How Brad Bird Overcame Superhero Fatigue to Make ‘The Incredibles 2’
Oscar Wrap magazine: ”I thought, ‘There’s already too many superhero films — is the public going to be sick of them by the time this comes out?'“ says Bird
A version of this article about “The Incredibles 2” first appeared in the TheWrap magazine’s Oscar Nominations Preview issue.
Back in 2004, when Brad Bird’s Pixar smash “The Incredibles” came out, only one other film among the year’s Top 10 box office champions was a superhero movie: “Spider-Man 2,” the second-biggest movie of the year. But flash forward 14 years to the release of “The Incredibles 2” and you have a wildly different picture: Four of the movies in the Top 5 and six in the Top 10 are superhero flicks, with “Black Panther,” “The Avengers: Infinity War,” “Deadpool 2,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp” and “Venom” joining Bird’s film atop the charts.
“The landscape changed so radically between the first film and this one,” said Bird. “There were only a couple of superhero franchises that were active when we did the first film: Batman had gone dormant, Superman was on ice and Marvel was only Spider-Man and the X-Men. So we had a lot of elbow room.
“But now there’s a superhero every six inches as far as the eye can see. And at first that was depressing to me. I thought, ‘There’s already too many superhero films — is the public going to be sick of them by the time this comes out?’
“I was depressed for maybe an hour, and then I thought, ‘Remember, the thing that enticed you on the first one was not the superhero part,” Bird said. “Our secret sauce is that we’re not primarily a superhero movie — we’re a movie about a family that happens to be superheroes. And once I stopped thinking of it as a superhero film, I got very excited about it.”
But the emphasis on family also ended up complicating “Incredibles 2.” Bird, who had first thought of the idea for a sequel while he was promoting the first film, kicked around concepts while working on the Pixar film “Ratatouille” and the live-action productions “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” and “Tomorrowland.”
He had the idea for Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) and Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) to switch roles, with her getting a plum assignment that leaves him at home tending to the kids. He knew there would be plenty of material in the fact that at the end of the previous film, the audience found out that baby Jack-Jack had multiple powers, something the family had yet to discover. And he thought he had a good villain in artificial intelligence run amok.
“I pitched it, everyone liked it and we were greenlit and got on the Pixar schedule,” he said. “And then, because we sounded a little more figured out than ‘Toy Story 4,’ our release date got moved up and they took a year off our schedule, which was hellacious.”
And that’s when he realized that his bad guy didn’t work with the family story. “I had a release date looming, a crew, a year off my schedule and a story a third of which didn’t work,” he said. “But boot camp for me was television: I was on the first eight seasons of ‘The Simpsons,’ and you learned to think fast because you had to do 24 stories a year. So I quickly bailed on that first idea.”
He came up with another idea for a villain with family problems of her own, though completing the work in time was, he said, “a real race.” But it was also satisfying, because the franchise has always been special to a director who sees his future as a blend of animation and live action. “The first ‘Incredibles’ was the only film I’ve been able to take from the absolute initial spark to the finished film,” he said. “But the next films that I want to do are all of that ilk.”
As for what those next films are, Bird has lots of ideas.
“I could sit down and give you the titles and premises of six or seven different movies,” he said. “Some of them I’ve been wanting to make for decades, and I’m still excited about the ideas.”
And are they live-action or animation?
“Both,” he said. “The next one I intend to do — and we’ll have to see if I can get backing for it — is a live-action film with about 20 minutes of animation in it. The one that maybe I’ll do after that is animated.”
One thing they probably won’t be: sequels.
“I don’t want to sound cynical, because I love a good sequel as much as anybody,” he said. “But right now we’re recycling too much food.”
To read more of the Oscars Nomination Preview issue, click here.
30 Highest Grossing Animated Movies of All Time Worldwide
A look at top animated moneymakers as of May 2020, from "The Lion King" to "Zootopia." The numbers are not adjusted for inflation.
30. "The Incredibles" (2004)
Worldwide Gross: $633,019,734
In 2004, Brad Bird's first Pixar outing wowed audiences with complicated animated action scenes, cross-generational comedy and superhero mayhem.
Pixar Animation Studios
29. "Sing" (2016)
Worldwide Gross: $634,151,679
Illumination's animal-karaoke musical crooned its way onto the list.
28. "Moana" (2016)
Worldwide Gross: $643,331,111
Disney's Hawaii-set movie scored two Oscar nominations, for Best Animated Feature and Lin-Manuel Miranda's song "How Far I'll Go."
Disney
27. "Big Hero 6" (2014)
Worldwide Gross: $657,818,612
Disney's 2014 robot tale combined anime aesthetics, superhero action and Pixar's heart.
Disney Animation Studios
26. "Ice Age: The Meltdown" (2006)
Worldwide Gross: $660,940,780
Fox's 2006 prehistoric romp proved the success of the first was no fluke.
Twentieth Century Fox
25. "Kung Fu Panda 2" (2011)
Worldwide Gross: $665,692,281
With the franchise's skills proven, DreamWorks Animation gave the world another hit of comedy with this animated martial arts sequel in 2011.
Dreamworks Animation Studios
24. "Up" (2009)
Worldwide Gross: $735,099,082
The 2009 fan favorite demonstrated that original ideas with big emotions could make big money.
Pixar Animation Studios
23. "Monsters University" (2013)
Worldwide Gross: $744,229,437
Ten years after the release of "Monsters Inc," Pixar sent fans back to school in a 2013 prequel.
Pixar Animation Studios
22. "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" (2012)
Worldwide Gross: $746,921,274
DreamWorks Animation's "Madagascar" series kept the studio afloat with a string of breezy successes, including 2012's third installment.
Dreamworks Animation Studios
21. "Shrek Forever After" (2010)
Worldwide Gross: $752,600,867
The big green ogre's final chapter dropped in 2010.
Dreamworks Animation Studio
20. "Shrek the Third" (2007)
Worldwide Gross: $798,958,162
Made in 2007, this sequel proved there was still some gas left in this fantasy mash-up comedy franchise.
Dreamworks Animation Studio
19. "Coco" (2017)
Worldwide Gross: $807,082,196
Directed by Lee Unkrich, this animated film captured everyone's hearts and even won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2018.
Disney/Pixar
18. "Inside Out" (2015)
Worldwide Gross: $857,611,174
Disney Pixar hit the home run again with this animated feature film about the emotions inside your head, starring Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader.
Disney/Pixar
17. "The Secret Life of Pets" (2016)
Worldwide Gross:$875,457,937
Universal/Illumination's story of dogs seeking out adventure while their owners are away charmed its way onto the list.
Profits abound for this 2012 fourth installment in the chilly prehistoric franchise, followed just behind it's predecessor.
Twentieth Century Fox Animation
15."Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" (2009)
Worldwide Gross: $888,805,671
While other films have made bigger waves in the States, international sales have always returned big money for Fox's "Ice Age" franchise, proven again by the 2009 entry.
Twentieth Century Fox Animation
14. "Shrek 2" (2004)
Worldwide Gross: $919,838,758
DreamWorks Animation proved to be worthy Pixar competition with its successful "Shrek" franchise.
Dreamworks Animation Studio
13. "Finding Nemo" (2003)
Worldwide Gross: $940,335,536
"Finding Nemo" was something of a second-wind for Pixar, solidifying the company's place as the titans of modern animation.
Pixar Studios
12. "The Lion King" (1994)
Worldwide Gross: $968,483,777
Can you feel the love tonight for this Disney animated classic?
Disney Animation Studios
11. "Despicable Me 2" (2013)
Worldwide Gross: $970,761,885
Illumination's sequel managed to make more money than its predecessor and put the upcoming "Minions" spin-off into motion.
Illumination Studios
10. "Zootopia" (2016)
Worldwide Gross: $1,023,784,195
Disney charmed audiences in 2016 with its cop thriller pairing a rookie rabbit cop and a wily fox informant.
Disney
9. "Finding Dory" (2016)
Worldwide Gross: $1,028,570,889
The sequel to "Finding Nemo" swam right back into audience's hearts.
Pixar
8. "Despicable Me 3" (2017)
Worldwide Gross: $1,034,799,409
Illumination's follow-up -- featuring Gru's blond-haired brother -- became the franchise's biggest grosser.
7. "Toy Story 3" (2010)
Worldwide Gross: $1,066,969,703
Built on Pixar's critical and commercial goodwill, the third installment in the mega-franchise brought in big profits.
Pixar Studios
6. "Toy Story 4" (2019)
Worldwide Gross: $1,073,394,593
Nearly two decades after the last film, Woody and Buzz and the gang returned for the top-grossing film in the series (not adjusted for inflation, that is).
Disney
5. "Minions" (2015)
Worldwide Gross: $1,159,398,397
The little yellow helpers crossed the $1 billion mark at the end of August, raking in more money then "Despicable Me" and "Despicable Me 2" for Universal Pictures.
Universal Pictures/Illumination Entertainment
4. "Incredibles 2" (2018)
Worldwide Gross: $1,242,805,359
The superpowered family sprung back into action a full 14 years after the original -- but far surpassed the original film's box office haul.
Disney/Pixar
3. "Frozen" (2013)
Worldwide Gross: $1,276,480,335
Disney's 2013 smash-hit takes the box office top spot. And then there was merchandising, video on demand and home video that audiences just couldn't let go...
Disney Animation Studios
2. "Frozen II" (2019)
Worldwide Gross: $1,450,026,933
Though it failed to garner an Oscar nom for Best Animated Feature, this sequel still managed to outgross its predecessor.
1. The Lion King (2019)
Worldwide Gross: $1,631,724,000
Whether the film is animated or live-action has been up for debate, the new "Lion King" was computer animated, so we're putting it on the list.
Disney
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Cartoon characters that cleaned up at the global box office, from ”The Lion King“ to ”Incredibles 2“
A look at top animated moneymakers as of May 2020, from "The Lion King" to "Zootopia." The numbers are not adjusted for inflation.