Pixar's most "epic" animated film since "Toy Story."

Rating: 9/10 (26 April 2005)

Although "The Incredibles" is not the best film Pixar has released (via Disney) since 1995's "Toy Story," I felt it is the most epic. When I went to go see "Toy Story" in 1995, the epic scale of the picture -- the non-stop frantic pace, the action sequences, etc. -- were all so breathtaking that it contained the same tour de force attitude as, believe it or not, a blockbuster such as "Terminator 2": a crowd-pleasing, overwhelming picture.
"Monsters, Inc." wasn't quite as epic. It was a great movie, just as good as "Toy Story," but it didn't have the same style per se. "Finding Nemo" was very good as well but still didn't capture the same epic scale as "Toy Story." (I'm not saying that's a bad thing, just different.) "The Incredibles" seemed to. I saw it on DVD and from beginning to end the action is non-stop, the laughs aplenty, and the exotic locations and action-hero references continuous. For this reason, somehow, it reminded me very much of "Toy Story." It seemed like older Pixar, rather than some of their newer stuff (all of which is great as well). Pixar has yet to make a bad movie. Even their worst -- "A Bug's Life" -- was better than most animated films.
"The Incredibles" also returns to the spoof roots of "Monsters, Inc." and "Toy Story" (something "Finding Nemo" did but not as often) -- it parodies cultural references. (Something hard to do in an underwater sea adventure.) Although this is a family film, it is NOT a "children's film." That is evident from the beginning when the fake news reel in "The Incredibles" features articles about a suicidal man suing superheroes because he "didn't want to be saved." This is clearly a tongue-in-cheek criticism of the shameless legal standards of the day. (Such as the woman who sued McDonald's because her coffee was too hot. A true story!) Another film might not be clever enough to integrate iconic cultural references into itself but "The Incredibles" does.
Similarly, using superheroes, Pixar examines the at-home relationship of a family and spoofs our own rituals. (Such as eating at the dinner table -- the mom tries to stop the squabbling kids just like we do, only because she has superpowers, it's a bit... different.) All in all "The Incredibles" really is a great animated film. I enjoyed it more than "Finding Nemo" (which I didn't expect to as I loved "Nemo") and just as much as "Toy Story" and "Monsters, Inc." Pixar has solidified a new style of family film-making -- the cultural parody animated film -- and the evidence of this can be seen in such take-offs of the formula as "Shrek" and "Shark Tale" (which featured many cultural references as well).
All in all "The Incredibles" is incredibly fun. And funny.