briefly attempted a computer-animated film atLucasfilmwithEdwin Catmull, presaging his later work with Pixar. "He had all these ideas for making animated movies, but he didn't have a technical bone in his body and he didn't have any tolerance that you would need to have at the time to put up with some of the awfulness of the early technology," saidAlvy Ray Smith.Bird's next credit was as an animator on the dark animateddramaThe Plague Dogs(1982); he was also fired by the film's director,Martin Rosen, during its production.
One piece from his test reel,Family Dog, attracted the attention of directorSteven Spielberg.Family Dogcentered on a pet's perspective of his dysfunctional suburban family, and its originalpencil testfeatured designs by Bird's classmate Tim Burton. Bird had hoped to develop the concept into theatrical shorts, like those from thegolden age of American animation, but the market simply no longer existed.Instead, Bird moved back to Los Angeles and joined Spielberg'sAmblin Entertainment,and became involved with his television programAmazing Stories, ananthologyseries which debuted in 1985. He co-wrote thescreenplayfor "The Main Attraction", the show's second episode, withMick Garris. Spielberg enjoyed the script, and invited Bird to pitch other ideas. Bird storyboarded anotherFamily Dogsegment, which was decided to be adapted into an episode ofAmazing Stories. The episode, which aired in 1987, was a ratings success. The experience was exciting for Bird; "Not only was Steven one of my favorite filmmakers, but he was powerful enough to clear space that allowed us creative freedom," he later remarked.Family Dogwas laterspun-offinto its own half-hoursitcom, against Bird's urging and without his involvement, as he felt the idea would not work. He was also perturbed to see Burton's role in designing the characters overshadow his deeper contributions to the concept.
He was later brought on to co-write the screenplay forBatteries Not Included(1987), acomic sci-fifilm that stemmed from anAmazing Storiesoutline. The film opened in fourth place domestically,and was overall abox officehit, generating $65.1 million on its $25 million budget. Bird also helped withCaptain EO, a 3-D short film starringMichael Jacksonviewed atDisney theme parks.These successes brought Bird more opportunity, but he continued to spend many years indevelopment hellwith studios. He grew irritated with notes from middle management: executives he felt "would analyze your work and dictate everything you'd need to do to make it 'more pleasing to an audience'—and in the process would only make stories smaller and more like everything else," he complained.In his personal life, he wed Elizabeth Canney, an editor onBatteries Not Included. In 1989, Bird's sister Susan, with whom he was very close, was killed by her estranged husband in a murder-suicide.The event was traumatic for Bird; he felt emotionally "kind of gone in that period. I don't really have a lot of memories from it."He had enough funds to support himself for a time, so he simply rested: "I just kind of didn't do anything," he confessed.
Bird's cinematic sense of visual storytelling withFamily Dogwas uncommon in television animation to that point, mainly due to budgetary restrictions. Most television productions retained rudimentary cinematography, with frequent abuse of standardclose-ups, medium angles, andestablishing shotsto move the story along. In contrast, Bird favored using more filmic techniques, utilizing extremeangles, longpanningshots,quick camera cuts, pushedperspective, and so on. Bird's work onFamily Dogcaught the eye of producersJames L. BrooksandSam Simon, who withMatt Groeningwere developingThe Simpsons, the firstprime timeanimated sitcom in decades forFox. In 1989, he was invited to joinKlasky Csupo(and laterFilm Roman), where he served as "executive consultant" for the show. The role required Bird oversee the script-to-animation pipeline 2–3 days per week;the first episode produced on which Bird received credit (save for the reworked cut of the pilot episode "Some Enchanted Evening") was "There's No Disgrace Like Home".
Bird worked on the show for its first eight seasons (with his final credited episode being "Treehouse of Horror VIII" (1997), the second episode of season nine to be produced), and directed the episodes "Krusty Gets Busted" (1990) and "Like Father, Like Clown" (1992). He also designed the characterSideshow Bob, who made his speaking debut in the former episode. In his role, Bird pushed the show's artists to visualize episodes as miniature films, taking inspiration from the work ofStanley KubrickandOrson Welles. In the 1990s, he also contributed to other episodic animated sitcoms likeThe Criticand the first season ofKing of the Hill, both of which took cues from this established template. Bird called his work atThe Simpsonsa "golden opportunity," recognizing that the material was more to his sensibility than the work he had done for Disney. On a personal level, the job was deeply fulfilling; he attended weeklyread-throughswhich he found delightful,and he considered the gig the only bright spot in the years following his sister's passing. The show's crew hoped to get Bird to direct its later 2007film adaptation, but he was too busy onRatatouillewhich came out the same year.
Animation had a commercial and creative renaissance in the U.S. during the 1990s, with Hollywood studios eager to capitalize on the success of Disney'sThe Lion King(1994). Bird continued to shop around film ideas to studios throughout the decade,but grew frustrated with his lack of progress in his dream of directing a feature. He was momentarily signed to direct a live-action comedy,Brothers in Crime, atNew Line Cinema, but it did not pan out.In addition, his growing family gave rise to other concerns. "I had anxiety about devoting my energy to work that was meaningful and spending time with my family, which was also meaningful to me. If I did one, would I fail at the other?" he worried.He poured these themes into a screenplay forThe Incredibles, which he pitched to studios beginning in 1992.He also developed an original sci-fi feature titledRay Gunn, with a script co-written byMatthew Robbins. Its futuristic story centered on a private detective in anArt Decoworld of humans andaliens. Bird signed a production deal withTurner Feature Animationin January 1995,but the studio feltRay Gunnwould be too intense for its target demographic of young children.The following year, Turner merged withTime Warner, which contained the last three months of Bird's contract.
Warner executives set up a meeting, and made it clear they had no interest inRay Gunn. Instead, they offered Bird several in-development projects, including amusicalversion of poetTed Hughes' bookThe Iron Man, first envisioned by rockerPete Townshend. Bird read the novel and felt "enchanted" by it; he felt drawn to Hughes' rationale for writing the story, which was to comfort his children after the death of his wife,Sylvia Plath. Bird connected with its themes, relating it to his sister's passing fromgun violence.He significantly revised the entire story to center on a central question: "What if a gun had a soul?" Warner leadership was sold and Bird signed the contract to directThe Iron Giantin December 1996.Bird penned the screenplay withTim McCanlies, which centers on a young boy named Hogarth Hughes, who discovers and befriends a giant alienrobotduring theCold Warin 1957.
He was quickly faced with assembling a team with little time to spare; most big-budget animated films of the era were workshopped for years, whereas Bird only had two. Adding to the pressure was Bird's frequent disagreements with the film's co-producer,Allison Abbate.In a trade-off, the crew received significant creative freedom to make the film they wanted to make, though Bird occasionally fielded suggestions from executives to make the film more merchandisable or kid-friendly. The film scored highly ontest screenings, but Warner neglected to secure prominent promotion for the movie as they were promotingWild Wild Westinstead.The Iron Giantopened in August 1999 to rave reviews from critics, but very low ticket sales; theater owners discarded the picture after only a few weeks. Altogether, the movie grossed $31.3 million worldwide against its $50 million budget, which was considered a significant loss for Warner. Upon its arrival onhome video, the film took on acult following.Bird was disappointed by the failure ofGiant; he visited multiple cineplexes only to view the film in empty auditoriums.Afterwards, he was briefly attached to direct aCurious Georgeadaptation for Universal,but he instead set his sights toward another animation studio:Pixar.
In the late 1990s, Bird reconnected with old friend John Lasseter, who went on to work for Pixar, the computer hardware maker that had recently moved into animation. The company released the first fully computer-animated feature film,Toy Story, in 1995. Bird was stunned by the film, and in 1997, the two began to negotiate Bird joining Pixar.In March 2000, Bird went to Pixar'sEmeryville, California, campus and pitched his ideas, includingThe Incredibles, to Lasseter.The studio announced a multi-film contract with Bird in May of that year,making Bird the first outside voice for the studio, which previously required talent to rise through the ranks. He was excited to return to the Bay Area, where he had lived intermittently two decades prior.He purchased a home inTiburon, across the bay from Pixar's Emeryville headquarters.He grew comforted by the "creative and supportive" atmosphere at Pixar, unlike many of the L.A. studios he had worked for; he convinced a core team to join him up north, including artists Tony Fucile,Teddy Newton, andLou Romano, all of whom had contributed development artwork forThe Incrediblesfor much of the past decade.
Bird's first film,The Incredibles, followsBob(Craig T. Nelson) andHelen Parr(Holly Hunter), a couple ofsuperheroes, known as Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, who hide their powers in accordance with a government mandate, and attempt to live a quiet suburban life with their three children. Bob's desire to help people draws the entire family into a confrontation with a vengeful fan-turned-foe, Syndrome. Bird also provides the voice of costume designerEdna Mode. As an inside joke, the character Syndrome was based on Bird's likeness (as was Mr. Incredible) and according to him, he did not realize the joke until the movie was too far into production to have it changed.The animation team was tasked with creating computer animation's first all-human cast, which required creating new technology to animate detailed human anatomy, clothing, and realistic skin and hair.Michael Giacchinocomposed thefilm's orchestral score, marking the first in a series of collaboration between the two men.The Incredibleswas Bird's first global critical and box-office smash, grossing $631.4 million, making it thefourth-highest-grossing film of 2004. Bird won his firstAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature, and his screenplay was nominated forBest Original Screenplay.It was the first animated film to win the prestigiousHugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.
Bird's next project wasRatatouille(2007), which follows aratnamed Remy, who dreams of becoming achefand tries to achieve his goal by forming an alliance with a Parisian restaurant's garbage boy. The film was developed byJan Pinkava, who worked on the concept for many years. By the time the project was slated to enter the animation process, Pixar leadership became concerned it was not ready. Bird was hired on in July 2005 to assess the mistakes and turn the project around in a short time.He disliked having to take over Pinkva's passion project: "It was a rough position to be in because I always come down on the side of the creator," he later said.However, he was also in position with Pixar as a member of their "brain trust"—a group of individuals who critique and help each other—so he felt the role came naturally. When Bird took over, much of the design work had been completed, but Bird wrote an entirely new script that eschewed much of its original dialogue.Giacchino returned to compose the Paris-inspired music for the film. Upon release,Ratatouillewas another huge hit for Pixar; the film grossed $623.7 million and earned critical acclaim. It won theBest Animated Featureaward at the 2008Golden Globes; it was also nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Animated Feature, which it won.
Midway through the aughts, Bird was attached to direct an adaption ofJames Dalessandro's novel,1906,which chronicles thetumultuous earthquakethat struckSan Franciscoa century prior. Due to the size and scale of such a project, three studios were to finance its making—Pixar, Disney, and Warner Bros.—but the project stalled. He paused when Pixar management asked he take overRatatouille, and returned afterward. He attempted to re-write1906to work within the confines of a feature's length, but struggled. Instead, Bird helmedMission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, an installment of theactionspy seriesMission: Impossible, starringTom Cruise.
Bird's foray into live-action filmmaking after a major career in animation had little precedent, according to critics.Cruise had been impressed by the style and storytelling ofIncredibles, and urged Bird to contact him should he venture into the live-action sphere. The idea of combining the commercial aspects of a franchise—this was the thirdMissionsequel—and more artistic tones challenged Bird, who signed on to direct in May 2010.In the picture, Cruise reprises his role ofImpossible Missions ForceagentEthan Hunt, who with his team race against time to find anuclear extremistwho gains access to Russian nuclear launch codes.Ghost Protocolwas shot on location partially inDubai, and includes a memorable scene when Cruise scales the newly erectedBurj Khalifa. Upon release in December 2011, it became the highest-grossing film in the series up to that point, with $694 million worldwide.It was thefifth-highest-grossing film of 2011as well as the second-highest-grossing film starring Cruise.
Though he was asked to directStar Wars: The Force Awakens, Bird turned down the opportunity to focus on his new project: the sci-fi filmTomorrowland,named for thefuturistic themed landfound atDisney theme parks.Bird co-wrote the screenplay withDamon Lindelof. In the film, a disillusioned genius inventor (George Clooney) and a teenage science enthusiast (Britt Robertson) embark to an intriguingalternate dimensionknown as "Tomorrowland," where their actions directly affect their own world. The film ended up being a box-office bomb, losing Disney $120–150 million, and attracting a mixed critical response.
Over the years, Bird mentioned the possibility of anIncrediblessequel in interviews. An official sequel was announced in 2014. Bird began writing its screenplay in earnest the next year; he attempted to distinguish the script from the breadth of superhero-related content released since the first film, focusing on the family dynamic rather than the superhero genre. The story follows the Incredibles as they try to restore the public's trust in superheroes while balancing their family life, only to combat a new foe who seeks to turn the populace against all superheroes. Though scheduled for release on June 21, 2019, the film was completed on an accelerated production schedule, as it was farther ahead in production thanToy Story 4, which required more development and was later released on that day; the two simply swapped years, withIncredibles 2debuting in theaters on June 15, 2018.Giacchino returned to compose the score.
Incredibles 2made $182.7 million in its opening weekend, setting the record forbest debut for an animated film, and grossed over $1.2 billion worldwide, making it thesecond-highest-grossing animated filmat the time, the highest-grossing Pixar film, and thefourth-highest-grossing film of the year.Incredibles 2was named by theNational Board of Reviewas theBest Animated Filmof 2018. The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the76th Golden Globe Awardsand91st Academy Awards, but lost both awards toSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Bird has expressed interest in developing an animatedWesternorhorror film.However, Bird returned to revive his long-dormant projectRay GunnatWarner Bros. Feature Animationbefore he was approached by John Lasseter to produce it forSkydance. In 2022, it was announced that Bird had signed a deal with Skydance the previous year and reassembled frequent collaborators Michael Giacchino, Teddy Newton, Tony Fucile,Darren T. Holmes, andJeffrey Lynchfor the film.According toThe Hollywood Reporter, the presumptive production costs were estimated to be $150 million. This resulted in Skydance leaving its distributor deal withApple TV+, in which they later partnered withNetflix.
In August 2024, at theD23 Expo, Pixar chief creative officerPete DocterannouncedIncredibles 3was in development, with Bird returning.Following the announcement of Pixar’sIncredibles 3, one news outlet reported that Bird’sRay Gunnfor Skydance Animation was still being made as well and expected for release in 2026, though there has not been any official confirmation from the studio as of the time of said publishing.
Bird says he was influenced by dozens of filmmakers, singling out early moviemakersBuster Keaton,Charlie Chaplin, andHarold Lloyd, to mid-twentieth century auteurs likeDavid Lean,Alfred Hitchcock,Walt Disney, andAkira Kurosawa. More contemporary directors likeSteven Spielberg,Francis Ford Coppola,George Lucas,Hayao Miyazaki,and theCoen brothershave inspired Bird as well.His passion for the medium was evident even in his college years; friend John Lasseter remembered, "Brad would hang out all night talking aboutScorseseand Coppola and how he could do what they did in animation."Bird himself has observed that his career was "very long, very delayed and full of disappointment," mainly because he aspired to "lofty" self-set expectations.
He has been characterized as controlling with an exquisite attention to detail.His "demanding, often punishing"direction has prompted some to consider him difficult to work with.Bird is outspoken about the potential of the art of animation, and has asked the public not refer to his films as cartoons.In theaudio commentaryfor the home release ofThe Incredibles, Bird joked he would fight the next person to refer to animated movies as a "genre", as opposed to an art form.
He has also taken exception to the classification of modern animated fare as solely for children or families;suggesting it discriminatory and belittling.He has expressed a love for hand-drawn animation and lamented its current absence from the industry.
Some critics have suggested that Bird's films reflect novelistAyn Rand'sObjectivismphilosophy, which Bird has vehemently denied, saying that, "Me being the Ayn Rand guy is a lazy piece of criticism."CriticA.O. Scottoriginally advanced the idea that the Incredibles suggested a "feverish immersion" in "the philosophy of Ayn Rand," as the film's hero, Bob Parr, complains of society's "celebration of mediocrity," though Scott also noted the film's climax, in which Bob and his family learn to better serve society with their talents, would repudiate this idea.Some critics later pointed to Tomorrowland, in which a group of geniuses form a society sequestered from the rest of the world, as reminiscent ofAtlas Shruggedand its Galt Gulch enclave.David Sims atthe Atlantichas suggested Bird's films are instead "stories about the frustrations of unbridled creativity [...] In each film, there's an indelible recurring image: the frustrated genius, locked away in a dusty closet, obsessing over the talents he has to hide."
Bird and his wife Elizabeth (m. 1988) have three sons: Nicholas, who voiced Squirt in the Pixar filmFinding Nemoand Rusty the bike boy inThe Incredibles; Michael, who voiced Tony Rydinger inThe Incrediblesand itssequel;and Jack. Bird maintains properties in Tiburon, California, andLos Feliz, California.
Uncredited brain trust
Other credits
Voice role
Critical response to films Bird has directed:
Brad Bird has cast certain actors and crew members in more than one of the films he has directed.
In addition to hisAcademy Award,BAFTA AwardandSaturn Awardwins, Bird holds the record of the most animationAnnie Awardwins with eight, winning bothBest DirectingandBest Writingfor each ofThe Iron Giant,The IncrediblesandRatatouille, as well asBest Voice ActingforThe Incredibles. His eighth Annie was the 2011Winsor McCay Awardfor lifetime contribution to animation.