The filmmakers behind Incredibles 2 believe the time constraints on the sequel ended up making it a better movie. When Pixar’s highly-anticipated superhero sequel was first announced, it was scheduled for a 2019 release, but it eventually traded places with Toy Story 4. This meant the creative team lost an entire year to work on the project, making things rather difficult. In animation, everything has to be built from scratch, and feature-length films take a long time to complete. For instance, the studio confirmed 2016’s Finding Dory back in April 2013.
With Incredibles 2 moving so far up, it would be reasonable to fear the end result would be somewhat rushed as the various departments worked under the gun to get the film ready for its release in a couple of weeks. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The pressure-packed environment benefitted director Brad Bird and his crew, and may have made Incredibles 2 an even better film.
Back in April, Screen Rant had the opportunity to visit Pixar Animation Studios for an Incredibles 2 press day, where we attended a press conference featuring Bird and producers Nicole Grindle and John Walker. When asked about the limited work time, Grindle expressed no concern about how things turned out.
Condensed workloads are nothing new for Bird, who mentioned he went through similar experiences on the first Incredibles (which was moved up) and Ratatouille (he joined a year and a half before the film was completed). Both of those titles went on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, so ideally Incredibles 2 can follow suit. The fact that Pixar has grown over the years (they’re three times as big as they were when The Incredibles was made) certainly helped matters, as there were more hands on deck to get the necessary jobs done. Of course, the release date shift didn’t make things easy, but it sounds like everyone approached it with laser-sharp focus.
I would just add that it can be a real benefit to the production to be under a certain amount of pressure. Obviously, it was very intense for this team as you’ve heard from them. But, having worked here on a number of films, I can tell you when there’s that kind of schedule and intensity, people really rise to the occasion. I sometimes think we even do better work.
It’s safe to say all the hard work paid off. Incredibles 2 is projected to earn $140 million in its opening weekend, which would be a new all-time high for Pixar. That’s not just a testament to the pent-up demand for the sequel, but also for a solid marketing campaign that has sold viewers on a strong story fueled by the heart and humor we’ve come to expect from Pixar. It would definitely be surprising if Incredibles 2 didn’t join the ranks of the studio’s acclaimed offerings when it debuts.
