John Lasseter & Brad Bird Reunite For Ray Gunn : MStarsNews

(Photo : Skydance Animation – run by John Lasseter)

It's not often that two visionary storytellers reunite under different circumstances, but that's precisely what happened with Brad Bird and John Lasseter for their upcoming animated film Ray Gunn. Lasseter and Bird had worked together before under the umbrella of Pixar, and Skydance came forward as a new opportunity to house Ray Gunn. This film has been a dream of Brad Bird's since the mid-1990s, ever since he was asked to take on the monumental task of directing the cult classic animated film The Iron Giant. So, when the rights to the film were acquired by Skydance Animation - run by John Lasseter of Toy Story Fame, it was no surprise, as the two had a work history together.

But now that Ray Gunn finally has a home in Skydance Animation, animation fans are excited about the potential. Not only for the film but for the future of Brad Bird, John Lasseter, and animated features altogether.

About Brad Bird

From the stories he's directed and written, it's hard to tell that he grew up in some of the most remote places in the United States. From the streets of Paris in Ratatouille to the rooftops of Brooklyn in Batteries Not Included, Bird's films have been about finding whimsy in urban landscapes. It's not until you look at films like The Iron Giant that you can see the influence of Bird's upbringing on his films. He was born in Kalispell, Montana - just a few miles from the gateway to world-famous Glacier National Park and a still rural area to this day. From there, his family moved to Oregon.

During middle school, Brad Bird began to focus his interests on animation and filmmaking, writing, directing, and animating his own scripts. He sent one of these scripts to Walt Disney Studios and piqued their attention. As a young teen, the script he sent earned him an internship at Walt Disney Studios. He was able to get his foot in the door at Disney, where Bird and Skydance Animation's John Lasseter first worked with one another.

John Lasseter & Skydance Animation

John Lasseter, himself, has a storied history with Disney and Pixar. He started animation at a young age, often drawing the comics for the church he attended with his mother. His mom encouraged his foray into animation. When he saw the processes behind animating Disney's Sleeping Beauty and later watched The Sword In The Stone, he knew he wanted to animate for Walt Disney Studios. John Lasseter went on to study animation in college and even studied under Walt Disney's Nine Old Men, where he first met Brad Bird.

After his graduation, he obtained a place as an animator on Walt Disney staff, working on classic films such as The Fox & The Hound, The Black Cauldron, and more. Brad Bird also worked as an animator with John Lasseter on The Fox & The Hound and The Black Cauldron. Lasseter consulted on U.S. versions of classic Hiyao Miyazaki films like Castle In The Sky and Porco Rosso. However, when he first saw the effects in Tron, he realized that he wanted to work with computer animation. He moved from Disney to Lucasfilm, then went to Pixar later on.

At Pixar, John Lasseter worked on some of the highest-grossing animated films of all time - including classics like Toy Story and Frozen. During his time at Pixar, he reconnected with former classmate and visionary storyteller Brad Bird on films like Ratatouille and The Incredibles. The movies they worked on together were blockbusters, so it's no wonder that after Lasseter joined Skydance Animation, they would rejoin on Ray Gunn. Of the partnership, Lasseter writes,

"[We] are thrilled to partner with Brad to finally bring his vision of Ray Gunn to the screen. From its immersive world to its rich characters, we can't wait to explore this story and create a one-of-a-kind animated experience for audiences worldwide."

Ray Gunn & The History Of Animated Futurism

Ray Gunn is a labor of love that has been on the docket for Brad Bird for a while. Perhaps out of a sense of protection for his vision, Brad Bird hasn't said much about the movie's plot. However, back in 1990, he set up a very clear vision of Ray Gunn during an interview:

"I wanted to do a detective story set in the future, but I wanted that future to be seen from the same time period during which the detective story was at its peak - the thirties, generally speaking - before World War II and the atomic bomb made the world a smaller place, and the future less than rosy.

This is an ART DECO future where everything is streamlined within an inch of its life, where cities are gargantuan jewels that stretch into the heavens, where flying cars stream through the sky, where creatures from other planets have joined the melting pot, and holograms are only in black and white.

At the same time, I wanted to combine two disparate worlds from the same period: the squeaky clean look of Buck Rogers and the contemporary, gritty, been-around characters from pulp novels."

It's clear from movies like The Incredibles, Batteries Not Included, The Iron Giant, and Wall-E that sci-fi futurism is important to Bird. But, in the context of filmmaking in the greater sense, it also provides a potential for animated story plots and aesthetics that have not been explored much in the modern animation world, which often caters to fantasy plots.

What We Know About Ray Gunn Now

Brad Bird is staying somewhat mum when spilling Ray Gunn's secrets. The general plot of the movie, the characters, and casting choices are still unclear. What is clear, though, is Bird's vision for the movie. This sort of vision has guided so many animators before him and will likely continue to guide the work of future animators.

If the name of the story can tell the reader anything, it's that it has a sci-fi vibe to it. It's hard to think of Buck Rogers without thinking about the shiny, steampunk ray gun that always accompanied him. An obvious nod to Buck Rodgers, Brad Bird made it clear that that sort of pre-world war II-era science fiction aesthetic would be accompanying the movie, as it was part of what influenced him to write the story.

And while viewers eagerly await Ray Gunn and its potential, it's not likely to disappoint. Lasseter and Bird have a history of creating blockbuster films when they pair. Says Bird of his partnerships under Lasseter,

"[I've] had some of my best filmmaking experiences with Skydance and Pixar. So it's wonderful to be working with David, John, and Dana again under one roof on Ray Gunn, a film I've wanted to make for a long time. We all love movies and are crazy excited to create something new, thrilling, and intensely cinematic."

What's important to point out is that all of the movies the two have worked on have been groundbreaking - stories that seemingly came out of nowhere yet relatable enough to touch most viewers. A rat who wants to be a chef. A family of superheroes just trying to get by. Those loveable toys that come to life when no one is looking. And now, whatever Ray Gunn has in store. Perhaps it's better off left as a surprise!