Pixar Does It Again!

Rating: 8/10 (6 January 2007)

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm in my 40s as of this writing, and I am still nuts about animation! When Pixar and Disney teamed up for "Toy Story" in 1995, my mind was sufficiently boggled. Then came "A Bug's Life", "Toy Story 2" and "Monsters, Inc.", and then other studios chimed in with their CG features, including "Shrek" and "Ice Age".
But this film is the one we're talking about, and "The Incredibles" shines as yet another feather in the Pixar/Disney cap. The movie begins with an event which leads to lawsuits and government intervention, forcing all the superheroes of the world into hiding. It asks "What if a family of supers had to lead normal lives?" and the answer seems clear: Dad hates his boring cubicle job, Daughter would much rather be invisible, Son lashes out too much, while Mom tries desperately to keep it all together.
I won't get into the plot beyond this, but I will say there are references to some of sci-fi's best in this movie. I easily spotted gags representing "Star Trek", "Star Wars", "The X-Men" and Disney's own "The Black Hole". I'm sure there are more; I guess repeat viewings are in store in order to catch them.
The voice cast is top-rate (Disney almost never fails on this front), with Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jason Lee leading an excellent cast. Longtime Pixar fans will also notice Wallace Shawn as Bob Parr's overbearing boss, and John Ratzenberger maintains his tradition of contributing to every Pixar film to date.
The animation quality is eye-popping, too. How Pixar seems to outdo themselves repeatedly is beyond me. I was particularly impressed with one shot involving a waterfall that parted so a vessel can pass through it.
Though it isn't quite as magical (or as innocent) as the "Toy Story" movies, "The Incredibles" is still first-rate entertainment for the family.