🎬 Welcome to the Gilbert K Show — your front-row seat to everything film! I'm Gilbert K, a filmmaker, film festival jury member, and your go-to host for deep-dive reviews, trailer reactions, and behind-the-scenes breakdowns of the latest Films & Series. Plus, don’t miss my exclusive talk show segment featuring unfiltered interviews with top industry pros — from directors and actors to composers and creatives shaping cinema today.
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Brad Bird is back! My Ray Gunn trailer review and breakdown explores Netflix’s wild new animated sci-fi mystery starring Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson, from its retro-futuristic world to the story, animation, cast, and biggest surprises. #RayGunn #RayGunnTrailer #BradBird #NetflixMovies #AnimatedMovies
Rayon Trailer Review, Bradbird is finally back. Hey everyone, it's Kilbert K here. Welcome back to my channel. Okay, folks, I have a question. What happens when you take an old school detective movie, throw it in the future, add aliens, flying cars, murders, Kyle Johansson, some rackwell, and then hand the whole thing to the guy who gave us the Incredibles, Ratatouille, and Iron Giant. Apparently, you get Ray Gun. And after getting our first real estate of this movie, I have to say, this thing looks weird, but weird in a very, very good way. Because Ray Gun doesn't look like another animated movie trying to copy whatever was successful last year. It looks like Bradbird walked into the room and said, okay, everybody, I have an idea. And Netflix somehow said, go for it. So today we're breaking down Ray Gun, the new animated sci-fi detective movie coming to Netflix. And trust me, there's a lot going on here. First, what is Ray Gun? If you're watching this thinking, Gilbert, who the heck is Ray Gun? Don't worry, you're not supposed to know him. This isn't Marvel. There aren't 47 movies you need to watch before December. Thank you, Hollywood. Ray Gun is an original story from director Brad Bird. The movie takes place in Metopia, this massive futuristic city where humans and aliens live together. But here's what makes the world interesting. This isn't exactly our idea of the future. It's basically the future as someone living around 1939 might have imagined it. Think huge buildings, flying vehicles, jetpacks, aliens, art deco everywhere. And right in the middle of this futuristic madness is Raymond Gunn. Ray is a private detective, actually, he's basically one the last human private detective because machines have taken over most detective work. And yes, even in Bradbird, imaginary future, technology is stealing jobs. Apparently, there's no escape. Ray gets pulled into case involving aliens, murder, and a huge celebrity named Venus Nova. And that's where things start getting interesting. Let's talk about the look. The first thing that immediately grabbed me about Ray Gun is the word. This movie has style, and I mean actual style. Not just look, we put neon lights everywhere, we're futuristic. No. Mitropia feels like somebody took an old 1940s detective movie and smashed it together with a science fiction comic book. And somehow it works. You have shadows coming through window blinds, you have old-fashioned offices, you have giant futuristic buildings, you have aliens walking around, you have flying machines, and then you have Ray standing in the middle of everything, looking like a detective who desperately needs another cup of coffee. I love that contrast. Because the movie isn't trying to make the future look realistic, it's trying to make the future look like what people used to dream the future would look like. That's much more interesting. And just hold on a sec before we continue. If you enjoy the Gilbert K Show and want to help support the podcast, you can visit the support page link in the episode description below. Every bit of support helps me keep bringing you more great conversations, interviews, and entertainment. I truly appreciate your being part of the show. Now let's get back into it. And then there's Ray. Sam Rockwell voices Raymond Gunn, and that casting makes so much sense because Sam Rockwell has that natural ability to make a character feel cool while also making him feel his entire life could fall apart in the next 10 minutes. That's perfect for a private detective. Ray doesn't appear to be some unstoppable superhero. He's a guy trying to survive in a world that is basically moving on without him. Machines are doing his job, he's taking questionable cases, he's dealing with dangerous people, and judging from what you've seen, things don't always go according to plan. That's what I like. I don't want Ray Gon to be perfect. I want him walking into a room, acting like he knows exactly what he's doing, while we're sitting there thinking, Ray, you absolutely do not know what you're doing. That's fine. Scarlett Johansson as Venus Nova. Then we have Scarlett playing Venus Nova, and even that name sounds like someone who's going to cause trouble. Venus is basically one of the biggest stars in this world. She's famous, she's glamorous, she's surrounded by a scandal. And somehow she becomes connected to this murder mystery, which immediately gives us that classic detective story setup. Beautiful, mysterious celebrity, private detective, danger, secrets, everybody probably lying to everybody. Perfect. And Scarlett Johansson has one of those voices that you recognize almost immediately. For a character like Venus Nova, that works. She needs to sound like someone who can walk into a room and suddenly everybody stops talking. And Tom Waits as an alien. Now, where's Brad Bird apparently decided things weren't strange enough? Because Ray's trusted companion is one-eyed alien named Ira, voiced by Tom Waits. And yes, that Tom Waits. If you know Tom Waits' voice, you already understand why this is brilliant. His voice sounds like it has lived through three wars, seven divorces, and approximately 14 million cigarettes. Put that voice inside a strange alien, I'm sold. I don't even need an explanation, just give this alien enough screen time. And this doesn't feel like a kid's movie, and this might be the biggest thing that stood out to me. Reagan doesn't seem interested in talking down to the audience. Yes, it's animated, but Brad Bird has been very clear for years about something I completely agree with. Animation isn't a genre, it's a way of making movies. You can make comedy, drama, action, horror, science fiction, detective stories, anything. And Ragun looks like Brad Bird saying, okay, let me prove it. The movie still looks funny. There's action, there are ridiculous characters, there are aliens, but underneath all, that is an actual noir-style murder mystery. And that gives this movie a very different flavor. Bradbird has been trying to make this for how long? Okay, fun fact time. This movie didn't suddenly appear last year. Bradbird has been trying to get Ray Gun made for roughly three decades. Three decades. The project goes all the way back to the 1990s. That means Bradbird carried this idea through the Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Mission Impossible, Ghost Protocol, Tomorrowland, Incredible 2. And the little detective was still sitting there saying, So, Brad, are we making my movie or what? And now he's finally making it. I actually love stories like this because it tells you this isn't some movie created because of an algorithm set. People like aliens on Tuesdays. This is something the filmmaker generally wanted to make. And after 30 years, I want to know why. What's inside the story that Bradbird refused to let go? That makes me more curious about the movie than almost anything else. And the name has a crazy origin. Here's another fun fact. The idea apparently started because Bradbird misheard a song. He was listening to the B-52's Planet Claire and briefly thought he was hearing something connected to the famous Peter Gunn theme. And somehow his brain went, Ray Gunn, science fiction detective, boom, movie. Meanwhile, I mishear a song and spend 15 minutes searching Google for lyrics that don't exist. Brad Bird mishears a song and creates a movie. Life is unfair. The animation. Now let's talk about animation. This might be the part that divides people. The movie was originally imagined as a hand-drawn 2D film many years ago. The version we're getting is CG animation. And some animation fans online have already said they would have loved to see Bradbird make the original hand-drawn version. I understand that. Especially because this is the director of the Iron Giant. But looking at what we have now, I'm willing to give this style a chance because the lighting looks fantastic, the environments have detail, and more importantly, the movie has its own visual identity. I don't need every animated movie to look like Pixar. I don't need every animated movie to look like Spider-Verse either. Give me something different. And Ray Gun definitely looks different. So what could go wrong? Now I'm not going to sit here pretending everything is perfect. There are a couple of things I'm watching carefully. First, the character designs. Some of them may take a little getting used to. I've seen similar reactions online. The environments look incredible, but certain human characters have a very specific look that could work beautifully once you're watching the full movie. Or it could become distracting. We won't know more until we see more. My bigger concern is the story because Brad Bird has created a huge world here. Humans, aliens, technology, detectives, celebrity culture, murder, science fiction, comedy, action. Film noir, that's a lot of ingredients. And when you put that much into one movie, you better know how to cook. Otherwise, we're getting cinematic soup. The good news, Brad Bird has a pretty good track record in the kitchen. He literally made Rotatouille. Sorry, I had to. So why this movie could be special, what excites me most about Ryan Gunn isn't the animation. It isn't Scott Johansson, it isn't even the aliens. It's that this is an original movie. We spent so much time talking about sequels, reboots, remakes, part 7, part 12, the prequel to the sequel to the reboot of the remake. And suddenly here comes Red Bird with a character most people have never heard of, living inside a world we've never visited. That's exciting because I don't know what happens. I can't predict the entire movie because I watched another version 20 years ago. We get to discover something new, and I want Hollywood to take more chances like that. My final take. So based on what you've seen so far, I mean, I love the detective angle, I love the retro future, I love Siam Requel as Ray, Scarlett Johansson as Venus Nova. Sounds like perfect casting. Tom Waits playing a one-eyed alien is something I didn't know I needed in my life. And most importantly, this feels like Brad Bird making a Brad Bird movie. Not chasing a trend, not trying to copy another studio. Just taking this crazy idea he's carried around for decades and finally put it on screen. Will it work? We will find out. The character design might not be for everybody. The mix of detective noir and science fiction could either be brilliant or completely nuts. But you know what? I'll take completely nuts over, completely safe. Every single time, Ray Gun arrives on Netflix December 18, 2026. So now I want to hear from you. What did you think about our first look at Ray Gun? Are you excited to see Brad Bird return with an original animated movie? Do you like the animation style? And here's the big question Could Ray Gun become one of the biggest animated surprises of 2026? Drop your thoughts in the comments below. And if you enjoy what I'm doing here on the Gilbert K Show, you can support the channel by hitting the super thanks button below. Every bit of support helps me keep bringing you more interviews, reviews, and entertainment news. That's all folks. Thank you for watching. And that's my Ray Gun trailer review. Bradbird is finally back. Don't forget to check other episodes on my channel and all podcast platforms for the latest film series reviews, trailer reactions, and exclusive film industry interviews packed with tips, inspiration, and recommendations. More stories, more insights, and more movie magic waiting for you. See you in the next one. Until next time, Gilbert K.
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