Career Highlights

• Started his first animated film at age 11, finishing it two years later
• At age 14, he was mentored by Milt Kahl (IMDB), on of Disney’s legendary animators know as ‘The Nine Old Men”
• Executive consultant to the hit animated television series, King of the Hill and The Simpsons
• His son’s Nicholas and Michael Bird provide voices for characters in his movies Finding Nemo and The Incredibles
• Won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year in 2004

Brad Bird started his career in animation at the young age of 11, completing his first animated film at age 13. As a child he was mentored by one of Disney’s legendary animators, Milt Kahl. After his graduation from the California Institute of the Arts Bird briefly worked for Disney then moved on to help Klasky-Csupo develop the TV show The Simpsons.

Bird worked on other TV shows and movies before catching the attention of an old friend, the founder of Pixar, and being picked up to create and produce The Incredibles, which won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film in 2005 among other awards. Pixar came to him again in 2005 asking Bird to take over the film Ratatouille from its previous director who was leaving. The film was released in 2007 and it was a huge success, also nominated for many awards. Bird is currently working on his first live action project that is a co-production between Pixar and Warner Bros.

Brad Bird joined ThinKTalk host Janelle Snowden prior to the release of his film The Incredibles. Brad took student questions ranging from his early days interning at Disney, to his work on The Simpsons and his current career as a director for Pixar. Brad provided a wealth of helpful advice for aspiring animators, specifically the art of making your characters come alive! This interview was originally filmed in the Fall of 2004.