What Monsters, Inc. did for monster movies and creatures in the closet, The Incredibles does even more for comic book heroes and James Bond flicks.
RATING: 5 out of 5
Pixar Animation Studios seems to love pushing the boundaries they constantly reset in computer animation. Their first full-feature film Toy Story provided a bit of magic for both kid and adult alike, and each project Pixar undertook continued to provide cutting edge animation while still telling a clever stories with characters you forget are computer generated.
My favorite Pixar film was 2001’s Monsters, Inc., a terrific kid’s movie with plenty of terrific jokes for the grown-up’s. (I’m partial to the joke of “Harryhausen’s” being the most exclusive restaurant in Monster City.) Now comes Pixar’s latest offering The Incredibles, and while the kids were thoroughly enjoying themselves, I believe creator Brad Bird made this movie for me and the other comic book geeks in the world!
The Incredibles opens with a tightly knit group of superheroes enjoying the celebrity crime-fighting lifestyle. Things could not be going better for these crusaders in tights, especially for Mr. Incredible. With the gadgets of Batman and the strength of Superman, he is at the top of his game, until a rabid fan complicates an evening of rescue and daring-do. Still, he manages to end his day right in marrying Elastigirl in the presence of his best friend, Frozone. The superhero’s life for Mr. Incredible is good?
?and then, lawsuits for callous destruction of public and private property, emotional duress from hair-raising rescues, and wrongful assault all pile up. The government steps in (*insert wise-ass comment about Bush administration and FCC here*) and tells the superheroes to hang up their tights, get real jobs, and acclimate.
Years later, Mr. Incredible is working at an insurance company as a claims adjustor, and not feeling too incredible about his life. He also has two kids, Dash and Violet. Dash is your typical rabble-rouser, who can move at incredible speed. Violet is invisible at her junior high school?literally! She can disappear at will. Both kids are having a tough enough time growing up, but they are growing up with super powers, complicating things all the more at home. Mr. Incredible still manages to catch up with Frozone, sneaking out on Wednesday nights to listen to the police band and see if they can help out anonymously. It’s a ho-hum life for Mr. Incredible until a package arrives in his work cubicle from someone named Mirage.
She has a job offer, and she needs Mr. Incredible.
The Incredibles is a film for everyone in the family, and a real treat for fans of Marvel Comics. Yeah, Marvel Comics! First there is a nod to The X-Men, creating a world where superheroes are regarded more as a nuisance than as a necessity, and take a good look at the super villain’s supercomputer that bears a striking resemblance to Cerebro. Elastigirl and Violet also give a few winks to The Fantastic Four’s Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Girl. And much in the same vein as Marvel, you get to know these super heroes as people, people who suffer from selfishness, vanity, pride, and insecurity. Then there are some of the pet peeves that super heroes never get a chance to voice that are finally brought to light?
Lucius Best (a/k/a Frozone): So he’s got me there, bound to a slab?and he won’t shut up!
From the super villain’s need to get in the last word to fashion statements with capes, The Incredibles refuse to let anything slide past the audience, continuing the joke Tobey McGuire started in his elevator ride in Spider-Man 2.
Then you get the James Bond references, right down to the soundtrack that is reminiscent of John Barry’s scores from the Connery-Bond films. There are scenes and images plucked right out of Diamonds Are Forever and You Only Live Twice, and a mondo-mega-super island hideout that would make Ernst Stavro Blofeld and Dr. Evil green with envy.
But with all the incredible computer generated sets and eye-popping computer generated special effects, let’s not dismiss the real incredibles: the voice talent. Craig T. Nelson plays the voice of Mr. Incredible, and he fills the CG-tights quite effectively as the top-of-the-world super hero longing for the glory days once more. As far as Holly Hunter is concerned, you just cannot miss with her. Maybe it’s that Southern twang in her voice, or maybe she is just that good, but Elastigirl could not have been voiced by anyone better than Ms. Hunter. And when you need someone cool to play a hero as cool as Frozone, you cannot miss with Samuel L. Jackson, an actor who makes the combination of comedy with action an art form.
Pixar Studios makes truly amazing films, CG-animation that I tend to prefer over their counterparts at Dreamworks. (Sorry, but compared to Monsters, Inc., Shrek wasn’t all that impressive?). The Incredibles is Pixar at its best and should not be missed. If you are a fan of comic books or if you remember Saturday mornings watching The Super Friends over a bowl of overly-sweetened cereal, this movie is for you. Don’t miss The Incredibles. It’s guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face that would make the Joker proud.
