Biography of popular film director Brad Bird

Brad Bird is the most famous animator from the USA, scriptwriter and director, creator of many animated masterpieces. His cartoons have received a huge number of top awards in the field of cinema and they are rightly considered classics of the genre.

Brad Bird was born in the small American town of Kalispell in Montana on the first day of autumn in 1957. When the boy was 11 years old, he visited the famous Disney studio on one of the tours, after which he wanted to join its staff. Three years later, Brad is making a cartoon on his own and comes to the studio wanting to be trained. He falls under the wing of one of the best masters of Disney Milt Kahl. A little later, the studio finances Brad's studies at the Art Institute of California, which was founded by Walt Disney himself, so that there could get an education for people who want to do cartoons. There Bird managed to meet John Lasseter - the future founder of the studio "Pixar".

Start of a career

Bird's debut feature film was Animal Olympics, an animated film that appeared on screens back in 1980. After that, he worked on a cartoon for all the members of the family "The Fox and the Dog.". Another 5 years later, Brad made an appearance as an animator for a fantasy animated cartoon "Black Cauldron."based on the novel of the same name by Lloyd Alexander. The film reflected a dark and mystical atmosphere, in contrast to previous projects Disney. As a result, it was the first film in the studio's history to receive a PG rating. The production costs were much higher than the final profit from the film, which had a negative impact on the studio's financial position.

Opinions of critics were divided: most praised the film for the quality animation and effects, but there were also those who noted that the similarity with the literary source was clearly lacking. In 1987, Brad made his debut as a screenwriter. The director of the sci-fi film "Batteries Not Attached" was Matthew Robbins, but the script was to write just Bird. Pictures about aliens have never left the viewer indifferent at all times, because it was a success, which was embodied in the award "Saturn".

Directed works

After graduating from the institute, Brad, after working for some time at the Disney studio, decides to go on a solo voyage. It is clear that immediately success to the young animator did not accompany. The first fame came to the director after the appearance on the screens in 1999 animated film "Steel Giant". However, viewers did not receive the work very favourably despite the fact that it was produced by Warner Brothers.

After that, Bird decided to take a short break in his career for 5 years, but when he returned to the director's chair, he started working on the project "Superfamily". It is worth noting that the author of the script was Brad himself. The project about the adventures of a family of superheroes came to the taste of not only children, but also their parents. "Superfamily" received recognition in the form of two "Oscar" awards.

Since then, almost every film from Brad Bird has been successful. Most notably, in 2007, he became both writer and director of the animated film Ratatouille.. The adventures of a rat with culinary talents charmed the audience and film critics, who called the cartoon "Almost a top work of animation art". In 2011, Bird decided to try his hand at a new genre. There was a proposal to direct the action film "Mission Impossible: Phantom Protocol", and Brad did not refuse. It was very tempting to work with such star actors as Paula Patton, Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg.

Television work

Brad Bird has been involved in the creation of numerous television series. As early as 1985, he started working as a writer and producer on "Amazing Stories." and continued to be on the project until the very last episode until 1987. In 1993, Brad wrote the script and worked on the animation for the animated series "Pet dog.". Also, he even voiced the doggie in the first episode.

Beginning in 1989, and for the next 9 years, Bird served as an executive consultant on the acclaimed animated film "The Simpsons."and he had a hand in directing a couple of episodes. This series is so loved in the States and around the world that new episodes appear constantly, but Brad has nothing to do with them. In addition, Brad Bird happily participates in the voice of the characters of his own animated works. So, in "Ratatouille" his voice broadcast the butler, and in the "The Incredibles." it was already the designer Edna Mode, not without eccentricities. Years later in "The Incredibles 2." to return to voicing this character.

Personal life and interesting facts about the director

In 1988, Brad Bird took Elizabeth Canney as his wife. The couple had three children. First, the eldest of the sons Nicholas joined the film industry when he voiced in the animated film "Finding Nemo." one of the characters. Then came the turn of the younger son Nicholas, who paired with his brother to perform the voice of the children in the same "Superfamily".

A number of interesting facts can be found in the biography of Brad Bird. Here are some of them:

- In 2007, he was 23rd in the rankings "The 50 Smartest People" EW in Hollywood.
- Bird considers animation an art form, not a genre like most.
- There were two candidates to voice the eccentric designer in The Incredibles. Bird was the first to try out his voice. The second one was supposed to be Lily TomlinBut when I heard the first option, I decided not to even try, saying that I couldn't make it any more perfect.

- Brad is in constant collaboration with John Lasseter, the co-founder of Pixar.
- The director's favourite character on The Simpsons is Krusty the Clown.
- Some of the experts and admirers consider Brad Bird so talented that they call him a by the Walt Disney of our time.
- The creation of the character Bob Sideshow for "The Simpsons" was done.
- Brad Bird's production company. "A 113 Productions" was named after a class at CalArts.