Brandon Davis got to sit with legendary director Brad Bird at San Diego Comic-Con to talk about Bird’s newest animated Netflix feature, Ray Gunn.
Starting things off with a little banter, Davis and Bird talked a bit about the Comic-Con experience. Prompted about his first time appearing at Comic-Con, Bird thought back to his appearance on The Simpsons panel in its early days, walking up with all the cast members.
When asked more about his experience with Comic-Con, such as being able to walk around the floor and enjoy everything the event has to offer, Bird states that although he has not had the opportunity yet, due to his usual busy schedule and being ushered from one place to another, he still admires the occasion.
Brandon Davis goes on to ask Bird what he believes is “Comic-Con-esque” in his wheelhouse of interests, allowing Brad Bird to discuss his interests in the original series Jonny Quest (1964), with Davis encouraging Bird to take a look around at the event, because “you never know” what you might find among the treasure trove of memorabilia offered.
“So happy to traumatize”
Transitioning from the talks of the past, Davis guides the conversation into his own memories of The Lion King and The Iron Giant, claiming he thought the only time in his childhood he’d thought he’d have a traumatic experience watching a movie was The Lion King (1994) until he watched The Iron Giant (1999), getting a laugh out of Bird as well as a quote that sums up the beauty of storytelling, “So happy to traumatize.”
Davis continues to ask Bird’s thoughts on the evolution of animation from something like The Iron Giant to something like Ray Gunn, where animation styles have changed, and whether that also causes a difference in the way he tells these stories. Bird states that each time he goes to tell a story, “there’s a slant that you want to put on it visually,” and that for Ray Gunn, it was noir. Emphasizing the importance of night and shadow within the noir genre, Bird notes that not all noir has to be set at night, citing examples such as Chinatown (1974), which is sun-drenched yet no less a noir for it.
When questioned by Davis on the film’s choice to change from earlier images that had seemed to be 2D animation and evolved into 3D animation, as well as asking Bird’s thoughts on why he thinks 2D animation has become less common today, Bird shares his belief that some audiences might link 2D animation to feeling a little old. Animation has been classically hand-drawn for most of its history, as Brad Bird pointed out, so executives felt it was too “old-fashioned” as a method of storytelling.
He goes on to say that he does not see it that way, stating that, “I see a lot of people in CG (Computer Graphics) trying to make their CG look hand-drawn,” using newer methods, to which Bird shared, “if you are going to do that, you could also just do it (2D animation).” Reasserting his disagreement with such opinions of hesitance towards 2D animation and its “old-fashioned” label, Bird claims that he believes it is entirely possible for one to make a “totally hip, very contemporary, hand-drawn film.”
Bird does assure, however, that he is in no way against CG, as seen in his new film Ray Gunn, loving many aspects of it, such as “the ability to move the camera,” in which he can treat it like a live-action film with lenses and lighting.
Talking more about Ray Gunn, Davis asked Bird about how he came up with the idea for the film when thinking one song was another. Mistaking the song “Planet Claire” from the B-52’s for a cover of Henry Mancini’s “Peter Gunn,” he shared how it felt going from “oh this is kind of a cool version of Peter Gunn” to being inspired and hearing a 50’s monster movie vibe that caused him to come up with the character Ray Gunn.
The magic of a Michael Giacchino score
On the topic of music, Davis talks about Michael Giacchino as a composer and how amazing he is, to which Bird shared how he loved working with Michael on films such as Ray Gunn. Davis further mentions the great work both Giacchino and Bird have done together and how the musical score of a movie “can be the thing that resonates with people,” as though it were a memory that takes them back to watching it for the first time. Bird follows this by stating, “It’s almost like a perfume. You can short-stroke a connection,” continuing to say that this feeling has been around in classical music for a long time.
Bird goes on to credit Giacchino, claiming that “he’s a chameleon” in the sense that he can play any part after asking what the project is, finding that particular sound it needs to become miraculous.
When asked about the sound Bird and Giacchino found for Ray Gunn, Bird shares how they have this shared trust in the process when it comes to finding the soundtrack. He goes on to say that for the film, there is a weirdness in the sense that it’s a “retro detective movie,” contrasting itself with both the classic detective themes as well as blending visions of the future that were created in 1939, and that Giacchino has found the sound for that “that is just really great.”
Moving on, Davis inquires about what the experience was like of making a movie intended for Netflix, especially with the creative liberties other artists have said they were granted collaborating with the company. Bird states that right now, it is unfortunately uncommon for people to take risks on original films and stories, and how it has changed from being seen as an exciting adventure to an “untested idea.” He goes on to say: “Is that such a bad thing? You’re making something new in the kitchen. Isn’t that a good thing?”
Set to release on December 18th, the same day as the theatrical release of Avengers: Doomsday, Bird states: “I think it’s a day to go to the movies and enjoy the fact that they’re all different and they are all right there for the taking.”
Watch Ray Gunn, releasing December 18th, 2026, on Netflix.
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