Release Date: November 5, 2004
The Voices of: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee, Spencer Fox, Sarah Vowell, Brad Bird
Directed by: Brad Bird
Written by: Brad Bird
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG (action violence)
In my 2003 review of Finding Nemo, the most recent film from Pixar Animation Studios before The Incredibles, I wrote that the company was “just now moving into the stage of their existence in which they will be expected to deviate from their past accomplishments in order to avoid a rut of familiarity.” They have certainly deviated with The Incredibles -- it is easy to see that, topically and thematically, this is a much different movie than their other offerings. But I am not so sure that this is such a good thing, after all. There are many notable achievements in The Incredibles, but they are mostly technical; the shortcomings, on the other hand, run deeper, meaning that while this is an enjoyable movie to watch, it does not rank among Pixar’s finest.
The technical success here is extraordinary; it is impossible to understate how good this film looks. What is most remarkable about The Incredibles is that its cast is entirely made up of convincing “human” characters. This has always been the glaring weakness in Pixar movies -- until now, anyway -- and if you go back and watch Toy Story again, you will see what I mean. While most of the movie is a resounding show of light, color, and verve, the people are stiff, lifeless, and, well, just not human. In The Incredibles, however, the cast feels just as lively as the rest of the movie, and you can tell that a great deal of attention and effort has been put into making this the most visually astute Pixar movie yet.
It is not, however, the most narratively astute Pixar film yet. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it is more an action drama than a straight comedy like the Toy Story films or Monsters, Inc., and it spends a lot of its time perusing heavy-handed themes like family unity and a sense of identity. This is quite a change of pace from Pixar’s previous movies, which were content to peddle top-notch comedy while slipping in a moral lesson somewhere near the end as a consolation prize for those who were not content to watch what amounted to animated situational comedy. But The Incredibles does not convincingly succeed in this respect. It makes an excellent case for the argument that animation is a medium not well suited to drama, perhaps because with all of the bright colors and fantastical, imaginative visions, we’re conditioned to expect a story just as lighthearted.
The Incredibles, which is ostensibly a send-up of the superhero and comic book movie genres, does have some lighthearted moments. As it begins, the hulking, super-strong Mr. Incredible -- also known as Bob Parr (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) -- finds his life as a superhero in jeopardy after he is sued for saving the life of a hapless civilian who didn’t want to be saved.
This opens up a tidal wave of litigation against other superheroes, forcing the government to put them into a witness protection program. But while Bob and the other superheroes are trying to make the switch to “normal” lives (Bob works as an insurance claims adjuster), the world has left the door open for the arch-villain Syndrome (Jason Lee, who finds yet another use for his distinct, peevish timbre) to wreak havoc using a giant, killer robot. Bob and his colleagues must therefore come out of retirement to save the world once again.
The first part of the movie deals with Bob’s non-superhero life. He goes through work in a daze, and he seems equally disinterested in his home life: His wife, Helen (Holly Hunter), who used to be known as Elastigirl for her ability to stretch her limbs to extraordinary lengths, and their two super-powered children, the lightning-quick Dash (Spencer Fox) and the sometimes-invisible Violet (Sarah Vowell), are content, but Bob often spends his nights wistfully thinking of the good old days. To recapture some of the glory, he sometimes sneaks out with his best friend, Lucius (Samuel L. Jackson) -- better known as Frozone, since he has the power to freeze almost anything instantly -- to thwart petty criminals, all under the pretense that he’s going bowling.
Then Syndrome arrives on the scene, diabolically luring Bob -- er, Mr. Incredible -- to his secret island hideaway, just as he has done with many other superheroes before him, and imprisoning him with the help of his killer robot. This prompts the rest of Bob’s family to come after him; with the help of Edna Mode (voiced by Bird), a droll fashionista who specializes in creating superhero costumes, they are set to return to the crime-fighting lifestyle they have secretly wanted all along.
In short, this is by far Pixar’s most serious movie (somewhat ironic and unexpected, given the subject matter). But it may be more accurate to characterize The Incredibles as a Brad Bird movie rather than a Pixar product. Those who saw Bird’s previous movie, The Iron Giant, will recognize the same aesthetic and many of the same themes at work here, while those who are expecting a typical Pixar laugh-fest will be struck by how few chuckles there really are.
Much like The Iron Giant, this movie takes place in a world that is a mix of once and future art deco, oftentimes as close to 1935 as it is to 2035. And the idea of a killer robot (which may even have some sentience, according to a minor plot point) on the loose, as well as that of a slightly dysfunctional family whose sense of unity is restored with the help of an extraordinary adventure, are both cut from the same fabric as Iron Giant.
The Incredibles also has the same ambition to reinterpret the concept of family entertainment, by giving -- commendably -- children the benefit of the doubt. This is a movie that believes youngsters in the audience can handle thematic material of a serious nature -- there are a number of moments in the plot when the characters are in genuine mortal danger, and the content is essentially the equivalent of a tamer James Bond movie. (Some parents, it should be said, might be disturbed to find out that the bad guys carry guns, or that the movie carries a PG rating.) Though there have been hints of this in previous Pixar films, when the characters in question were talking toys or anthropomorphic insects, the thematic gravity was somewhat lessened; The Incredibles, on the other hand, lays it all on the table.
Much of the comedy, on the other hand, is limited to throwaway lines at the expense of the superhero and comic book genres. Mr. Incredible and Frozone chuckle knowingly when they discuss arch-villains’ greatest weakness: master-plan monologues. The sight of the hulking Bob trapped behind a desk in a cubicle at an insurance company while his pint-sized boss berates him for being too helpful to the customers is good for a laugh. And Edna, the superhero costume designer, has some of the best scenes; Bird is great at delivering her lines with the same penultimate exasperation and empty socializing you would expect to find in a Beverly Hills fashion queen.
Principally, though, The Incredibles not an especially funny movie, and it may end up being an unfortunate victim of Pixar’s reputation. It is easily their best-looking movie yet, but audiences have become so adjusted to the idea that Pixar is the computer-animation standard bearer that they may not see the gains that the studio has made here. The story, on the other hand, is not Pixar’s usual fare, and stands out because of it. It has plenty of thematic stock, and audiences will certainly appreciate that this is a smart movie. But they have also come to laugh. The Incredibles does not deliver the funny the way previous Pixar movies did, and so whatever its accomplishments it is still slightly disappointing.
-- Craig Roush (craigroush@hotmail.com)