Brad Bird is a masterful storyteller.
I remember the lump catching in my throat as the robot star of Iron Giant remembers Hogarth’s words; “You are what you choose to be.” And then the robot softly says, “Superman.” He then closes his eyes and braces himself for his collision with a nuclear missile, saving the town.
A moment of pure emotion akin to the moment that Jim takes the rifle from his mother’s hands and says, “He’s my dog. I should do it.” The boy then takes the weapon and ends the life of his beloved dog, the title character in “Old Yeller.”
Some stories are so beautifully told that you are swept up in the moment and you’re left helpless to stop the tide of the moment. Bird, the writer/director of “Iron Giant” is one of those storytellers that grabs you by your heart, makes you love his characters and leads you along the path of the tale he wishes to tell.
He repeated his masterful pros when he took to the keyboard and crated “The Incredibles.” If you’ve seen the film, you know why it took home the Oscar. It’s almost sad that the movie came out so close to the release of “Fantastic Four” as it showed audiences what that movie could have been with a master like Bird at the helm.
The story of a super-powered family was Bird’s first foray into the realm of 3-D storytelling but it will soon be followed up by “Ratatouille” and I for one can’t wait.
Thought the film looks silly Bird tends to tell stories from the heart, and to grab viewers by theirs.
