Paramount Pixar- Engineered to Perfection

Rating: 10/10 (28 April 2005)

"The Incredibles", without question, falls nowhere short of its title: a spectacular pack of dynamite thrills, comical and compelling humor, and stupendously dazzling visuals, an animated masterpiece for both adventure-craving children and cynical, adulterated parents alike, transcending a seemingly trite and cartoonish premise into marvelous entertainment that delivers all the goods that should be the standard for all Hollywood productions. Beginning with the exploits (or lack thereof) of a wrongfully disgraced gargantuan of a superhero Bob Parr (a.k.a. Mr. Incredible), his equally vigorous wife, and quarrelsome, prodigal children, "The Incredibles" could have resorted to strictly a nimble "superheroes saving the day" scenario, supplanting mindless action and explosion for character development and dialog. I am pleased to report that the film instead bypasses this clichéd premise and offers a simple, delightful, and often hilarious tale about a man who once conquered the scum of the earth in a supersuit, mask, and cape, who has now been reduced to intervening in family feuds, grovelling to his uptight boss, and combating the inconveniences of commute, his only escape being nights hanging out with his ex-superhero buddy Frozone ("Where's my supersuit?") and reliving the "golden days"; a perfectly endearing story we could all relate to and appreciate. Cleverly written, and with various cultural jabs (e.g. frivolous lawsuits), this story in and of itself would be plenty to be enjoyed; then again, with Pixar at the helm, it had to live up to its name and succeed as dynamite entertainment, now didn't it? One hilarious escapade leads to another, and soon enough, you guessed it, Bob Parr is once again called to arms as "Mr. Incredible". The dialog here is truly ingenious, offering distinct dimensions to each and every character and giving them their own valuable, memorable traits- with the family, these traits are brilliantly infused into their roles of action, which in effect, elevates all of their actions as superheroes to gratifying heights of excitement. Surprisingly enough, hardly ever is the dialog in this "family-oriented flick" ever bland or cheesy; it's almost entirely fresh and original, and always amusing. The visuals, without mention, are absolutely dazzling: the action mixes richly with the colors, the explosions are sheer dynamite- an amazing feat for "animation", and the characters' facial features and motions very much satisfy their accepted personalities; this is perhaps the most wonderful, ground-breaking animation I've ever seen displayed in film. The manner in which the film somehow achieves the weight of being a perfectly innocuous "family flick", gratifyingly clever and original comedy, and delivering some dynamite bang-for-your-buck, is enough to solidify this Pixar wonder (would you expect anything else from Pixar?) as a masterpiece. "The Incredibles" works ably and incredibly at balancing and surpassing so many expectations, and sustains itself from becoming a clichéd, brainless animated actioner, and rather succeeding as a clever, fresh, and marvelously rollicking entry in both the superhero and animated comedy genres. "Dahling, Dahling... For incredible, eye-popping entertainment, rejoice with "The Incredibles": it offers nearly everything that's been sorely missing in the doldrums of Hollywood entertainment today. **** out of ****