The Incredibles (2004)

An Amazing Movie That Gives An Honest Reflection Of Average Family Life.

Another Disney/Pixar collaboration that gives us a genuinely funny movie that teaches us some very important values about family life. The Incredibles are a family of "Supers" forced to enter into the Superhero protection program and go into hiding after a series of unfortunate events that leads to a ton of super hero's finding themselves being sued by the very people they saved. The build-up to what becomes to core story of the film is superb as it allows Brad Bird (Writer/Director) to give us a real depiction of family life whilst adding the superhero element to the mix. The characters are something unique and The Incredibles presents a platform in which to give each unique character their own equal spotlight. Before going further into the movie I will give a quick rundown of each character to give you a good perspective of how the chemistry of the characters plays out on screen.

Bob Parr/Mr Incredible: He's a man who's stuck in the past, after the initial opening of the movie we're given the view of his life in the present. He works for a faceless insurance company and although he was forced by the government to go into hiding, he can't resist but be the hero he was in the past. He and his friend Lucius Best/Frozone sit in the car listening to the police scanner to pick out crimes to solve or robberies to stop. Played by Craig T. Nelson

Helen Parr/Elastigirl: She's the typical housewife who's forced to juggle an entire family of superhero's and the daily household chores. Played by Holly Hunter

Violet Parr: She's the typical shy teenage girl who has the ability to turn herself invisible and create forcefields using only her mind. Played by Sarah Vowell

Dash Parr: The name says it all as Dash has the ability to be super fast. He's the typical mischievous young boy who's always getting in trouble with school using his super speed to play pranks on his teachers. Dash is also very competitive and wants nothing more but to take part in the school sporting events, because they're in hiding he simply isn't allowed to. Played by Spencer Fox

Lucius Best/Frozone: This is the best friend of Mr. Incredible and has been since the original super days, he's a man who has the ability to use ice as a weapon or as a way of getting around. Played by Samuel L. Jackson

Buddy Pine/Syndrome: He was once Mr. Incredibles biggest fan but after an incident that left him getting handed to the police by Mr. Incredible, he developed into a mastermind inventor and the arch nemesis of Mr. Incredible and called himself Syndrome. Played by Jason Lee

During an equally tough day in work Bob Parr ends up assaulting his boss and getting himself fired, and the government are forced to pay off the company to keep them quiet. Bob doesn't tell Helen about him being fired as he receives an envelope with a secret message offering him a chance to become a hero again. All he has to do is fly to a deserted island and destroy the most intelligent and most destructive machine ever created. After a successful first mission, Bob is given many more missions that pay very well, he tells Helen he's received a promotion at work but after becoming suspicious of Bob, Helen manages to find out that Bob had been fired a long time ago. On the Island Bob discovers there's more to his job than just destroying intelligent robots when he's attacked by Syndrome, his arch nemesis who used to be Mr. Incredibles biggest fan, Buddy.

This is the typical Disney movie that endeavours to teach us something good about the average family life, with the involvement of Brad Bird it manages to do this without it being too corny. The comedy is something great too as there are parts that the adults can relate to and may, at times find themselves laughing hysterically to. There are also parts that will make the kids laugh which is something that genuinely makes this movie unique, it has a way of making all members of the family laugh in very different ways. Brilliant film and is something that should be watched by the entire family together. June 21, 2008

The Incredibles

this movie goes with my starting collection of umd movies and was delivered as promised August 10, 2007

what else do you want from a movie?

my grand children liked it, my son liked it, and i like it.
This movie is entertaining, funny, clever, intelligent, well voiced, and well animated.

i am a 64 year old man who has been loving movies since starting with cinderella, fantasia, ivanhoe, shane, treasure island, miracle worker, high noon, to kill a mockingbird, ivan the terrible, strangers on a train, (don't) shoot the piano player, irma la douce, diabolique, casablanca, singin' in the rain, sullivan's travels, witness, seven samurai, yojimbo, david copperfield, 39 steps, amadeus, chariots of fire, deer hunter, good morning vietnam, mississippi burning, true believer, real genius, tootsie, (malcolm) X, philadelphia, gladiator, the american president, don juan de marco, cars, .....

i am puzzled by people who denigrate an enjoyable movie like this, but evidently most do not.

to find a stupid movie watch a mel gibson or bruce willis movie, not this one. ( I enjoy those too, even if they are uninteligent. E.g anyone who thinks the battle of stirling bridge was fought in an open field and won by mooning the opposition can enjoy a mel gibson movie.) April 7, 2007

Incredibly stupid

The Incredibles is a totally stupid animated film. The story is stupid, the voiceover stupid, the whole thing stupid. October 27, 2006

AN ANIMATED FAMILY OF X-MEN -- COMPLETE WITH SPANDEX

AN ANIMATED FAMILY OF X-MEN -- COMPLETE WITH SPANDEX & IT ALL TURNS OUT PRETTY - - WELL - - INCREDIBLE:

Pixar and Disney have made six exceptional films together, but I find myself reaching for this one almost every time.

Needless to say, superhero films are no longer novelties, yet this film seems to have new angles on seemingly cliched themes. The lawsuits that put the "Supers" out of business is certainly a real gem and it gives Brad Bird who wrote and directed "The Incredibles" some unexplored avenues to try, which he does and it turned out, well - - PRETTY INCREDIBLE!

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT:

First we have the husband and wife superhero team that never has a chance to team up as "Supers" and instead turns into Mr. & Mrs. Average American after the lawsuits that ended the "Supers" crime fighting dynasty. Along the way they had three very different yet "Super" offspring! Wow, that's enough right there to keep us busy.

We also have sub-plots which include each one of the 3 children's coming of age in a "Super" way, but as ordinary kids. The kids, like their parents, struggle all the way through the film to get to where they go and they grow in the process individually and as a family.

We have Bob Parr [Mr. Incredible] going through what appears to be a mid-life crisis, and his confused wife, Helen, who just wants them all to fit in like everybody else. But, after all, how can "Elastigirl" be just another soccer mom? We have the return of a hostile and dysfunctional former fan [Buddy] who turns "The Incredibles" lives upside-down and inside-out. For the first time, the "Supers" are the underdogs!

EVERYTHING THAT FOLLOWS - SATISFYING FAMILY ISSUES & MUCH MORE:

After these elements are set into motion, we have EVERYTHING THAT FOLLOWS, and it is fascinating to see all the Incredibles' family issues worked out like any other family's, but with many interesting twists. "The Incredibles" is a SUPER film!

DVD FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.39:1 [very widescreen] Digital to Digital Transfer is the sharpest I have seen yet!

Lots of features and deleted scenes as well as some early concepts for different ways of introducing the characters make me grateful they made it the way they did.

The "Jack-Jack Attack" is probably the high point of the features and illustrates what we did not see going on between "Jack-Jack" and the baby-sitter. I just wish it was longer. The behind the scenes "Featurettes" are worth watching as are the blooper scenes, though they seem a bit contrived.

There are two commentary tracks, one with Brad Bird [writer/director] and John Walker [producer]. and another with the animators. I could not watch the entire movie with either track on. Maybe you can. The files about the "Supers" are interesting. There is lots more. If you like to go in for it, you can spend the day with the features alone.

For me, however, there is the film. This is the best animated film, in my opinion, and is perfect for all members of the family (of all ages) to connect with in a fun-filled, family sort of way.

December 14, 2005

More reviews at Amazon.com ...