A bold new step in direction for Pixar.

Rating: 10/10 (1 May 2005)

'The Incredibles' is the best animated action-adventure ever made. Combining wry satirical humor, politics, domestic drama, and those blistering action sequences, this movie is Disney/Pixar's best film since the original 'Toy Story'.
The story centers around Mr. Incredible (voice of Craig T. Nelson), a superhero who, in his prime, was a man you could always count on. But 15 years ago, everything changed. After Mr. Incredible intercepted a suicide jumper, the jumper filed a lawsuit against him and the public's view of superheroes gradually began to change. Finally, under immense pressure from lawsuits and other issues, the government launched the 'Superhero Relocation Program': In exchange for having the slate wiped clean, the Supers (as they're called) agreed to never use their powers in heroic acts again and essentially become normal. Flash-forward to now: Mr. Incredible is now Bob Parr, an insurance agent married to former Super Elastigirl (voice of Holly Hunter), now known as Helen, and three kids: Violet (voice of Sarah Vowell), a teenager who can turn invisible and generate force fields; Dash (voice of Spencer Fox), a 10 year-old who does everything super-fast; and Jack-Jack, the baby and the only "normal" person in the family. Bob misses the old life, and when a mysterious person calls him back into action, he jumps at the chance. He may get more than he bargained for, though, when it turns out to be a trap set by an enemy with an intriguing grudge, and now Bob's family must save him.
Director Brad Bird (he of the underrated 1999 film 'The Iron Giant') is a newbie to Pixar, but that doesn't stop him from creating a modern animated masterpiece. Pixar's animation is much cooler than that of DreamWorks or other CGI studios, and they're the first people to get action in cartoons right in a long, long time. The story is great, highly original, and it's got one of the best animated villains in history: Syndrome (voice of Jason Lee), a former fan who has now turned to the dark side and wants to destroy his once-upon-a-time idol. Syndrome is *really* evil (he coldly disregards the lives of Bob's family), and not a bumbling fool like so many other cartoon bad guys. All the vocal performances are spot-on, and they include Samuel L. Jackson as Frozone, an old superhero friend of Bob's (he can freeze stuff), and Bird as Edna Mode, a fashion designer for superheroes. 'E', as she is called, is a hilarious character, and I hope to see more of her in the eventual sequel.
'The Incredibles' is classic, and it's a bold new step in direction for Pixar.