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Written by Mandroid3000
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THE INCREDIBLES
**** out of *****
Genres
Action
Animation
Comedy
Superheroes
2004
Written & Directed by
Brad Bird
Voice Cast
Craig T. Nelson .... Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible
Holly Hunter .... Helen Parr/Elastigirl
Spencer Fox .... Dashiell 'Dash' Parr
Sarah Vowell .... Violet Parr
Samuel L. Jackson .... Lucius Best/Frozone
Jason Lee .... Buddy Pine/Syndrome
Dominique Louis .... Bomb Voyage
It’s too much of a cliché to call The Incredibles incredible. So I’ll just say that it’s really damn good. It has just that right mix of action, comedy, suspense and drama. The animation is excellent, and I would argue that the action is the best in a superhero film to date, which, since they’re all done by computer effects houses that aren’t Pixar isn’t surprising. While the basic story may not seem like a huge dose of originality to a regular comic reader, it is done with originality. Since nothing is truly original, that’s what matters.
The story is set in an America where, after a series of superhero-related lawsuits and a rabid public outcry, superheroes are outlawed. Vilified, they are given new identities and new lives. But for the ex-Mr. Incredible, Bob Parr, the yearning for action is too strong to resist. This causes a lot of problems to his wife Helen Parr, who used to be Elastigirl, and his three kids who also have powers. Bob uses his powers on his boss at work one day, is fired, and starts secretly taking missions from a shadowy organisation. He gets himself in trouble, and his family have to resume their superhero ways to save him.
The tone is right to appeal to people past adolescence as well as kids (but who cares about them). It isn’t a usual kids cartoon that has a main character suffering a mid-life crisis and a character based on Edith Head. And this may be distributed by Disney, but it’s not a sissy Disney film. There are brutal fights, deaths, and torture. The Incredibles doesn’t present a standard cartoon world where people are blackened by soot when something explodes. People are really in danger. It’s not extreme like a Punisher comic (I’ll forget the movie if you will), but it is anchored enough in the real world to connect dramatically.
One advantages of animation is that some things that would barely be noticed in live-action (in this film the glistening ocean) can cause amazement. But the key to Pixar’s success has been the story coming first, and while the film looks great it’s just here to tell the story. In the wrong hands this could have degenerated into a Matrix-style more-is-less crapathon. The Incredibles has the comedy/action/drama ratio spot on.
This has a big Mandroid recommendation. If you think it’s not your sort of thing forget it’s a cartoon, and forget it’s about superheroes. The only thing you need to remember is that it’s one damn good film.
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