Incredible life of Brad Bird

Making his first animated feature when he was just 14, he went on to work on The Simpsons, before moving to the big screen with the highly-acclaimed The Iron Giant in 1999.

Brad both wrote and directed The Incredibles, which has smashed box office records in the US, and which industry gossip suggests will go on to be only the second animated feature of all-time to be nominated in the Best Picture category at the Academy Awards.

A captivating film about a family of super-heroes who have special powers, Bird joined forces on the Pixar Studios film with his close friend John Lasseter, the Oscar-winning film-maker behind Disney and Pixar's hits Toy Story, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo, as well as voicing a character himself, Edna Mode.

Q: How did you first come up with the idea for this film?

A: I had the notion for a superhero film at a time when I was trying to get movies off the ground and was having a hard time in my career. At the same time I had a new family and I was worried that if I spent the time necessary to break through, I would be sacrificing being with my family. And I felt that if I spent the time necessary to be a great dad, I would never make it in the movies.

It's a dilemma facing lots of families. So I think that theme ended up unconsciously creeping into this story. Mr Incredible deals with those issues.

Q: How did you make this superhero story different - there've been so many?

A: Well, there is some sense of familiarity with The Incredibles because it's the kind of movie that has elements of action and superheroes and spies, but I don't think it's specifically about any single one of them.

I think it all comes back to character, that's the most important thing. I didn't sit there and think what the coolest powers would be for my characters.

My goal was to try to comment on family archetypes. The dad is always expected to be strong, that's what they always tell you: "You gotta be strong for your family's sake". So I made Mr Incredible strong - that was his superpower.

Moms are always pulled in a thousand directions, so I had Elastigirl stretch.

Teenagers in general, but girls in particular, are unsure and insecure about themselves and they're defensive and shy, so I had Violet be invisible and have defensive shields.

Ten-year-old boys are hyperactive energy balls so I gave Dash super rocket speed.

Q: What is the secret to Pixar's success?

A: People often wonder if there's a secret sauce to make this happen and there really isn't any secret. These are all director-driven films and they're original. We're not aiming them at anyone else, we want to see them.

Sometimes movies are made for other people, and I think it's patronising to say "Oh, we made this movie for someone else, because I wouldn't be caught dead watching it. They'll like it though". Good movies never come out of that attitude.

Q: What was it like working with computer-generated (CG) animation rather than traditional animation?

A: It is fun working with CG rather than hand-drawn animation because you have more mobility and can do camera moves that are more like the live action films I love.

Some people said to me "You're selling out to CG" and I said "I'm going to Pixar because they care about their films and protect their stories".

But one of the things I learned on The Incredibles is that it is far easier to blow up a planet in CG animation than to have a character just grab someone's shirt!

Q: Why did you give the film a distinctive '60s look?

A: I think there's a lot of neat design from that period and it just felt right to me. I think in the '60s there was a certain amount of optimism about the future in technology. Everyone thought "In 20 years we're all going to have jet packs" and I think in this film I wanted to return to that time when we all thought that by now we'd be jetting around. I thought it was cool.

Q: Most animated films have big stars voicing the characters. Why didn't you do that in this film? There aren't any real star names other than Holly Hunter as Elastigirl and Samuel L Jackson as another superhero, Frozone.

A: I don't think people go to animated films to listen to celebrities. I think having celebrities may make some directors feel a little more secure, because they can send them to talk shows to promote the film.

And I think sometimes big stars are perfect for the roles. Tom Hanks is perfect as Woody in Toy Story.

A famous example of someone doing a really successful animated character is Robin Williams as the genie in Aladdin.

But a lot of people don't remember that the same year he also did the voice of a bat in Ferngully and it didn't do a thing.

People go to see a film because they're interested in the story. I don't think the success of the Shrek films is because of the voices, I think it's because people love the comedy that's in the movies.

I wouldn't hesitate to go after a big star if I felt that he or she was right for the role, but that, for me, is the criteria. It's nothing to do with whether they're really famous or not.

Q: This film is darker than a lot of children's films, dealing with a depressed man who has a lot of concerns - at least at the start. Why did you begin the film like that?

A: I felt that kids were really looking for a little mid-life crisis. No, I'm kidding. I don't know. I think animation is an art form that can do any genre. I think if you wanted to, you could make a great animated movie about divorce or what it's like to grow old or any subject that would make a good story.

Some of the first scenes show Mr Incredible where he's fat and unhappy and fighting with his wife and miserable. At first, some people at Pixar were a little concerned that I was making an animated Bergman movie or something and I kept saying "No - there's more, just wait, he doesn't stay depressed".

But I think the bottom line is, if you're going to do a movie that has action in it, the most effective way is to have people care about the characters.

I like jeopardy in a movie, fairytales used to be dark as heck. Nobody cared, everybody liked that. Bambi was sad you know!

There's a tendency by some well-meaning - but, I think, silly - people to insist that every bit of conflict has to have bubble wrap around it. But the fun of storytelling is taking people to a place where they can feel exhilarated or happy or sad.

A lot of people cite Bambi as the most traumatic movie they saw as a kid because it suggested it might be possible for a mum to die. But I wouldn't change a frame of it. I think it was a great film for kids to see because the message is that life goes on.

Q: Will The Incredibles become a comic book?

A: We are doing a comic book of this but I would start to feel angry if I felt that the characters were doing something I wouldn't want them to do. Sometimes other people start writing for your characters and it's as disturbing to me as to have someone write lines for your dad.

You know what I mean? Can you imagine? It would be like someone writing "I like to play golf in the rain". But you know that dad doesn't like golf at all, he likes bowling. He wouldn't do that.

"That's what it's like for me, so I would want to keep it true to the movie."