An overpraised but credible pastiche

Rating: 8/10 (5 November 2004)

Most Pixar films get good reviews from the critics, but they seem to be falling all over themselves for THE INCREDIBLES. I'm not sure why.
First off, the film strikes me as a pastiche of the Saturday morning cartoons I grew up watching, like THE FANTASTIC FOUR and JONNY QUEST, with a little James Bond thrown in. As such, it seems designed to appeal most to 10- to 14-year-old boys, a group that may be reluctant to go to an animated movie; witness the anemic box office of TITAN A.E. or TREASURE PLANET for proof.
By and large, the story is played straight. There are a few laughs scattered here and there, but the tone is nothing like the mixture of humor and pathos Pixar established for the medium with TOY STORY and Dreamworks exaggerated ad nauseam in SHREK 2.
Perhaps that's what the critics find appealing. THE INCREDIBLES is certainly not like any other animated film I've seen; at times, it's easy to forget that it *is* animated. Some of that is due to the ever-growing artistry of the Pixar team, which often makes you feel like you're watching a comic book/video game come to life.
But as solid as the movie is -- and except for a slow start, I was not bored -- for me, it's missing that little bit of magic to take it to the next level, where millions have found Shrek and Nemo.