It’s now almost 25 years since Brad Bird’s directorial debut opened in theaters around the world, and despite being a financial failure, the film has over time gained incredible cult status and is considered by many to be among the greatest animated films ever made. However, behind the emotional story of the robot and the boy hides a tragic one historywhich inspired Bird to write the screenplay and produce the film.
“My sister Susan, who I love very much and was very close to, died of gun violence. Pointlessly, she was killed by her husband. I was devastated. When you shoot somebody, you’re not just killing that person. You’ re killing a part of all the people that love that person.”
Bird recounts how, for a long period of time, he was completely devastated but still did his best, trying to focus on his work as a consultant for The Simpsons, before finally pitching his dream project to Warner with the simple but hard-hitting premise:
“What if a gun had a soul and didn’t want to be a gun?”
Not quite the source of inspiration that was thought to be the basis for Iron Giant and we don’t know if we will ever be able to look at the film the same way again.
What are your thoughts on Brad Bird’s classic masterpiece?
