Brad Bird Says Disney Fired Him for Defending Its Original Values

Disney often celebrates the artists who built its animation legacy, but Brad Bird says standing up for their lessons cost him his job. Speaking at the BFI London Film Festival while promoting Ray Gunn, the director of The Incredibles recalled learning from Disney’s veteran animators before clashing with the studio’s management. “I was trained by the old guys or mentored by them. Those are the guys that I was amazed by when I got to Disney,” Bird said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As those artists left and new management took over, Bird said the studio’s priorities changed. “And I essentially got fired for sticking up for the stuff the old guys taught me to value,” he explained. Bird’s connection to Disney began as a teenager, when animator Milt Kahl became his mentor. Kahl was one of Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men, the artists whose work helped establish the studio’s reputation. After attending the California Institute of the Arts, Bird joined Disney’s animation department in the late 1970s. The veterans behind films such as Pinocchio and Sleeping Beauty were nearing retirement. By Bird’s account, defending their standards put him at odds with management. His later career sugge...