THE INCREDIBLES 2: Brad Bird Talks Superheroes and Development
The Incredibles is Pixar Studios' only superhero film and came it out back in 2004. Now superhero films are peppered across the year. 2016 and 2017 have about seven movies each for a total of 14 over a two year span.
Director Brad Bird recently said that he's already been writing the script for The Incredibles sequel. Bird spoke to the UK magazine Little White Lies about adding his own touch to what seems like an increasingly crowed genre:
"Well, I worry if you comment too much on other movies then you might just be coasting off their good will. There was a very lazy trend in comedy where somebody would start singing the theme song from The Flintstones and you're supposed to dig on it just because you recognize it. So I don't like that."
I wonder who that's a dig at? Bird continues:
"I think that movies ought to work in and of themselves. However… I would say that the superhero movie turf right now is very trodden over — it's kind of like a field that's had too many games on it, and it's just dried up dirt at this point."
This makes me wonder if The Incredibles 2 is about a world with too many superheroes. It would be an interesting commentary on the genre.
The biggest reason that these comic-book adaptations are doing so well is because visual effects are so insanely good. There seems to be nearly no limitations if you've got a big enough budget. But effects is never what made The Incredibles special. Bird on characters:
"I think that the greatest special effect is caring about a character. A lot of movies seem to forget that, and they bring out a lot of fireballs and then wonder why the fireballs don't have that much impact, no matter how loud and how big they are. But the truth is that the fireball isn't that exciting unless you care about the person running from it."
The most recent crop of superhero films are much better than the previous generations. I don't think I've yet seen things turn cartoonish. Bird on developing The Incredibles 2:
"It can be fun, and certainly I had a blast getting to do the action sequences in The Incredibles, but that's the dessert. Every movie is kind of a risk, and you're thrown into a new pool and you haven't learned how to swim in it yet, so I'm going to bumble along and make the same mistakes that I usually do and hopefully spot them and correct them. I really love those characters and that aspect of getting to be with them again is exciting to me."
We've waited over a decade for news that a sequel was even in the works and now that it's coming, I'm even more intrigued by the story it might tell.