The Incredibles

Pixar and Disney combine once again to create a cinematic, and marketing, juggernaut. I saw one reviewer remark that this film would not be as popular with kids since it contained people instead of talking fish. Perhaps he was just speaking about the less kid friendly PG rating because he certainly wasn’t speaking about the movie. I saw The Incredibles on opening night and there were kids in the audience already dressed in red spandex super suits or carrying Mr. Incredible dolls. Everyone knows that superheroes appeal to kids and especially ones that include child superheroes. That said the film does not coast on its kid friendly theme. This first PG release from Pixar, yes no child friendly G rating here, is an engrossing and entertaining tale of a man, and his family, dealing with a midlife crisis. Of course this is no ordinary family with the super strong Mr. Incredible and super stretchy Elastigirl as parents. Their kids, Violet, who is capable of invisibility and creating force fields, Dash, who can run really really fast, and Jack-Jack, the infant with the cute name whose superhero status is not yet known, make for interesting dinnertime conversation.

The film begins with a rip roaring action sequence of Mr. Incredible doing incredible feats to save passenger trains, buildings, jumpers, and foil bank robberies on the way to his wedding. You know, just a standard superhero sort of day. But when one of his rescuees decides to sue for damages, the floodgates of litigation open against the superheroes and the city and the superheroes are forced to retire and move into a superhero protection program. In our litigious society it isn’t hard to imagine that if anyone met Superman or Batman or Spiderman or anyone else in the superhero pantheon that someone somewhere would figure out a way to get rich quick off of it. Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl spend the next 16 years living in obscurity raising a family. Mr. Incredible has added a gut along the way and he works in a dead end job at an insurance company. But though he is a devoted husband and father, Mr. Incredible’s new life is unfulfilling and he dreams of his glory years helping to save the day. He sneaks out with his superhero buddy Frozone to do small deeds of world saving and this brings him to the attention of Syndrome a new arch-villain who has been systematically eliminating superheroes in his own quest for glory.

Pixar again succeeds in finding just the right mix of B-list actors to form this dysfunctional family. Craig T. Nelson lends his voice and his brow to the devoted yet bored Mr. Incredible lending him just the right air of despondency and hope. Holly Hunter voices Elastigirl his resourceful and capable wife who is strong yet devoted to her family and their fragile places in the normal world. Samuel L. Jackson is perhaps under utilized as Mr. Incredible’s friend Frozone though he does get a series of one-liners. The bulk of the over-the-top vocal performances belong to Jason Lee as the wannabe villain Syndrome and Brad Bird himself as Edna ‘E’Mode the costume obsessed Q for the superhero community. These two embrace their characters giving them both utility and larger than life personalities complete with crippling ego complexes.

The real action of the film begins as Mr. Incredible is jogged out of his midlife crisis to aid the questionably allied Mirage in an attempt to destroy a robot on a deserted island. When the mission is found to be a trap and Mr. Incredible’s extra-curricular activities are exposed, the rest of the Incredible family must spring into action to save their father from the clutches of the evil Syndrome. The family journeys to a tropical island taking on killer robots and various other toys from the mad scientist to learn the importance of family and how their super skills make them unique in a way that they cannot hide because it defines who they are.

With comic references to superhero apparel issues, American litigiousness, and the cult of superhero worship the film is more than entertaining for adults, it is one of the most cleverly scripted films of the year. Pixar again breaks the mold moving from buddy comedies to father-son stories, the family conflict stories. They use animation less as an end in itself and more as a medium to tell every type of story imaginable. Of course they key to Pixar’s success has and hopefully will continue to be not a focus on story and character development coupled with cutting edge technology. Here Pixar excels in the depiction of humans characterized much more attractively, if less realistically, than the dead eyed children of The Polar Express. But it is not the animation wizardry that shines here it is the story and the attention to detail. The motives and struggles of a family who must hide who they really are as a family and as individuals presents the heart of this film. These are parent who want the best for their kids and want to shelter them from the piercing eye of public attention that comes with displaying their innate talents. While the parents struggle with marital issues and personal ennui, the children deal with understanding why they must hide the things that make them special and trying to fit in inside a world that no longer admires their abilities. Add to that some kick-ass powers and some cool super-villain toys and this film becomes and action-adventure film that will please the gamut of the film viewing populace.

If you haven’t seen it yet I strongly recommend The Incredibles as action packed, moving, and motivating family entertainment. Once again Pixar scores a touchdown with character driven animation that astounds and moves. After all we can all see under motivated parents, awkward teens, eager kids, and just everyday people trying to fit in everywhere, but only in the movies do they wear little black masks and save the day.

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