Ready to solve a mystery?
Brad Bird’s “Ray Gunn,” a passion project whose development predates work on his modern classics “The Iron Giant” and “Ratatouille,” debuts in select theaters (including 70mm locations) on Dec. 4 before landing on Netflix on Dec. 18. And the animated film noir, set in the sprawling, retro-futuristic city of Metropia, has a brand-new trailer set to the tune of the B-52’s 1979 single “Planet Claire.” What clues can you spot?
“Planet Claire” actually has a crucial role in the genesis of “Ray Gunn.” Bird often tells the story of how he was driving in his car one day, listening to the radio, when “Planet Claire” popped on. He initially thought that it was a cover of Henry Mancini’s theme to Blake Edwards’ detective TV show “Peter Gunn.” But as he kept listening, the song mutated – it became stranger, full of sci-fi-ish sounds. Bird started to imagine the possibilities – what if instead of Peter Gunn, this song was about a private eye in a futuristic city named Ray Gunn?
Those were the seeds of what eventually became “Ray Gunn.” Bird worked on the screenplay with writer Matthew Robbins and developed the project at Turner Feature Animation before leaving to make “The Iron Giant.” But the story of a human gumshoe (Sam Rockwell), his alien partner (Tom Waits) and the brassy pop star who they are hired to keep an eye on (Scarlett Johansson), stuck around. Now, the movie is finally seeing the light of day, courtesy of Netflix and Skydance Animation.
Alan Tudyk, Matt Berry, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Chernus, Kether Donohue, Michelle Rodriguez and Aasif Mandvi also star.
“Ray Gunn” premiered earlier this year at the BFI London Film Festival, where it was warmly reviewed. Our own review said the movie “plays like symphony with many movements and not a single note out of key.”
“Ray Gunn” hits select theaters on Dec. 4 and will be on Netflix on Dec. 18.
