Before I get slammed by someone for the title, I know that comparing Finding Nemo to The Incredibles is like apples and oranges. They’re two very different movies, with different audiences, different ratings, different stories to tell. And I love that about Pixar—that they go out on a limb with each movie, making something different each time instead of Toy Story 3, Toy Story 4, Toy Story 5, etc. They’ve gone out on a limb with “The Incredibles,” and it’ll pay off for them big time.
“The Incredibles” is for an older audience than Pixar’s previous films, make no mistake. It’s got a PG rating, which is earned by being a bit more violent (still in a cartoony way), having a few “Oh my God”s in it, and by having overall more adult themes than their other flicks have had. Having said that, I’ve gotta back up and say that I think “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters INC,” and “Finding Nemo” are some of the best movies of the last five years for either adults or children, and all explore themes that are deeper and more interesting than most people give them credit for. They’re not just kid’s movies. “The Incredibles” is also significantly longer than the other Pixar movies have been…just over two hours, which is my only real problem with the film. More on that later.
The basic story of this computer-animated epic is one that I’ve seen told in comic books, but never before on the big screen—what happens to superheroes when they retire? Mr. Incredible was one of a group of superheroes active 15 years in the past—along with friends Elasti-Girl, Frozone, Gazer-Beam and others, they fought crime and super-criminals like the French Mime “Bomb Voyage” and other baddies. The heroes eventually are forced to hang up their capes and masks after a series of lawsuits and government crack-downs make it impossible to continue saving the day.
Fast-forward fifteen years, and you have Mr. Incredible living in a tract home and working at a dead-end job, fighting criminals like ennui and corporate apathy while his wife (the former Elasti-Girl) wrestles with two super-powered children and a “normal” human baby. Mr. Incredible sometimes sees Frozone, but they have to keep any super-heroing undercover to keep from being arrested. He’s contacted by a mysterious corporation who agrees to bankroll him to test products for him—and on him, and chooses to keep that secret from his wife. Bad move. Eventually the entire family is forced to make the choice between remaining safely anonymous and becoming what they were meant to be—heroes.
It’s a great story, and it’s beautifully executed by the people at Pixar. The most important part of the film is the story, and Pixar happily recognizes that. Without a story, without a well-written script, you end up with crap. And we’ve seen that before. With most movies these days, it seems. Even though the movies is a departure from other things Pixar has done, they’ve got the faith in their own people, and in writer/director Brad Bird (“The Iron Giant”) to make an attempt. And I’m glad they did.
The animation, as it has with every other Pixar film, blows away the competition. It’s difficult to compare this with other Pixar films, because they progress a generation of technology with each film, but this is a visually stunning movie. They made the wise choice of making the human characters stylized—they don’t attempt a photo-realistic human (like the eerie wax people of the upcoming “Polar Express”), instead opting for a more cartoony look, which services the superhero story all the better. The backgrounds do often verge on photo-realistic, and there were several times I had to remind myself that they weren’t actually filming this on streets, or in a real jungle…but all in a computer somewhere. If you compare it to recent computer animation from other studios, like Dreamworks’ “Shrek 2”…I’m sorry, there’s no comparison. Shrek’s primary characters are beautifully rendered, but anyone in the background looks like a stick puppet. Some of their backgrounds are excellent, many look like something out of “South Park.” Pixar’s the best of the best, and this keeps them at the top of the heap in that regard.
The voice acting is as great as it has been in all of Pixar’s films. Craig T. Nelson plays both the hero and the schlub Mr. Incredible beautifully and believeably. Holly Hunter’s slightly scratchy voice makes for a great heroine, hot wife, scolding mom—all three are parts of Elasti-Girl’s personality, all three come to life with Hunter’s voice. Samuel L. Jackson is great as Frozone—and the show stealer is actually from director Brad Bird as Edna, designer and seamstress to superheroes. She’s got a riff on why she WON’T include capes on superhero costumes that’s probably the funniest part of the whole movie.
My only real problem with “The Incredibles” is the pacing. It is just over two hours long, and there are places it feels that way. Most pointedly in two places—when Mr. Incredible is fighting the encroaching enemy of his dead-end job and suburbia…I imagine we’re meant to feel his boredom, his lack of fulfillment…but not be actually bored by it. I thought it was a great theme to include, to develop, but that whole area of the film could have been trimmed by five minutes and sent the same message. When we eventually meet the supervillain, there are scenes there that could be cut too—he’s not as well developed as the heroes are, and although his lair is very pretty to look at, there are scenes there that drag as well.
Don’t let that keep you away. This is another home run for Pixar, and although I wouldn’t take my very young children to it, in the theatre we saw it in, children as young as five seemed to be really into it, teenagers loved it, adults were raving about it during the closing credits. It’s funny, lively, heroic, and pretty—and my wife says to say “even if you don’t like superhero movies, you’ll love The Incredibles.”
Bob Parr and his wife Helen used to be among the world's greatest crime fighters, saving lives and battling evil on a daily basis. Fifteen years later...More at HotMovieSale.com
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