Writer and director Brad Bird grew up here, is a CHS grad

By MARY ANN ALBRIGHT
Gazette-Times reporter

A line from Brad Bird's latest animated hit movie "The Incredibles" speaks to its creator's nostalgic side: "There's no school like the old-school."

Disney-Pixar's computer-animated wowed critics and topped box office charts. The plot centers on the Parrs, a family of closet superheroes who come out of retirement to battle the evil Syndrome.

But the real local superhero is Bird, the former Corvallis resident behind the film.

Sharp-eyed moviegoers familiar with Corvallis perhaps noticed the picture's two tributes to Bird's roots. Both Spartan Stadium and the now-defunct Western View Junior High pop up in "The Incredibles."

Bird attended Western View and graduated from Corvallis High School in 1975. He worked as a Disney animator on such features as "The Fox and the Hound" and later served as executive consultant for "The Simpsons," "King of the Hill" and "The Critic." His first film, 1999's "The Iron Giant," met with critical, if not commercial, success.

"The Incredibles" opened on Nov. 5 and has grossed more than $225 million so far. Bird wrote and directed the film, and he also voiced the character Edna "E" Mode, an eccentric fashion designer who outfits superheroes.

John Wood, a former Western View teacher, taught Bird social science and English in the seventh grade. Wood remembers that even then Bird dreamed of becoming a cartoonist for Walt Disney.

"He drew cartoons a lot in class," Wood recalled. "Being off task bothered me a little, but when I saw how good he was, it didn't bother me so much. I saw how talented he was."

Wood said he regards Bird as a positive role model for Corvallis youth.

"It's great for the community and kids in school to have someone to look up to, someone who really made it," he said.

Fast facts

"The Incredibles" is now playing at Carmike Theatre in Corvallis and Regal Albany Cinemas. The film is rated PG for action violence.