Brad Bird has nurtured the vision for his neo-noir project, Ray Gunn, since long before his 1999 animated debut, The Iron Giant. After a nearly three-decade journey, the film—described by Bird as a stylistic fusion of The Maltese Falcon and Buck Rogers—is finally set to arrive on Netflix this December 18.
“This is a film I’ve been desperate to see, and that conviction never wavered, regardless of how many people questioned who the target audience was,” Bird remarked during an interview at the Annecy Festival. “It’s for anyone who appreciates great cinema, period.”
Bird is campaigning for a theatrical run, hoping to offer audiences the grand-scale experience his film deserves. Netflix has previously facilitated limited theatrical engagements for major projects like KPop Demon Hunters and the epic finale of Stranger Things.
Image: Netflix“I am currently in talks, though I can’t say if they’re taking the request to heart,” Bird admitted with a chuckle. “I am incredibly grateful the movie exists at all, and that’s thanks to Netflix taking a chance on the concept and providing such robust support. That said, it’s no secret that I am a staunch advocate for the theatrical experience. As a member of Cinema United, I firmly believe the cinema is the definitive venue for a first viewing.”
If Netflix declines, Bird jokes that viewers should take matters into their own hands. “I suggest finding the largest screen possible—even if it’s just your neighbor’s living room,” he says. “Go ahead, walk right in, and tell them, ‘We’re watching this here because it deserves to be seen on a proper scale.’”
While Bird is lauded for directing Academy Award-winning Pixar classics such as Ratatouille and The Incredibles, he never felt compelled to pitch his passion project to the studio.
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“It simply wasn’t a Pixar-style film, and that’s not a critique of the studio,” Bird explains. “I wanted this project to possess a distinct identity, one with an edge that I wasn’t certain would resonate with their sensibilities.”
Beyond his concerns regarding the darker themes of a noir narrative, Bird was determined to utilize an animation aesthetic that differed from the Pixar model.
“I envisioned this as a hand-drawn piece, a medium I deeply love, even if others are quick to tell me it’s a dying art,” Bird notes. “I view hand-drawn animation as being as contemporary as you choose to make it. It all depends on the story you’re telling and your approach to the craft. It remains a magnificent medium.”
Fortunately, the neo-noir genre has only flourished since Bird’s initial pitch, gaining massive cultural traction through works like Altered Carbon, The Expanse, and Blade Runner 2049.
“There are themes that are truly timeless,” Bird concludes. “The toxicity of greed and the dual nature of technology will always be relevant. Those motifs never go out of style.”
Source: Polygon
