Before Tomorrowland, before The Incredibles and The Iron Giant, even before his work on The Simpsons, Brad Bird was set to direct an animated adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit.
This animated version of The Spirit was a project of Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz. The movie never ended up being made, but Bird directed a basic pencil test trailer for the movie as a side-project while still working on The Fox and the Hound for Disney.
The trailer’s definitely a bit rough, and there’s no professional voice acting, but it’s still an interesting peek at the early work of an important animator and director of the past few decades. Even in a rough state, this trailer is better than the entirety of Frank Miller’s The Spirit.
via First Showing
