The Incredibles (2004) Disney/Action-Adventure-Comedy RT: 115 minutes Rated PG (action violence) Director: Brad Bird Screenplay: Brad Bird Music: Michael Giacchino Cinematography: Andrew Jimenez, Patrick Lin and Janet Lucroy Release date: November 5, 2004 (US) Cast: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer Fox, Jason Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Elizabeth Pena, Brad Bird, Bud Luckey, Wallace Shawn, Lou Romano, Kimberly Adair Clark, Michael Bird, John Ratzenberger. Box Office: $261.4 million (US)/$631.4 million (World)
Rating: ****
The Incredibles is that rare family film that parents will enjoy as much as their children. In fact, it’s likely they’ll enjoy it a little more for reasons that will fly right over the heads of the wee ones. The kids will see The Incredibles as a funny and fast-moving comedy-adventure about a family of superheroes. It is that, but it’s also more. Underneath its kiddie-friendly veneer, it’s a sharp satire of the superhero genre AND an even sharper critique of the mundaneness of suburban life. As you can see, The Incredibles isn’t just another dumb kid’s movie. There’s nothing dumb about it. It’s actually rather brilliant.
The Incredibles is set in an alternate universe where superheroes are a part of everyday life. Mr. Incredible (Nelson, Poltergeist) loves his job. He loves being able to save lives and prevent crime. Of course, not everybody wants to be saved. On a particularly busy night, Mr. Incredible thwarts a man’s suicide attempt by catching him in mid-air after he jumps from a building. Instead of gratitude, the man sues him for unlawful rescue. Others follow suit. It becomes so costly that the government initiates a Superhero Relocation Program which effectively puts super-beings like Mr. Incredible out of business. Forced to adhere to their secret identities, the heroes must try to conform to the ways of ordinary life as ordinary beings.
Fifteen years later, we find Mr. Incredible living as Bob Parr in the suburbs with his wife Helen/Elastigirl (Hunter, Broadcast News) and three kids, teenage Violet (Vowell), rambunctious younger brother Dash (Fox) and baby Jack-Jack. Bob is miserable living like this. He works a dull job at an insurance company for a tyrannical boss (Shawn, The Princess Bride) who hates pay-outs of any kind. Helen stays home to raise the kids; this entails constantly reminding them to not use their superpowers. Violet is a moody sort who can turn invisible and create force fields. Dash is super-fast, but isn’t allowed to participate in school sports. If anybody finds out they have special powers, they’ll be forced to move again.
In order to stave off total boredom, Bob and his best friend/colleague Lucius/Frozone (Jackson, Pulp Fiction) secretly moonlight as vigilantes one night a week. It’s during one such outing that they’re spotted by a mysterious woman, Mirage (Pena, Down and Out in Beverly Hills), who summons Bob to a remote island for a meeting with her boss. He’s offered the chance to become Mr. Incredible again; all he has to do is defeat an indestructible robot. He succeeds and gladly resumes his old job under a boss he has yet to meet.
One of the biggest unspoken, unwritten rules of thumb in superhero/secret agent movies is this: beware the individual who lives in a secret lair in a volcano. Chances are he’s up to no-good. I’m guessing that Bob never saw You Only Live Twice; otherwise, a few red flags would have been raised regarding his new boss. Sure enough, this is the case. The nefarious one behind it all is Syndrome (Lee, Mallrats) who resents Mr. Incredible for rejecting him as his Boy Wonder when he was a child and the hero’s “number one fan”. Another rule, beware the person who calls him/herself a “number one fan”. That has trouble written all over it. Anyway, the unhinged Syndrome has an evil plan up his sleeve. Bob/Mr. Incredible will need his family’s help if he’s to defeat this villain.
The Incredibles is a total delight! For one thing, it’s NOT condescending to its audience. It keeps things on a level accessible to all viewers, especially children, without talking down to them. Brad Bird, who also directed the wonderful 1999 animated feature The Iron Giant, refuses to dumb down his screenplay. Instead of giving us stupid gags about farts and private bathroom functions, he subverts the genre by goofing on its conventions like the assumption that everybody appreciates being saved. Bird knocks that one down early on after a bravura sequence in which Mr. Incredible performs various acts of heroism on his way to his wedding to superheroine Elastigirl who can stretch her limbs and reshape her body into different forms. It’s not often a family-oriented film is endowed with this level of cleverness and intelligence.
The Incredibles also works as a superhero adventure flick. It’s genuinely exciting once the action really kicks in. The basic plot is right out of a comic book. The characters, in non-super form, are believable-ish. They look and try to act like any other family of the time (I think it takes place in the 60s). The husband works a dull office job while the wife stays home to tend to the kids. They bicker sometimes. The siblings fight. The baby is messy. However, they exist in a realm of realism-with-a-twist. Their suburban neighborhood is one of those non-descript places where nothing even remotely exciting ever happens. It’s pure Dullsville. That is, except for the large neighbor who can lift his car over his head. Basically, Bird channels Spielberg’s fascination with suburban settings and takes it to the next level. Oh geez, here I go digressing again. My point is that it’s a solid superhero flick in addition to being a smart satire.
The voice talents do a great job, especially Nelson as the strong but dim Mr. Incredible. Every hero has his flaw or weakness. His is a desire to work alone. It’s a sure bet that he will learn a lesson or two about it being okay to rely on others (especially family) and ask for help. Hunter is also terrific as Helen/Elastigirl. It can be argued that she’s the true savior of the day with the way she comes to her husband’s rescue after he’s taken prisoner by Syndrome. Speaking of which, Lee is having devilish fun voicing a man-child made unhinged by his hero’s rejection. Bird provides the voice of Edna Mode (aka “E”) who’s an obvious nod to gadget-maker Q of the James Bond movies. Not only does she design uniforms, she also offers up marital advice. Jackson is a riot as Frozone who can turn humidity into ice. He has this one scene with his bossy, too-inquisitive wife that’s just hilarious.
The computer-animation in The Incredibles is flawless and superb; would you expect anything less from the talented folks at Pixar? It’s colorful, vibrant and energetic. The illustrations have a retro look to them. This is the very definition of true artistry.
I really love The Incredibles. It deservedly won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature that year. It’s about as perfect as a movie can get. It works on several levels and appeals to all age groups. I can’t find a single flaw with this high-flying superhero comedy-adventure. The Incredibles is truly incredible!
