The Incredibles Review
by David N. Butterworth (dnb AT dca DOT net)November 22nd, 2004
THE INCREDIBLES
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2004 David N. Butterworth
**1/2 (out of ****)
Pixar's latest animated adventure "The Incredibles," about a family of suppressed superheroes, is longer and louder than its predecessors, the box office champs "Toy Story" 1 & 2, "Monsters, Inc.," and "Finding Nemo," and while the animation on show here is, well, incredible, that increased length and heightened volume work against it. As a result, Brad Bird's film's feels less like the super heroic animated classic it could have been and more like a cross between "Spy Kids" and the "Powerpuff Girls," with car crashes, explosions, and gunfire the predictable--and PG-rated--order of the day.
"The Incredibles" certainly pushes all the right buttons and hits all of its marks with a keen observational eye and lashings of Quality. And it's got wonderfully drawn characters supported by great voice work (among them "Coach"'s Craig T. Nelson as Mr. Incredible, Holly Hunter as his wife Helen a.k.a. Elastigirl, and Jason Lee as the villainous Syndrome). But a lot of this seems wasted on a tired and mundane superhero plot that devolves into an overlong, overly loud, and disappointingly stock shoot 'em up that features a tentacled metal monster running amok.
I expected more from Pixar and I certainly expected more from writer/director Bird, whose 1999 feature "The Iron Giant" is one of the finest animated films around.
Following a series of spurious personal-injury lawsuits, Mr. Incredible and his family of "supers" (flexible homemaker Elastigirl; shy, retiring, and invisible Violet; speed demon Dashiell; and baby Jack-Jack) are forced underground courtesy the Superhero Relocation Program, a government makeover that requires superhuman do-gooders to denounce their super powers and live a life of suburban normalcy incognito. As Bob Parr, Mr. Incredible now spends his days confined to a cramped cubicle adjusting insurance claims yet still pining for the good old days--he and his ice-cool buddy Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) listen to police radio dispatches, secretly saving the world on occasion when they're supposed to be out bowling.
And then a mysterious and slender hottie named Mirage (Elizabeth Peņa) contacts Mr. Incredible with a tantalizing offer to pull on that ill-fitting superhero suit of his for one last and very important mission...
The film affectionately plays tribute to those superhero comic books of old, especially "Superman," "X-Men," and the "Fantastic Four." It also pays more than a passing nod to the James Bond franchise, with Michael Giacchino's score modeling John Barry's classic 007 spy themes almost note for note (Barry himself was originally set to score the film). As for the film's most memorable character that would be Edna E. Mode according to my six-year-old daughter, a diminutive, "dahlink"-spewing designer of super suits voiced by the director.
Think OscarŪ-winning costumer Edith Head as played by Linda Hunt.
The film's look is impressive, of course, yet the sophistication of the humor is not as evident this time around. "The Incredibles" is more serious-minded than previous outings and the hipness is downplayed as a result. Whereas my daughter enjoyed the film, finding it both funny and exciting, I was less enthusiastic about the overall package (perhaps my expectations were too incredibly high?).
While you can't argue with the presentation--it's a marvelously crafted entertainment after all--I just wish the animated "'Incredibles" had taken a less familiar course of action.
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David N. Butterworth
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