"Oh, come on! You gotta admit this is cool!"

Rating: 9/10 (30 December 2004)

How worth it is "The Incredibles"? Let's consider the evidence:
1. Writer-director Brad Bird has "The Iron Giant" and "The Simpsons" on his CV, making him ideal to oversee an animated movie that's very funny and very thoughtful, while also delivering messages without ramming them down your throat or otherwise talking down to the audience.
2. This disproves the theory that animated movies of two hours' duration are exclusively a Japanese thing (the secret: all killer, no filler).
3. "The Incredibles" wears its influences well - the notion of superheroes having to hide their powers from a world that doesn't really appreciate them is very "X-Men," but it never plays as a ripoff. "The Return of Captain Invincible" (also about a superhero coming out of retirement) also precedes this, but it doesn't handle its premise as well.
4. The movie has a very 1960s look, but it's not interested in going the Austin Powers route and sending the whole thing up - the movie's got humour, but it plays its core situation and the character relationships very straight.
5. As wonderful as "Finding Nemo" was, its title character was a bit nondescript; here all the main characters are fleshed-out humans, from Mr. Incredible to super-speedy son Dash, and even the villain.
6. The movie has action to spare, but it's the little twists thrown in that make it work (it's heartbreaking when Violet tries to activate her forcefield at a crucial time and can't).
7. "Alias" composer Michael Giacchino's excellent score deserves an Oscar nomination at the very least. (Walt Disney Feature Animation and DreamWorks please note the lack of songs.)
8. The voice work.
9. Elastigirl - the real leader of the family, and the most attractive animated crime fighter this side of Kim Possible.
10. "When everyone's super, no one will be," the arch villain pronounces. And "The Incredibles" proves that we need the "Shark Tale"s and "Home On The Range"s of this world - just as the movie itself shows that we need special people to stand out from the mass but also need people who AREN'T superheroes, we need the dross to truly appreciate the gems.
This movie stands proud with the other Pixar movies, and also alongside recent non-animated superhero movies. It truly lives up to its name.