Will Brad Bird Ever Return to Animation?

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 Will Brad Bird Ever Return to Animation?

Bird directing Tom Cruise on location in Dubai

That's the question I asked myself while riding the cinematic roller coaster that is Mission: Impossible–Ghost Protocol, which opened Friday on IMAX screens.

After helming The Incredibles and Ratatouille for Pixar, Brad Bird has brought his filmmaking skill to live action in a big way—one of the most successful animation-to-live action transitions for a director in film history.

The action in M:I–GP is spectacularly well executed, on the same plane as that of the Bourne trilogy. A few more like this and Bird could become Hollywood's go-to director for adrenaline.

It's a sure bet that Paramount will be pushing for a sequel as soon as the box office figures from the wide release come in next week. Should he 'choose to accept it', Bird won't be coming back full-time to Pixar anytime soon. That means no Incredibles 2.

Still it's easy to see that Bird still retains a strong connection with his first love. Ghost Protocol is sprinkled with in-jokes (A113 becomes "Alpha 113") and talent (music by Michael Giacchino and voiceover by Teddy Newton) familiar to Pixar buffs.

And then, of course, there's this.