'Ray Gunn' Review: Brad Bird's Dazzling Animated Noir Was Worth the Wait

"Ray Gunn" is – finally – here. The project began in the early 1950s as an idea by Brad Bird, a talented veteran of "The Simpsons" and Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories," at Turner Feature Animation. It was inspired by him hearing the B-52's song "Planet Claire" on the radio. Bird first thought it was Henry Mancini's theme to "Peter Gunn." But as the song progressed, he realized it was something else, something spacey – retro and futuristic all at once. Instead of "Peter Gunn," Bird imagined, it could be . . . "Ray Gunn." Ideas flooded his imagination . . .