Apr 23, 2020

Brad Bird presents 20 great films on TCM, and there's a reason why there's no animation.

Brad Bird took on his own Mission Impossible.

Animator and filmmaker Brad Bird, director of "The Iron Giant," "The Incredibles," "Ratatouille," and "Mission: Impossible/Ghost Protocol," has taken on Turner Classic Movies' (TCM) " Co-Hosting the Latest Season of "The Essentials": He will co-host the latest season of Turner Classic Movies' (TCM) "The Essentials". In this role, he will select 20 classic films to be featured on the show and explain their place in his mind and in the history of cinema. My biggest challenge was discerning which films to choose. Because for every one great film I presented, ten were off!"

Bird admitted to struggling with the task. [from Buster Keaton's silent comic masterpiece The General (1926) to Stanley Kubrick's introspective sci-fi epic 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). He chose six musicals, which is not surprising given that his next project belongs to this genre.

The list does not include animation.

The list does not include animation, since Bird has devoted the majority of his career to animation. As he explained to Variety: "My top five animated films are all from the Disney/Walt era."

TCM has access to the libraries of Warner Bros. and MGM, which operate the network. The Essentials tends to focus on live-action Hollywood films. However, TCM has aired animated features in the past, and in 2012, Cartoon Brew co-founder Jerry Beck was a presenter.

Bird will work this season with host Ben Mankiewicz, who has been on board since the show's renewal last year. Brad's artistic flair comes through in every conversation we have together."

The previous season was co-hosted by Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVernay. Past guests have included Drew Barrymore, Alec Baldwin, and David Letterman.

Bird's season premieres on May 2 at 8 p.m. ET and airs every Saturday night. Here are all the shows he has selected:

Bird's Essentials selections for this season include: