Pixar strikes out in an "Incredible" new direction

Rating: 9/10 (16 November 2004)

I've long been a fan of Pixar's work (MONSTERS INC. being my personal favorite), and I've long been awed by their insistence on strong storytelling at the heart of their technological masterpieces.
While all of the Pixar films have been great family movies, THE INCREDIBLES moves into more sophisticated, more "adult" territory, with themes of mid-life crisis and marital discord. It is also somewhat more violent than previous Pixar efforts, with a darker overall tone.
Far from being a bad thing, I like that the studio is striking out for new creative ground. For this particular outing, they had the capable guidance of Brad Bird. A veteran of Disney, "The Simpsons", and the similarly dark THE IRON GIANT, Bird has brought a remarkable vision to light.
And "vision" is the key here. The best part of this movie is its look. The retro feel here is wonderful, and created by a variety of details. The cars in particular struck me; almost all of the cars in this film were custom designed, but carried an authentic retro look. The villain's island had a wonderful James Bond kind of feel to it, in a way that James Bond movies themselves quit feeling like way back in the sixties.
The whole world, in fact, looked a lot "realer" here than it has in any previous CGI film, though human characters apparently still need a little work; rather than make them real here the animators elected for a kind of "Thunderbirds" marionette feel, with a few detailed features thrown into the mix for a little texture (see Bob's eyebrows or Syndrome's hair). The retro feel actually almost seems like a further development of the robot in THE IRON GIANT.
In terms of narrative, Bird's script avoids the obvious pop-culture shots that have become a clichÃ© in this genre. SHARK TALE proves that this kind of storytelling may very well be dead (or at least seriously stale), and it's wise that they've abandoned it here. There do seem to be some VERY subtle references here, and I look forward to buying the DVD to search them out, but the ones I did pick up were all pretty subdued (like baby "Jack-Jack" Parr... hmmmm...).
The characters themselves were all pretty good. I found the story a little more engaging than FINDING NEMO, though perhaps not quite as good as MONSTERS INC. or THE IRON GIANT. Though the fabulous visuals make up a little ground; I frequently found myself grinning at the sheer visual invention of THE INCREDIBLES. Right down to the credits at the end.
This is a fun movie, and a great addition to Pixar's already-considerable portfolio. It also shows an intriguing new direction for animation in general.