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| The Incredibles (2004)
 
Starring: voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee, Sarah Vowell, Spencer Fox Director: Brad Bird Rating: PG Category: Adventure/Comedy  |
One wonders why it took so long for someone to come up with an idea as seemingly simple as the premise for “The Incredibles.” A superhero always has enemies with matching powers; what if his wife and kids had them, too? The potential for both social commentary, as well as parody, is unlimited, and the makers of “The Incredibles” work it, paying homage to the superhero genre while gleefully subverting it at the same time.
This is a far cry from Pixar’s lighthearted tales about toys, bugs or fish. “The Incredibles” is much longer than your typical animated feature (just shy of two hours). It’s also rated PG, and not for the reasons that the gross-out “Shrek” movies are: People actually die in this movie, and not just Bambi’s mother. This is a full fledged action movie, not some silly kiddy ride. (The number of childless couples in the audience proves that there’s much more to Pixar’s movies than as video babysitter.) “The Incredibles” has an adult sophistication that few live action movies, both superhero and non-superhero alike, have ever touched.
The central character is Mr. Incredible (voiced by Coach’s Craig T. Nelson), a Superman-type who wins the heart of fellow superhero Elastigirl (Holly Hunter). The superheroes, however, are forced to go underground and enter witness protection after an ungrateful recipient of Mr. Incredible’s generosity sues him for damages. Flash forward 15 years, where Incredible, now known by his given name of Bob Parr, is a drone at an insurance company, and is absolutely miserable. Elastigirl handles the transition to anonymity admirably, though her speedster son Dash (Spencer Fox) and introverted, sometimes invisible Goth daughter Violet (NPR’s Sarah Vowell) resent having to pretend to be normal.
But opportunity arises when Bob is contacted by a mysterious woman named Mirage, who gives him the chance to be a superhero again. Knowing that wife Elastigirl would disapprove, Bob secretly takes on the job, living a double life not unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger in “True Lies.” He soon realizes, however, that his dream job is a setup by super villain Syndrome (Jason Lee), and it’s up to his heretofore oblivious family to save the day.
Writer/director Brad Bird is quick to dismiss animation as not just a genre but a medium, and he puts his money where his mouth is here. This is not an animated action movie as much as it is a high-octane action movie that happens to be animated. (Look no further than Dash’s “Return of the Jedi”-esque chase sequence for how thrilling an action piece can be, animated or otherwise.) In fact, there are moments of “The Incredibles” that actually look better than the superb special effects of “Spider-Man 2,” which is no mean feat. When the movie is not upstaging superhero movies, it’s deliciously sending them up, taking particular note of the tendency of villains to “monologue,” thereby giving the hero a chance to put them away for good. It’s a fatal flaw that the genre has carried with it to this day, so it’s a pleasure to see a film that respects its audience enough to point that out and play with it.
The movie also excels, like all of Pixar’s movies, thanks to its spot-on casting. Craig T. Nelson’s barreling baritone lends Mr. Incredible a perfect blend of manliness and, when necessary, vulnerability. Likewise, Holly Hunter has that suffering-yet-spunky tone down to a science, and it fits Elastigirl well, since she is just as eager to get back to work as Bob is. But the movie belongs to the supporting players. Wallace Shawn, in his first Pixar performance since “Toy Story’s” Rex, is a great choice to play Bob’s bureaucracy-loving boss at the insurance company. And then there’s Jason Lee, who just runs away with the role of Syndrome (bonus points for his Heat Miser haircut), but the director himself steals the movie from them all as the two-feet-tall Edna Rome, former costume designer to the superheroes.
“The Incredibles” shows once and for all what was right in front of our noses all along, that Pixar is not an animation studio but a movie studio. And not just a movie studio, but the best movie studio.
~David Medsker
davidm@bullz-eye.com
DVD Features:
If there's any movie studio that knows how to give its films a grand release on DVD, it's Pixar, and their latest treatment for the Academy Award-winning film "The Incredibles" is a top-notch display of how much bonus material you can cram on to one, two-disc DVD set. The first disc of the set features the full-length film presented in 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen and boasts the brand new Dolby Digital 5.1 EX audio track. Also included on disc one is an audio commentary by writer/director Brad Bird and producer John Walker, and a second track by thirteen of the film’s animators.
Disc two houses all of the goodies, including a healthy array of production featurettes, 35-minutes of deleted scenes and more. Included in the featurettes section is a 27-minute “Making-Of” special that takes viewers behind-the-scenes and an additional 41-minute “More Making Of” documentary of ten specific topics including vignettes on "Story" and "Character Design.” Also included on the second disc is a collection of bloopers and outtakes titled “Incredi-Blunders,” two short films (the never-before-seen “Jack-Jack Attack” and the award-winning “Boundin’”), a sit down with voice talent Sarah Vowell (Violet) and more, not to mention a number of DVD Easter eggs hidden throughout both discs. “The Incredibles” is the best Pixar film yet, so don’t skip out on the chance to see one of the year’s best and explore hours of bonus material on the side.
~Jason Zingale
jzingale@bullz-eye.com