TSPDT

Key Production Country: USA
Key Genres: Action-Adventure, Animation, Fantasy, Family, Comedy, Computer Animation, Superhero Film, Urban Adventure, Drama, Buddy Comedy
Key Collaborators: Michael Giacchino (Composer), John Walker (Producer), Darren T. Holmes (Editor), Stephen Schaffer (Editor), Craig T. Nelson (Voice), Holly Hunter (Voice), Sarah Vowell (Voice), Samuel L. Jackson (Voice), Lou Romano (Voice), Peter Sohn (Voice)

"In the world of contemporary animation, Brad Bird is both a radical and a traditionalist… He was mentored in his early teens by legendary Disney animator Milt Kahl (one of the company's fabled Nine Old Men). He went on to hone his craft art the California Institute of the Arts, where he studied alongside future mavericks Tim Burton and Pixar's John Lasseter." - Christopher Smets (Contemporary North American Film Directors, 2002)

"Animation directors rarely accrue status as major filmmakers in America, but Brad Bird is in a class of his own. An art-school colleague of Tim Burton who went on to become a key creative force in shaping The Simpsons, Bird is a pivotal figure in exploring the American dream through the vernacular of popular culture. From the way Cold War anxieties play off the imagination of a young boy in The Iron Giant to the brilliant injection of the nuclear-family dynamics into superhero tropes with The Incredibles, Bird combines crackling, otherworldly storytelling with intelligent sociopolitical investigation." - Eric Kohn (IndieWire, 2018)

"Bird's prickly philosophy is part of what makes his work so distinctive. Pixar's other creative forces–John Lasseter, etc.–have strong sensibilities too, though they're mainly preoccupied with the limitations of nostalgia and the bonds of family. There aren't that many filmmakers–let along those working primarily in animation–willing to advance a worldview that doesn't make people feel all gooey inside. (Tellingly, plenty of cartoonists are just that singularly sour, bordering on misanthropic. Bird seems to have more in common with iconoclasts like R. Crumb and Steve Ditko than with gushy Disney humanism.)" - Noel Murray (A.V. Club, 2007)

"Sustaining a rare balance between critical accolades and commercial success, Bird has written and directed successive animated hits, including Disney/Pixar's 2007 feature Ratatouille (for which he also received an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, Original Screenplay) and Disney/Pixar's 2004 feature The Incredibles (for which he won his first Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, as well as a nomination for Best Writing, Original Screenplay)." - Writers Guild Awards, 2008

"Despite his relatively short filmography, Brad Bird is one of the most influential directors working today. Bird brought a new level of respect to the art of animation. He had been a prominent staffer on game-changing animated shows from the 1990s, including The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and The Critic… Bird made his feature film debut with The Iron Giant in 1999. Even though the film bombed at the box office, it showed that Bird was capable of telling feature-length stories. The heartwarming adventure also allowed Bird to reconnect with his longtime friend, John Lasseter. Lasseter was stunned by Bird's accomplishment, and invited him to join his company Pixar." - Liam Gaughan (Slash Film (2022)

"I think that the greatest special effect is caring about a character. A lot of movies seem to forget that, and they bring out a lot of fireballs and then wonder why the fireballs don’t have that much impact, no matter how loud and how big they are. But the truth is that the fireball isn’t that exciting unless you care about the person running from it." - Brad Bird (Little White Lies, 2015)