Another winner from Pixar

Rating: 8/10 (7 November 2004)

In recent years, since the success of X-Men, we've been bombarded with superhero comic-to-screen conversions some doing a good job, others not so good. Needless to say, it's a new genre that seems to already be getting tired of itself as well as the fan interest. The Incredibles however is a refreshing new superhero film. Unlike the recent lore, it's not based on a comic book series and therefore does not need to conform to nor preserve any preconceived notion of what it 'ought' to be. Instead it is a completely unique creation from the folks at Pixar animation, who once again have dished out a winner.
As the story opens, we find Mr. Incredible (Bob Parr by day, and Craig T Nelson by voice) is one of many superheroes living in [insert name of anonymous metropolitan city here]. Co-existing with other heroes like Elastigirl and Frozone, who we also meet, they all hear the call of duty and rushed into action as regular as clock work Mr. Incredible is loved by the public, revered by law enforcement, and even has followers of fan clubs.
He is proud to serve, but also balances his own personal life as well as being a superhero.
That is until one member of the public sues Mr. Incredible and wins. This begins a long string of lawsuits against Mr. Incredible and various other superheroes that wind up placing them all into hiding never again revealing their super-identities to the public. That is until someone discovers Bob Parr's REAL identity and persuades him to come out of hiding to perform on more deed that only Mr. Incredible can accomplish
The Incredibles is yet ANOTHER amazing Pixar accomplishment. Each animation feat since their feature Toy Story has been an improvement on the one before. The animation details on several of the water and natural elements in The Incredibles leaves me to wonder at times, if it was shot photographically, rather than computer generated, the animation is THAT well done.
The Incredibles differs from its Pixar predecessors. Films like Toy Story, A Bug's Life, and even Finding Nemo are all targeted at children and have child-like qualities. This, however, is the first film from Pixar to achieve a PG rating and aptly so. The Incredibles' humour, dialogue, and story line surpasses the G-rated audience. Nothing in the film is offensive, mind you that's just not Pixar's way but I doubt most of the story would be appreciated by a younger crowd. However, since the original Toy Story audience has grown perhaps Pixar is merely growing up with them.
The voice acting was well chosen. I think Craig T Nelson was an incredible selection (if you pardon the pun) for the voice of Bob Parr. I'm curious as to how he Nelson has escaped voice acting until now. A decent actor in his own right, he possesses a commanding voice for this type of work, and especially this character. At times, I thought I heard hints of Adam West (TV's original Batman) coming through Nelson's performance a sure sign of his 'hero' quality. Holly Hunter also was well picked for Elastigirl. She comfortably strikes the medium between heroine and housewife by being commanding and authoritative, yet 'homey' and sweet. Samuel L Jackson serves up a comedic presence as Frozone, Bob Parr's best friend and a performance for Jackson that rivals his own from Pulp Fiction.
Although slow in spots, I still thoroughly enjoyed The Incredibles. It offers a great blend of action sequences and super-heroics, has fun with a bit of a satirical poke at superheroes in general, while at the same time offers it's own flavour of comedy that seemingly only comes from Pixar.