The Incredibles

***The Incredibles*** is a 2004 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. The TBD Disney animated feature film, it was written and directed by Brad Bird and stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer Fox, Jason Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, and Elizabeth Peña. Set in a retro-futuristic version of the 1960s, the film follows Bob and Helen Parr, a couple of superheroes, known as Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, who hide their powers in accordance with a government mandate, and attempt to live a quiet suburban life with their three children. Bob's desire to help people draws the entire family into a confrontation with a vengeful fan-turned-foe.

Bird developed the film as an extension of the 1960s comic books and spy films from his boyhood and personal family life. He pitched the film after the box office disappointment of his first feature, *The Iron Giant* (1999), and carried over much of its staff to develop *The Incredibles*. The Incredibles was animated by both Disney's VFX studio Blue Sky Studios, which made the CGI effects of Disney's post-2001 traditionally animated films, and Pixar Animation Studios, whom Disney had a multi-year film deal with before adquiring it in 2006. It is Disney's first fully computer-animated feature film, as Pixar's films are distributed but not produced by Disney. The animation team was tasked with animating an all-human cast, which required creating new technology to animate detailed human anatomy, clothing, and realistic skin and hair. Michael Giacchino composed the film's orchestral score.

*The Incredibles* debuted at the El Capitan Theatre on October 24, 2004, and was released in theaters by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 5. It earned $633 million worldwide, finishing its theatrical run as the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2004. *The Incredibles* received acclaim from critics and audiences, and is frequently considered to be one of the greatest superhero movies of all time. It won two Academy Awards and the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature. It was the first entirely animated film to win the prestigious Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. A sequel, *The Incredibles 2*, was released in June 2018.

## Plot

Public opinion turns against superheroes due to the collateral damage caused by their crime-fighting. After several lawsuits, the government initiates the Superhero Relocation Program, which forces "supers" to permanently adhere to their secret identities and abandon their exploits. Fifteen years later, married superhero couple Bob and Helen Parr—formerly known as Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl—and their children, Violet, Dash, and baby Jack-Jack, are a suburban family living in Metroville along with their housekeeper Tom Cat, who is an undercover goverment agent. Although he loves his family, Bob misses his superhero days and resents his job as an insurance adjuster. Together with his best friend, Lucius Best, formerly known as Frozone, Bob occasionally relives "the glory days" by moonlighting as a vigilante.

One day, after his supervisor, Gilbert Huph, prevents him from stopping a mugging, Bob loses his temper and injures him, resulting in Bob's dismissal. Returning home, Bob receives a message from a woman called Mirage, who gives him a paying mission to destroy a savage, tripod-like robot, the Omnidroid, on the remote island of Nomanisan. Bob battles and disables it by tricking it into ripping out its own power source.

Bob finds the action and higher pay rejuvenating. He improves his relationship with his family and begins rigorous physical training to lose weight while awaiting another assignment from Mirage over the next two months. Finding a tear in his super suit, he visits superhero costume designer Edna Mode to have it mended while also designing a new one. Assuming that Helen knows what Bob is doing, Edna also makes suits for the rest of the family.

Setting out for Nomanisan once again, Bob discovers Mirage is working for Buddy Pine, a disaffected former fan whom he had rejected as his aspiring sidekick, Incrediboy. Buddy has now become a ruthless inventor and wealthy arms dealer. Having adopted the alias Syndrome, he has been perfecting the Omnidroid by hiring different superheroes to fight it, killing them in the process. Syndrome intends to send the perfected Omnidroid to Metroville, where he will secretly manipulate its controls to defeat it in public, becoming a "hero" himself. He then plans to sell his inventions, intent on having countless individuals with technology-based superpowers.

Helen visits Edna and learns what Bob has been up to. She activates a beacon Edna built into the suits to find Bob, inadvertently causing him to be captured while infiltrating Syndrome's base. Helen borrows a private plane to travel to Nomanisan. She finds out that Violet and Dash have stowed away, leaving Jack-Jack with Tom (who told them about Bob and Helen's past when Helen left) and babysitter Kari. Helen's radio transmissions are picked up by Syndrome, who sends anti-aircraft missiles to shoot her down. The plane is destroyed, but Helen and the kids survive and use their powers to reach the island. Helen infiltrates the base and discovers Syndrome's plan. Discontented with Syndrome's indifference when her life was threatened, Mirage releases Bob and informs him of his family's survival. Helen arrives and races off with Bob to find their children. Syndrome's guards chase Dash and Violet, who fight them off with their powers before reuniting with their parents. Syndrome captures them all, leaving the family imprisoned while he follows the rocket transporting the Omnidroid to Metroville.

The Parrs escape to Metroville in another rocket with Mirage's help. Syndrome's plan backfires when the Omnidroid's artificial intelligence recognizes that Syndrome's remote wrist control is a threat and shoots it off him, knocking Syndrome unconscious as he tries to flee. The Parrs and Lucius fight the Omnidroid; Helen and the kids retrieve the remote control, allowing Bob to destroy the robot's power source. The Parrs and Lucius are hailed by the public just as Syndrome awakens to see their victory.

Returning home, the Parrs find Syndrome, who has Tom wrapped and plans to kidnap Jack-Jack and raise him as his own sidekick out of revenge. As Syndrome flies up toward his jet, Jack-Jack's own superpowers manifest and he escapes Syndrome in midair. Helen catches Jack-Jack, and Bob throws his car at Syndrome's plane as he boards it. Syndrome is sucked into the jet's turbine by his own cape and the plane explodes, the wreckage destroying the Parrs house, but Violet is able to protect the family from harm.

Three months later, the Parrs witness the arrival of supervillain the Underminer. While leaving Jack-Jack with Tom, they don their superhero masks, ready to face the new threat together as a family.

## Voice cast

* Craig T. Nelson as Bob Parr / Mr. Incredible, Helen's husband, possessing superhuman strength.
* Holly Hunter as Helen Parr / Elastigirl, Bob's wife, who has the ability to stretch her body like rubber.
* Sarah Vowell as Violet Parr, the Parrs' eldest child, who can become invisible and generate an impact-resistant force shield.
* Spencer Fox as Dashiell "Dash" Parr, the Parrs' second child, possessing super-speed.
* Jason Lee as Buddy Pine / IncrediBoy / Syndrome, Mr. Incredible's fan-turned-supervillain, who uses his scientific prowess to give himself enhanced abilities.
* Samuel L. Jackson as Lucius Best / Frozone, Bob's best friend, who can form ice from humidity.
* Elizabeth Peña as Mirage, Syndrome's right-hand woman.
* Brad Bird as Edna Mode, the fashion designer for the Supers.
* Teddy Newton as Newsreel Narrator, heard narrating the changing public opinion of the Supers.
* Jean Sincere as Mrs. Hogenson, an old lady to whom Bob pretends to deny an insurance claim.
* Bud Luckey as Rick Dicker, a government agent responsible for keeping the Parrs undercover.
* Eli Fucile and Maeve Andrews as Jack-Jack Parr, the Parrs' infant son.
* Billy West as Tom Cat, an anthropomorphic house cat, government agent, and the Parrs' housekeeper. According to Bird, he wanted to add Tom to the film because he wanted to restore Disney's 1950-1990s tradition to include a *Looney Tunes* character in a fewer animated films as either a supporting character or a cameo.
* Wallace Shawn as Gilbert Huph, Bob's demeaning boss.
* Lou Romano as Bernie Kropp, Dash's teacher.
* Michael Bird as Tony Rydinger, Violet's love interest.
* Dominique Louis as Bomb Voyage, a French supervillain who uses explosives.
* Bret Parker as Kari, Jack-Jack's babysitter.
* Kimberly Adair Clark as Honey, Frozone's wife.
* John Ratzenberger as The Underminer, a mole-like supervillain.