Pixar's "Incredibles 2" comes on the heels of some rather disappointing sequels from the toon company. With the exceptions of “Toy Story 2” and “Toy Story 3,” Pixar has had a lackluster set of continuations delivered to us the last few years. Sure, there were things to love about "Finding Dory," and "Monster University," maybe less so about"Cars 2,” "Cars 3," but they all lacked the overall focus and thematic resonance of their predecessors. In a way, they didn't really need a sequel. Suffice to say, many are holding their breaths for "Incredibles 2" to deliver, a film 14 years in the making, which ended on a sort of cliffhanger. With its original director, Brad Bird back at the helm, the film is an incredibly persuasive and hopeful movie event for this summer, but don't expect Bird to make a sequel to any of his other classics.
No, Bird is pretty adamant that his other most well-known films "The Iron Giant" and "Ratatouille" don't need sequels. In fact, the 60-year-old writer-director has no interest in returning to either franchise. Speaking to io9 about "Incredibles 2," Bird feels like there was a finiteness to both those classics that didn't warrant a continuation:
"You know, I feel like that story is told," Bird said of "Ratatouille." "I'm told I need to do an "Iron Giant 2" and I'm told I need to remake everything that I've made and no one apparently wants anything new anymore. I'm a little at odds with society on that. I would like to do some new things."
"It's complimentary. But it kind of reminds me of when my boys were little and I would give them a push on the swing and they'd go 'Again!' It's a sweet thing but it's also, from an artist standpoint, it's a little frustrating. Like, what if I want to do a Western? Would there be any support for that idea? What if I wanted to do a musical? How about that? You know, it's like —there are other things to do."
Of course, Bird did end up making this sequel to 2004's “The Incredibles.” The sequel is a movie about parenting, which has a rather timely villain in Screenslaver, and some outlandishly entertaining sequences recalling some of the great action movies of the 1990s. If Jan de Bont could ever claim to influence a film this decade, it might be “Incredibles 2.”
"This did [turn out well]," he said of "Incredibles 2." "But you're welcome to take a crack at a Ratatouille sequel. I feel like I've done my "Ratatouille" I've done my "Mission: Impossible," and I've done my "Iron Giant." And that's that. I'm not mad about it, but it seems like it's the only thing that people want now is for you to repeat what you just did."
Kudos to Bird for sticking to his artistic guns. An all-too-rare occurrence these days in Hollywood, where successful films need to be duplicated to no ends. Something does tell us, though, that "The Incredibles 2" will be a big enough hit that Bird will be able to do whatever he wants to do next, and that might just be his long-delayed earthquake drama "1906" (based on the historical novel by James Dalessandro), a film almost two decades in the makings for Bird.
"Incredibles 2" is set to hit theaters on June 15.