Appropriate title

Rating: 10/10 (4 December 2004)

I'm now convinced that Pixar can do no wrong and Disney will rue the day they didn't offer Jobs a hundred bazillion dollars to buy his top shelf animation studio. That said, 'The Incredibles' is probably one of the finest family pictures available.
It's refreshing to watch a family movie that actually portrays a ~complete~ family. Witness the stay-at-home-mom bathing, feeding and generally raising her children while the dad singularly shoulders the responsibility of bringing home the bacon (a cliché' mentioned in the movie). Behold the 2 parent family dealing with their problems...TOGETHER! And Dash, Mr. Incredible's super son, giddy with excitement, actually exclaims at one point "I love our family!" Can you imagine that? Unbelievable!
The film's one point that really grabbed me is our society's obsession with celebrating mediocrity. Have you noticed how some schools have eliminated grades altogether for fear of damaging some poor kid's self esteem? Apparently, children today can no longer play dodge ball on our school playgrounds (God forbid we eliminate the weak players and one kid truly stands out in the end) and soccer/baseball/football games are no longer scored (You're ALL winners!). This is unfair to not only the best athletes who otherwise may be weak performers in the classroom but it also robs the weaker kids the chance to truly lose. If you never lose, there's no need to improve. The movie addresses this new way of coddling (and hindering) our kids quite effectively. Let's not 'kid' ourselves - our children keep score even when we don't. They know who won. Oh, and being picked last for the kickball team is OK. Really, it is.
In all, the entire presentation, from Bud Luckey's opening short "Boundin'" to Brad Birds' story (I'm glad he dropped the blatant anti-gun message) of family, sacrifice and cooperation is Pixar's best work to date. The action & story is riveting and the voice acting, as usual, is 100% spot on and perfectly cast. Even if you don't have kids you owe it to yourself to check out this outstanding movie. Rating = 10