- published: 31 Mar 2016
- views: 5933
Phillip Bradley "Brad" Bird (born September 24, 1957) is a critically acclaimed American director, screenwriter, animator, voice actor and producer. He is best known for having written and directed Warner Bros.' The Iron Giant (1999), and Pixar's The Incredibles (2004) and Ratatouille (2007). He made his live-action film directing debut with Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011).
All of Bird's films have received universal acclaim (or in the case of The Iron Giant, grown in popularity with time). On Rotten Tomatoes, his four films average a 95.75% rating, making him one of the most acclaimed living filmmakers, animated or otherwise.
Bird was born in Kalispell, Montana, the youngest of four children of Marjorie A. (née Cross) and Philip Cullen Bird. His father worked in the propane business, and his grandfather, Francis Wesley "Frank" Bird, who was born in Sligo, Ireland, was a president and chief executive of the Montana Power Company. On a tour of the Walt Disney Studios at age 11, he announced that someday he would become part of its animation team, and soon afterward began work on his own 15-minute animated short. Within two years, Bird had completed his animation, which impressed the cartoon company. By age 14, barely in high school, Bird was mentored by the animator Milt Kahl, one of Disney’s legendary Nine Old Men. Bird recalls Kahl's criticisms as ideal: Kahl would point out shortcomings by gently delivering thoughts on where Bird could improve. After graduating from Corvallis High School in Corvallis, Oregon in 1975, Bird took a three-year break. He was then awarded a scholarship by Disney to attend California Institute of the Arts, where he met and befriended another future animator, Pixar co-founder and director John Lasseter.
this place is hell to me
with the devil in my bed
and the devil in this bottle
and the devil in my head
I'll meet you in heaven again
if you wear that dress again
(I'll have one more drink, my friend)
where my heart is kept on ice
and prayers burst into flames