Brad Bird, director of such animation marvels as The Iron Giant, Ratatouille and The Incredibles, is set to make his live-action debut this fall with the much-anticipated Mission: Impossible sequel, Ghost Protocol. Bird has shown a real talent for crafting complex characters, compelling narratives and jaw-dropping action sequences in the world of computer-generated animation, so many (myself included) are eager to see how his talents will translate to full-blooded actors like Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner. But while Ghost Protocol could prove a launching pad into the world of live-action blockbusters for Bird, many of his admirers still yearn for him to return to his most financially successful venture, The Incredibles.
Back in 2007, Bird told an auditorium packed with superhero-loving fanboys and girls at San Francisco’s WonderCon, “I love the characters and I would love to return to that world.” But there was a catch. “If I can come up with a story that is as good or better than that first film, then I’d love to return to that world, but it would have to be story first.” Bird explained that Pixar values a good story over the potential profits a sequel would generate, which seems a clear reference to DreamWorks, who released the abysmal Shrek the Third that very year. “We [at Pixar] feel we have a relationship with the audience and that they believe in each movie we put out. We believe completely in every movie we put out, ” declared Bird, eliciting cheers from movielovers all over the world (I imagine). [Source: /Film]
Now, four years later, Bird is on the verge of releasing an action movie with a celebrity known for embarrassing behavior, starring one of Hollywood’s most electrifying, new leading men, and featuring mind-boggling stunts. Yet Bird’s Incredibles is so loved that talk still turns to a possible Incredibles sequel. So…is there a sequel in the works yet? Bird told Movies.com:
“I think the reason it hasn’t [happened] yet is because the studio would like me to do it, if there were another Incredibles. And I’ve told them that I’m not really friendly to have someone else take away my child…I would like to think that I have several good ideas that could be incorporated into a next Incredibles, but I don’t have a whole movie yet, and the last thing I want to do is do it just because it would open big, or something like that…I want to do it because I have something that will be as good or better than the original. Toy Story 2 was, to me, a perfect sequel, because it absolutely respected the first film but found new places to go without selling out its characters. So if I could come up with an idea that is to Incredibles that Toy Story 2 is to Toy Story, I would do it in a second.”
Unfortunately, thinking up new plot lines for the super-powered Parr family isn’t really a priority at present. “To say that I’ve had trouble [coming up with a story] is to say that [a sequel] has been my pursuit,” Bird admits “I haven’t really been pursuing that.” So fans of Elastigirl, Mr. Incredible and their kin will have to wait indefinitely for a new adventure. But the good news is that Bird, despite his foray into live-action, does plan to return to animation, saying, “I would love to do another film with Pixar. I love them.” So while there’s no project on the horizon, there’s still hope that Bird, like Bob Parr, will one day return to Edna Mode (who Bird voiced), and look to get back to what he does best.
What would you like to see happen in an Incredibles sequel?