Brad Bird animated film releases on Netflix

Brad Bird's new animated feature film is confirmed to be released exclusively on Netflix in December 2026, and has been included in the London Film Festival's list.The project does not yet have a reliable official Chinese name, and this article will not translate the title on its own.The film has gone a long way from preparation to finalization, and now the platform, month and first batch of story information have finally been given.

Bird and Matthew Robbins wrote the script as early as 1996.This project was developed at Turner Animation in the past and was once conceived as a hand-drawn 2D animation, but for many years it failed to find a producer willing to take on the scale and tone.It stalled several times at different stages, and thus became Bird's personal project that fans have always paid attention to.

The project later resumed progress at Skydance Animation.It was originally planned to cooperate with Apple TV+, but moved to Netflix for distribution after Skydance signed a multi-year cooperation with Netflix.The film changed from its early two-dimensional direction to a three-dimensional CG feature film, and Cinesite participated in the production.The report mentioned that the production team used keyframe animation and did not use motion capture.

The story is set in an alternative future imagined from the perspective of 1939.In a giant city where humans and aliens live together, private detective Raymond Gunn is involved in a murder case that leads to a multimedia star.The official introduction defines it as a science fiction noir detective story, and the stage is still on the earth.

The city's name is Metropia, and its visual inspiration comes from Art Deco and streamlined modernist styles.On the outside, there is an optimistic sense of the future, but inside the city there is the usual corruption, secrets and fringe characters of detective movies.The film will combine the temperament of popular detective stories in the 1930s with the city of the future.

Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson and Tom Waits are among the announced voice cast.The report did not specify the roles they played, nor did it list the voice actors in full.If we want to infer the relationship between the characters from the allocation of actors, there is currently a lack of reliable information, and the official character list still needs to be updated by the film studio.

Speaking at an event at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Bird said the project's name came from an experience of hearing the wrong song.He mistook a song for another familiar detective film soundtrack, hence the group's name.The Annecy event also gave the outside world a more complete look at the film's visuals and production direction for the first time.

The director described this work as combining science fiction and classic detective movies.What the existing information can confirm is the elements of murder, aliens, future cities and private detectives.The film has not disclosed the complete plot, nor has it announced the final ending. The true identities of the characters and the truth of the case are not within the scope of the release.

The film's production budget is reported to be more than $150 million, but the film studio has not released a separate statement on the specific figure.Netflix's long-term partnership with Skydance Animation is one of the reasons why it can continue to produce.For viewers who have been waiting for many years, the December 2026 streaming schedule means that this work finally has a clear viewing time.

What is currently confirmed is that Brad Bird will direct and participate in the screenplay. The film will be launched on Netflix and presented at the London Film Festival. The first batch of voice actors and world setting have been announced.The exact release date, film length, rating and official Chinese name are still subject to the official pages of Netflix and the film festival.