A darn good show but not nearly as funny or emotional as 'The Iron Giant'

Rating: 10/10 (22 November 2004)

Since watching Brad Bird's first animated film The Iron Giant, I am immensed with its surprisingly entertaining storyline and brilliant animation depicting the big robot as a child and the boy as his parent (yep, everything's done without irritating sing-along sequences and typical sidekicks). What gives this rare gem a powerful film is an unexpected and sometimes emotional 'twist' somewhere near the end which definitely lets the audience including myself to express our own emotions (hatred and even sympathy) towards the characters involved in this movie. Since then, I always consider this movie a real 'classic' of its own genre.
Now, it's been five years since The Iron Giant and Bird once again takes the world finally with The Incredibles, an action-packed family film about the life of a superhero whose recognition as a crime fighter is marred by the public. And so, he marries a woman with elastic powers (hmm, almost reminds me of the 'Fantastic Four') and starts his own family which unfortunately leads to his pathetic days as an ordinary social worker (which is funny because he isn't used to this normal lifestyle since he himself is 'abnormal'!). Unlike any Pixar films, The Incredibles' is more of a bizarre mix of drama and comedy (and lots of family issues too) which, for some people's POV, is a refreshing change from the typical CGI movie fare. Of course, I have nothing against Pixar's awesome animation technique: the character's posture, emotions and facial expressions, despite their cartoony looks, seem more real than the fake-looking Polar Express's 'real' characters. Also, expect some Bird's favorite trademarks (Mr. Incredible banging the malfunctioning car door, the robot invasion, the retro elements and even the ever lovable Frank and Ollie cameos!) which are delicately picked up from The Iron Giant.
However, despite the good stuff I have mentioned above, every good movies also need some criticism as well (sorry, adored fans of Pixar). The settings in the middle act are heavily (and obviously) borrowed from the X-Men movies by Bryan Singer (e.g. the futuristic ship, the backgrounds in the hidden base, the sky chase with missiles), ruining the movie's overall originality. Perhaps the sadder part of this sort of criticism is that, despite its incredible premises and technical wizardry Bird is trying to achieve, The Incredibles sadly doesn't capture the emotional and humorous tones of his previous outing The Iron Giant. It's quite surprising that I don't feel the same magical experiences that I earned in Iron Giant. Perhaps reviving the same old magic proves to be harder than expected but anyway, The Incredibles is still an enjoyable movie with great moments with Edna the cloth designer and even the most amazing chase and battle sequences ever created in animation history.
Although The Incredibles lacks originality, watching it for the second (third, fourth and so on, thanks to DVD) time only proves how wonderful this movie is (combined with great and sometimes humorous dialogue and brilliant mise-en-scene that reflects its Golden Era atmosphere). Realizing that I can't think of a better storyline on a particular sequence, I congratulate Brad Bird and his entire team at Pixar for making such a serious animated film, not only with 'flexible' and appealing animation, but also with a big heart.