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The Incredibles

Pixar has come a long way from the “Toy Story” days. I remember sitting down and watching Woody and Buzz for the first time, amazed at the crisp graphics and fluid movement. Everything seemed so realistic. Little did I know, a mere 10 years later, Pixar would once again be pushing the boundaries of graphical power with a family of superheroes, “The Incredibles.” Now, people have lauded “The Incredibles” for the graphical portrayal of real people, instead of toys, animals or other fantasy objects. That praise is slightly false. You see, real people can’t stretch their limbs to eternity, or run on water, or hide themselves in invisibility. And they certainly can’t lift a bus by themselves; these people are anything but normal.

Superheroes used to be common in society. They rescued people from peril, destroyed villains, foiled plots of all kinds. But then people began to take them for granted, and began to sue the superheroes for all the resultant damage from saving the world. With the constant threat of litigation, all the heroes burrowed into the normalcy of society, landing regular jobs, living as everyone else, suppressing their powers. The Incredibles are one such case. Mr. Incredible (Craig Nelson) and his wife Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) live with their 3 children in a picturesque suburb. Their quiet existence was going quite blandly, until one day, Mr. Incredible receives word of someone in need of his powers. And in the blink of an eye, the suit comes back on, the powers flare up and the journey begins anew.

The animators still deserve all the credit in the world. We see some fancy effects here: everything from the seamless stretching of Elastigirl’s limbs to Violet’s force field to the ocean waves as the family plane comes crashing down; everything is done with precision and detail. All the colors are in place, and all the textures are right on. Tree trunks are gritty, every sand pellet is fine tuned, and even Syndrome’s (Jason Lee) stubble perks right up. The animation is spectacular. It brings out the storyline even more than the writing, which is a fair telling of a rather overdone story. Some people say the superhero concept is actually unique, because it’s never been done with a whole world of superheroes before. But it doesn’t seem much different from “Superman” or “Batman,” or any other franchise with just one hero and one villain. The fact there are six heroes and one villain makes no difference. It’s an entertaining story, but nothing too unique. Though the acting is top-notch; like most animated fare nowadays, you’ve got stars poking through all kinds of windows to land these roles. Nelson, Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson as fellow hero Frozone, and director Brad Bird as the kooky costume maker Edna, are all respectable, as is the rest of the cast. No complaints in the voice department. Bird does a well-rounded job right on par with similar films.

As long as you don’t expect anything too extraordinary, you’ll be pleasantly content with “The Incredibles.” It’s a great film to watch with your kids, and even retains its entertainment value on multiple viewings. So when you plan your long road trip, at least you won’t have to worry about your children being entertained. Just pop a disc in the DVD player, and enjoy the ride.

Written by: Jason Villemez

Reviewers Rating: 7
Reader's Rating: 8.00
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