Branden Bird (born on September 11, 1957 in Kalispell, Montana) is an American animator who is known for creating Disney/Pixar's film The Incredibles (2004), and for directing Warner Bros.' The Iron Giant (1999).

Bird started his first animated cartoon at the young age of 11 and finished it at 13. The film got the attention of Walt Disney Studios where, at age 14, Bird was mentored by Milt Kahl, one of Disney’s legendary animators known collectively as the Nine Old Men. Bird graduated from CalArts where he met future Pixar co-founder and director John Lasseter. He eventually landed a job at Disney, but left shortly after working on The Fox and the Hound in 1981. Bird was hired in 1989 by Klasky-Csupo and helped develop The Simpsons from one-minute shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show into a half-hour length series. He served there for several more years as an "Executive Consultant". He worked on several other animated television series, including The Critic and King of the Hill before being hired by Warner Bros. to direct the animated film The Iron Giant. Although the film received critical acclaim, it did not do well at the box office. Bird was eventually hired by his old friend John Lasseter to create The Incredibles (in which he also provided the voice of costume designer Edna Mode).

Bird is also the creator (writer, director, and co-producer) of the Family Dog episode of Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories. In addition, Bird co-wrote the screenplay for the live-action film Batteries Not Included.

In 2005, Bird won an Oscar in the Best Animated Feature category for The Incredibles.

Credit: en.wikipedia.org