Mr. Incredible: No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again. Sometimes I just want it to stay saved! You know, for a little bit? I feel like the maid; I just cleaned up this mess! Can we keep it clean for... for ten minutes!

I've been wanting to write about The Incredibles since I first saw it at the Cobb's Dolphin 19 multiplex in November 2004, but this Pixar/Walt Disney Pictures witty and entertaining riff on superheroes and family life is the type of movie that defies review-writing after only one viewing. Its fast pace, clever plotting, and inspired combination of satire, action/adventure, and social commentary wrapped inside a funny homage to movies such as Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Spider-Man, makes The Incredibles one of those rare animated movies that must be seen several times in order to catch all its delightful nuances.

To be honest, The Incredibles isn't my usual movie-watching cup of tea. I haven't been much of an animation fan since childhood, for one thing, and I also tend to avoid films geared "for the whole family." I was also a bit leery about the idea of yet another film spoof of a genre (in this case, comic book superheroes); parodies tend to depend on a barrage of usually lowbrow hit-and-miss jokes.

But after I read Time Magazine's review and related making-of article, I was intrigued enough to accept an invitation by one of my pet-sitting clients to see The Incredibles at the movies. One reason: I admired the courage of both Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures to greenlight this expensive project conceived and directed by Brad Bird, a writer-director whose gentle animated film Iron Giant had been critically praised but not popularly embraced.

But what clinched it for me was a still from The Incredibles that distilled the spirit of Bird's vision in one picture: it shows Bob Parr (a.k.a. Mr. Incredible) sitting in a 1960s-style living room, reading a newspaper while his wife Helen vacuums the floor nearby. Very domestic scene, this, with a touch of "Leave It to Beaver" or "Father Knows Best" sensibility, but with one big difference: Helen is using her superpowers as Elastigirl to push the vacuum cleaner further into the living room. Now, such a mixture of the "mundane and incredible," I just had to go see!

The Incredibles, in case you've been stranded on a desert island or working on the International Space Station, is about the Parrs, a seemingly ordinary All-American family with rather extraordinary abilities. Bob Parr (voice of Craig T. Nelson) works for an insurance company; his wife Helen (voice of Helen Hunter) is a stay-at-home-mom; older daughter Violet (voice of Sarah Vowell) is a shy teenager coping with junior high; Dashiell, the middle child, is itching to get into the school track team and is constantly getting into trouble in school; and baby Jack-Jack...well, he appears to be just a baby.

Yet the film's prologue has revealed that the Parrs are not quite ordinary people; they are "supers" in enforced retirement. 15 years earlier, Bob and Helen Parr were Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, two of the greatest superheroes to don costume and mask. For years they fought arch-villains such as the dastardly Bomb Voyage and made the world safer, but after Mr. Incredible and other supers were sued for damages incurred during their missions, the Feds decided to put a stop to caped crusading and placed the Incredibles and all their cronies into a relocation program where they had to take ordinary jobs and lead mundane, everyday lives.

For the former Mr. Incredible, this fate is worse than death; he misses the action and adrenaline rush of the superhero life, and he hates how his present employer, a big insurance company, puts the needs of the stockholders ahead of the clients he sees every day. Unable to resist helping them, he underhandedly shows his customers how to get their insurance claims approved, a move that incurs the wrath of his boss, Mr. Huph (voice of Wallace Shawn). Eventually, the two have an argument, and Bob Parr gets fired after he sends Mr. Huph through the walls of his office and to the hospital.

Frustrated and bored, Bob and his friend Lucius Best -- a.k.a. Frozone -- attempt to use their powers in secret to relieve the ennui and help the community; this, of course, doesn't sit well with Helen, who is tired of moving around every time Bob loses his job. It also catches the attention of Mirage (voice of Elizabeth Peña ), a mysterious young woman who is monitoring the former Mr. Incredible as he goes on his unauthorized crime-fighting sojourns.

Eventually, Mirage contacts Bob and makes him an offer he can't refuse; her employers have developed a deadly robot called the Omnidroid and have been testing it on a remote island far from civilization. Unfortunately, the Omnidroid has apparently become self-aware and has run amok in the lush jungle, threatening to destroy anyone who tries to shut it down. Only Mr. Incredible, Mirage tells Bob, can stop the Omnidroid without totally destroying it.

Naturally, Bob accepts, and after getting a new uniform from the "Q"- like Edna Mode (voice of Brad Bird), he flies off on his mission to stop the Omnidroid, telling Helen he is off on a business trip for the insurance company; he's never told her he was fired.

Little does Mr. Incredible know that Mirage and the Omnidroid are part of a larger scheme by Syndrome (voice of Jason Lee), a technically gifted but warped genius who, 15 years earlier, had been Mr. Incredible's most ardent fan, Buddy Pine. Back then, Buddy had been a hero-worshipping pre-teen who wanted to be Mr. Incredible's Robin-like ward and sidekick, IncrediBoy. Rebuffed time and time again -- "I work alone," Mr. Incredible tells the starstruck lad -- Buddy becomes resentful and vindictive, and as he grows older and more unstable, he decides to use his technical genius to rid the world of the supers and make a fortune selling superweapons to anyone who can afford them.

Soon, Mr. Incredible finds himself in the hands of Syndrome, and it will be up to Helen Parr and the rest of the Incredibles to save Bob's life and put an end to Syndrome's diabolical scheme once and for all.....

Mr. and Mrs Incredible: For Better or Worse:

Bob Parr: Wait here and stay hidden. I'm going in.
Helen Parr: While what? I watch helplessly from the sidelines? I don't think so.
Bob Parr: I'm asking you to wait with the kids.
Helen Parr: And I'm telling you not a chance. You're my husband, I'm with you - for better or worse.
Bob Parr: I have to do this alone.
Helen Parr: What is this to you? Playtime?
Bob Parr: No.
Helen Parr: So you can be Mr. Incredible again?
Bob Parr: No!
Helen Parr: Then what? What is it?
Bob Parr: I'm not...
Helen Parr: Not what?
Bob Parr: Not… I'm not strong enough.
Helen Parr: Strong enough? And this will make you stronger?
Bob Parr: Yes. No!
Helen Parr: That's what this is? Some sort of work out?
Bob Parr: I don't know what will happen...
Helen Parr: Hey, c’mon. We're superheroes. What could happen?

What do I like about The Incredibles?

Ah, what's not to like? The story and script by writer-director Brad Bird are excellent, balancing the comedic and action/adventure elements in such a way that neither overwhelms the other. The dialog is witty and crisp, gently satirical yet always delivered in a very believable manner. Better yet, the humor is family friendly without being so dumbed down or bland that adults will want to simply walk away while the kids watch this on DVD or VHS players at home.

And of course, the computer animation artists did a remarkable job; even though the artists went for the "exaggerated caricature" look, they strived to make these mostly human characters look as though they had real skin and muscles. These characters are so expressive and natural that they draw you into the movie. The relationship between Bob and Helen is tender yet not cloyingly sweet -- they do have arguments, mainly over Bob's desire to go crimefighthing when he's not supposed to -- and the two older kids, Violet and Dash, aren't anything like the Anderson children in "Father Knows Best." Dash uses his superpowers to play silly pranks on his teacher, and Violet gets upset when he teases her about her crush on a boy. Yet when push comes to shove, this All-American family pulls together to save the world.

Major Cast (Voice Talents)
Craig T. Nelson ... Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible
Holly Hunter ... Helen Parr/Elastigirl
Samuel L. Jackson ... Lucius Best/Frozone
Jason Lee ... Buddy Pine/Syndrome
Dominique Louis ... Bomb Voyage
Teddy Newton ... Newsreel Narrator
Jean Sincere ... Mrs. Hogenson
Eli Fucile ... Jack Jack Parr
Maeve Andrews ... Jack Jack Parr
Wallace Shawn ... Gilbert Huph
Spencer Fox ... Dashiell 'Dash' Parr
Lou Romano ... Bernie Kropp
Wayne Canney ... Principal
Sarah Vowell ... Violet Parr
Michael Bird ... Tony Rydinger
Elizabeth Peña ... Mirage
Bud Luckey ... Rick Dicker
Brad Bird ... Edna 'E' Mode
Bret 'Brook' Parker ... Kari
Kimberly Adair Clark ... Honey
John Ratzenberger ... Underminer


DVD Release Date: March 15, 2005 DVD Features:
Available subtitles: English
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), French (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX)
Commentary by writer/director Brad Bird and producer John Walker
Commentary by the animators
"Jack-Jack Attack" exclusive all new short film
"Incredi-Blunders" bloopers and outtakes
Deleted scenes, including alternate opening
Making of "The Incredibles" featurette
Seven additional behind-the-scenes featurettes
Pixar short film "Boundin'" with optional commentary by director Bud Luckey
"Who is Bud Luckey?" featurette
Top secret NSA files on all the Supers
"Mr. Incredible & Pals" cartoon with optional commentary by Frozone and Mr. Incredible
"Vowellet" an essay by vocal talent Sarah Vowell (Violet)
Introductions with Brad Bird
Number of discs: 2


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8