Almost Incredible

Rating: Null/10 (3 December 2004)

Written and directed by: Brad Bird
Featuring the voices of: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee, Wallace Shawn, Elizabeth Peña
There was a time when superheroes were in vogue. In those days, you could count on the likes of Mr. Incredible (voice of Craig T. Nelson), Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) and Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) to get things right. But when the people they had saved became unhappy with their presence, they filed a lawsuit against them, forcing them to live normal family lives.
15 years later, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, now known as Bob and Helen Parr, are married with three children, two of whom have definitely inherited Mum and Dad's powers. Boring old Bob is struggling to hold on to his day job, so when a call from a mysterious stranger (Elizabeth Peña) alerts him to the possibility of using his powers again, it is an opportunity he cannot pass up...
Pixar's latest offering does almost everything right. The animation is wonderful without being show-offy, the voice casting is as good as, if not better than, ever before, and the story is incredibly enthralling and sometimes very funny. Nearly three years ago, I labeled Monsters, Inc. a mixture of "drama, comedy and action which will please both kids and adults." That is what all of the Pixar films have been, and The Incredibles fits that description perfectly. More of the same, perhaps, but as the saying goes, why change a winning formula?
Yet, incredibly (no pun intended) enough, Pixar have deviated slightly from their more traditional formula involving the linear "buddy story". One could be forgiven for thinking that Quentin Tarantino was an inspiration here - The Incredibles might not squeeze the strongest emotional response from its audience, but it's one of the slickest pastiches I've seen recently.
That's right, I used the word pastiche. Elements of Spy Kids, Thunderbirds, James Bond, Indiana Jones, X-Men, Superman and Spider-Man will all come to mind at some point or another when you watch this film. While the various homages are hardly subtle - indeed, it's worth wondering if certain cynics will view these homages as thefts - the film is enjoyable enough to stand on its own. The writer-director, Brad Bird (who was responsible for the sadly unappreciated The Iron Giant) recognises that the best superhero films are funny, human and kinetic. That's much more important than just flashes and bangs on their own, although rest assured, action fans, there are plenty of those. As a result, this is Pixar's most violent offering to date, explaining the PG certificate. Don't worry, though - Pixar are too clever to go all Bruckheimer on us. The only problem with all of this cartoon violence is that in the post-9/11 world, it might not be seen as appropriate for a family film. Thankfully, Bird knows better than to focus too heavily on it.
The Incredibles works very well for what it is. It's not as wholly satisfying as Toy Story, or even as funny, poignant or universally acceptable as the likes of Monsters, Inc. or Finding Nemo. But it does maintain Pixar's usual high standard of animation, whilst simultaneously providing perfect family entertainment for all but the youngest kids - and it shows that the studio are willing to take themselves in new directions.
Rating: **** (out of *****)