PIXAR & BRAD BIRD - Incredible.

Rating: 10/10 (5 November 2004)

First things first - Brad Bird is a genius. The dozen people who were able to see THE IRON GIANT know that. Pixar knew that, and they knew he'd shake up the status quo. Take the company to places toys and bugs don't go. Redefine what people thought a "Pixar Film" was, while allowing their unique style to temper and shape his wild creativity.
This movie had no focus group-pandering changes, no product placements. Just everything that a cartoon and comic book admirer dreams of seeing on the silver screen. It's hours later, and I'm still giddy.
I can't remember how many times I would stare at the screen and wonder in awe, "Is this really Pixar?" Death. Sex. Suicide. Angst. Dysfunctional families. Real guns, with bullets. Torture. People being sucked into jet engines. Mentions of "God". Toned down, true, but their presence is a quite bold move. I imagine parents will be sitting their young children down for a long talk afterwards.
I can't see how Pixar can ever top this. It's an amalgamation of the entire wonderful James Bond universe and every comic ever printed from 1930-1970. It's also a wonderful allegory for the evolution from the Golden Age of comics to the Silver (Marvel) Age.
While there's no knock-down drag-out fistfights, the action is still spectacular. CG is the perfect medium for superpowers because every element of the world is on equal footing. Once you get past the fact that they're CG, you accept anything. The upcoming FANTASTIC FOUR movie is already dead in the water, because a real Mister Fantastic will never look as good as Elasti-girl.
Like SPIDER-MAN 2, this film is mostly a grounded story, a story of family relationships, a long for the good old days, a biting look at the modern office workplace. Fusing suburban life with the super heroic elements just gives it a flavour that no other superhero film can match.
So many things to mention - the wonderful, retro '60's Spy score - what Evil Lair is complete without appropriately sinister music? The breathtaking art design - this was the first film I've seen in a while that actually looked like its pre-production art. Some of it even invoked the old Fleischer serials. While the rest of the world's superheroes didn't get as much screen time as I'd have liked, their vignettes still added plenty of depth. And when you learn their fates - a truly, truly chilling moment.
The action scenes stand alongside any major blockbuster film, and the wonderful humour allows you to accept the inherent silliness and enjoy it for what it is. It has a powerful, if slightly under-used villain. And what classic superhero story doesn't have a huge, evil robot? I wish that Violet had more screen time, though, but she really shone once her powers were under control. Edna Mode is delightful. I wonder how many people get the inspiration, but she works either way.
(I use "she" loosely, since she was voiced by Brad Bird himself.) While Samuel L. Jackson's Frozone was a supporting character, he made every scene count. And what better way to end it than with John Ratzenberger's vengeful Underminer? The entire voice cast was brilliant, really. They all deserve the highest accolades.
What more can I say about Pixar? They've not only pulled off human animation, they blew it away. This makes the already soulless SHREK look like a PS2 cut scene. Speaking of Dreamworks, they can't touch Pixar now. They're like the Sony to Pixar's Nintendo - heartless drivel for the masses, churned out fast, full of look-at-me pop culture references that audiences may find funny, but won't be laughing at 5 years from now. Pixar's humour is genuinely timeless. Even Disney's own foray into CG, CHICKEN LITTLE, seems hollow in comparison, as if they're trying to fool people into thinking it's a Pixar production. Instead of making soulless CG films just because they're trendy, Pixar makes them because they genuinely believe in them. They're the most talented group of cartoonists in North America, and they could be making beautiful cel animation if they wanted. But they chose to break boundaries. Pixar is the new Disney. Thank god for that.
I could go on for hours. I'll try to reach John Lasseter next week to congratulate him and the whole team. And who isn't hoping that a sequel will arrive in the near future?
Suffice it to say that this film more than deserves to stand alongside Pixar's past classics. It is, in a word, Incredible.