The Incredibles

An amazing family film and also one of the best superhero films of all time. Action is amazing, especially in the final act with such a range of powers all used brilliantly. And do I need to say anything about the animation? Pixar just knocks it out of the park every time. The Incredibles is just full of personality and charm, making it endlessly rewatchable.

Also we need a Frozone solo movie.

Is it a bird, no it's a plane, no it's the Incredibles…Imagine if one crazed scientist had a colossal sized blender and put the love and affection of The Modern Family in it, then sprinkled some dysfunctional madness of Malcolm in the Middle and then added superpowers to the mix, I guarantee that what comes out still won't be a match for the crazy, adorable, high octane and utter zaniness that are the Incredibles. The dad is supper strong, the mother can stretch like taffy, and the teenage girl can become invisible and throw up force fields and the 10 year old is lightening fast, which is quiet lucky when they must come up against the rich, genius of the villainous Syndrome, who seeks to destroy the hero he once worshipped in Mr. Incredible and an the whole city along with him. Despite the film being an animation featuring a story line that was extremely fantastical, not once did I remember it was a movie. The actions scenes were spell bounding and highly imaginative. But most importantly, I really believed in these characters that spat witty sharp dialogue at each other at a furious pace, not just because they were funny, but because the characters were so believable and relatable. Subsequently it should come as to no surprise that film was nominated for a best screenplay Oscar, which is a rarity for an animated film, but this ain't just your average animated film, it's an Incredible animated film

This is one of the finest animated films I have ever seen. Not only is it a fine animated film, it is a great film period. The film obviously takes its cue from several real life super hero comic books, especially The Fantastic Four and the Justice Society of America. The Fantastic Four comparison is obvious due to the fact that Elatigirl and Violet were obviously inspired by Mr. Fantastic (aka. Reed Richards) and the Invisible Woman (aka. Sue Storm Richards) respectively. The J.S.A. influence is a little more obscure. Several years ago, DC Comics issued a mini-series that attempted to explain the demise of the Justice Society by claiming that the group was forced to disband after their loyalty to America was questioned during the 1950's. In this film, all the heroes were forced into hiding after the government refused to pay for wrongful legal claims brought against the super heroes of this film. Also, there are many in jokes that the casual viewer might not get, but that made it enjoyable for comic book fans. This the island scenes look as if they could have been inspired by many of the series produced by Gerry Anderson of the 1960's (eg. the Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet).

Another thing that made this film unique was its look. If you notice, the city where the story takes place looks like a fairly modern metropolis. However, if you look at the cars in the film, most of them look as if they would have been more at home in the mid to late 1960's. Also, the way that many of the characters were dressed also could have put them in that time.

However, the thing that I really loved about this film was the fact that even though it was geared primarily to children, it was dark enough in theme to appeal to adults. In fact, there are a couple of scenes that you wouldn't normally associate with a film geared towards children.

This film is definitely a classic of animation and once again Pixar shows why they are the masters of computer animation.

Writer-director Brad Bird here has something that I was caught off-guard by just a bit. I always expect Pixar films to be above-par, family entertainment, the kinds of films that can have an appeal to adults on a satirical, jab-in-the-side effect by having the characters reacting to each other as they would on a film with a higher rating, whilst giving the bright colors, action, and silliness that appeals to kids. Watching The Incredibles, their sixth feature-length offering, I wasn't so entertained and amused since their 98 film A Bug's Life, and it almost brought me back to the emotional impact I felt when in the theater for the first time getting Toy Story into my system.

It's a film that takes on a type in society that we all know well (in the past they've done toys, bugs, monsters, undersea life, and now comic book archetypes) and transforms it superbly to the imaginative computer-animated landscape. This is also in credit due to Brad Bird, who proved five years ago with his sleeper The Iron Giant that he could transcend the genre and appeal with heart and vigor for almost every age bracket.

So what little touches make The Incredibles so appealing? How it starts to deconstruct the idea of a superhero, perhaps, as well as how the family unit is shown in the usual conventions under unusual and funny circumstances. As an example, one of our heroes Mr. Incredible, a.k.a. Bob Parr (voiced wonderfully by Craig T. Nelson), goes to visit a woman who fixes and creates the uniforms of superheroes. In one scene she explains why a cape is not a good idea. This is the kind of scene that might not make it into most Hollywood movies, and would sometimes if not often be discredited as being too 'smart' for kids to get. But by appealing to a kind of level late teens and adults can relate to, it reaches a higher, far more intelligent plane. In fact, many of the best scenes in the film take on what we all know in films displaying the 'family unit' and morph it with the power and imagination of superheroes.

I won't go too much into the plot as some may already have, except to say that what makes the story in and of itself appealing is how it is a fully formed story, and doesn't try and sell itself short like other animated films (i.e. Sharktale for example). It also uses it's PG-rating perimeter wisely, and Bird and company create action sequences that are as exciting, if not more so, than in the action films that have been released this year (in fact, some of the scenes in the climax, for my money, could rival a couple of those in Spider-Man 2). By setting up the right emotional bases with the characters- Bob, his wife Elasti-girl (Holly Hunter), their kids, and with supporting characters voiced finitely by the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and Jason Lee, by the time the high-charged, internally fantasy scenes take off, they take off with great conviction and excitement.

Overall, The Incredibles is a film that is, in a way, what audiences wish they could get and rarely do- it's a film with wit and observance, a kind of video-game where the results are not as expectable as can be. Some kids may not get it as much as adults might, which is just as well, as it sometimes operates on a level like Antz did, only through the sphere of Disney. In other words, if you say the teaser trailer, which involved the out-of-shape Mr. Incredible trying with all his might to buckle his tights, you'll know what the film could bring. Personally, I can't wait to see it again.

WOW! What a movie. I can honestly say this is in my top ten movies of all time, how do Pixar continue to out do themselves at every movie release?

The Incredibles is a fantastic story, wonderfully scripted and with the most stunning animation you have ever seen, it provides a perfectly rounded story with plenty of action, laughs and (almost) tears.

Basically, this is a story of a man encountering a mid life crisis and leaping headlong into it without a care or a thought for his family, proving exceedingly selfish and failing to see the good in his life. Meanwhile the wife is left to try and look after the family. Really, that's the story. Now, what Pixar have done is drop in the idea that the parents are Superheroes, banned from being Super many years previously by the Government and the people, trying to live a normal life. Add to the mix that some of their children have inherited their own powers and that the Super villains are planning a comeback, and you have this wonderful movie.

I can't begin to convey how wonderful the animation is, it's perfect. I mean you'll always be looking at it knowing it's animation, but when the story takes you along you'll suddenly realize you're still watching animation. The subtle difference is that you forget, and there are parts (for instance when the father is cheering his son during the race) that you actually think it is real. The effects for water, fire (two of the hardest things to recreate in animation) and lava are wonderful to watch and caught me drawing a breath when I first saw them.

The characters and acting are wonderful, and you will find yourself caring about them as real people. At some points I could feel a big swallow coming up and a wavering adams apple, obviously due to the food earlier, nothing to do with the movie.

I often find that movies aren't paced well, that they either have too long or too short an introduction to the characters, or the events that lead up to the pivotal point of the movie are unbalanced against the climax, all sorts of combinations. Not here, this move is perfect and well balanced, the story takes you along just when you are ready, and there were no points where I wished we could move on, or something could happen quicker. My only frustration were at the kids, and this was only because they were behaving exactly as real kids would.

It was interesting to see the comparisons and links to other famous Superheroes through comic-lore. Definitely with nods to The Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer and huge nods to The Watchmen. My only concern is that there is so much similarity to The Watchmen that those who haven't read the graphic novel will be saying "That's the Incredibles movie" when Watchmen finally comes to fruition.

The short film showing before this was wonderful in itself, and had the audience laughing out loud loads. Excellent, and once again, outdoes every short that they've produced before. Boundin' was beautifully animated and wonderfully told. Guaranteed to bring a huge big smile to your face.

All in all I think this movie is perfect and truly incredible.