Brad Bird has been trying to make his neo-noir Ray Gunn since before he made his first animated feature, The Iron Giant, in 1999. It took almost 30 years, but the film he describes as The Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers finally arrives to Netflix on Dec. 18.
“It’s a movie I wanted to see and that never changed, no matter how many people were asking, Who is this for?” Bird told Polygon in an interview at Annecy Festival. “It’s for people that like movies, OK?”
Bird wants those people to be able to see Ray Gunn on a big screen, and he’s been asking Netflix to give it a theatrical release. The streaming service has been running screenings of some of its biggest titles like KPop Demon Hunters and the two-hour finale of Stranger Things.
“I’m talking. I don’t know whether they’re listening,” Bird said with a laugh. “I’m very grateful that the film exists, and it exists because Netflix was willing to take a flyer on the idea and they’ve been tremendously supportive. That said, it’s not news to anyone that I’m a big fan of theatrical. I’m part of a group called Cinema United that is all about theatrical, and I believe it’s the best way to see this movie the first time you see it.”
If Netflix doesn’t listen, Bird suggests viewers get creative.
“I would recommend you find the biggest screen you can, even if it’s down the street at your neighbor’s place,” he says. “Barge right in there and say, We’re seeing this movie because you have a big screen and that’s the way it should be seen.”
Bird is best known for writing and directing the Academy Award-winning Pixar films Ratatouille and The Incredibles, but he never pitched his dream film to the studio.
“It wasn’t a Pixar movie, and that wasn’t a judgment against Pixar,” Bird says. “I wanted it to have its own flavor that was a little different and I wanted it to have an edge that I thought people might not be as enthusiastic for over there.”
Beyond fearing a noir might be a bit too dark for a studio known for heartfelt family films, Bird also wanted to pursue an animation style outside of Pixar’s wheelhouse.
“It was hand-drawn in my mind, and Pixar didn’t do that,” Bird says. “I just love hand drawn and people are always trying to persuade me that it’s gone out of style. I consider hand-drawn to be as modern as you want it to be or not depending on what story you’re telling and how you tell it. It’s a great medium.”
Luckily, the neo-noir hasn’t gone out of style, either. In the decades since Bird first pitched Ray Gunn, the genre has only become more popular through films and TV shows like Altered Carbon, The Expanse, and Blade Runner 2049.
“There’s certain things that will eternally be there,” Bird says. “Greed will always be current and the dark and positive side of technology will always be current. Those elements never go out of style.”