Hi.
My name is AJ.
And I LOVE super-heroes!
Seriously, whether in comic books or on the screen, super-heroes have always fascinated me. There’s just something about having super powers and saving the world and the funky costumes…just good stuff, you know?
I have also pretty much loved all the Disney – Pixar movies…the latest, FINDING NEMO probably being my favorite so far…
So when I heard that Pixar was doing a super-hero movie, I was practically drooling.
I couldn’t wait to see it!
The Incredibles is a really good movie. It focuses on a family of super powered folks. Once upon a time, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl were on top of the world. They were loved and respected super-heroes and all was good. But when humanity mucked things up as usual, suddenly super-folk fell out of favor and had to go into hiding and (gasp!) get real jobs. So for 15 years the couple hid their powers and by day he was a claims adjuster and she was a stay at home Mom. Their kids were born with powers as well; Young Dashiel (usually called Dash) has superspeed, while angst ridden teen Violet can turn invisible and project force fields. Add this to dad’s super strength and mom’s flexibility, and you got a well rounded family.
Things are status quo for a while, but The Former Mr Incredible and his pal Frozone, who can produce ice and freeze just about anything, still itch to get out there and save the world. When Mr Incredible gets a chance to relive his glory days, he simply can’t pass it up, and that’s where the fun starts.
The Incredibles has a tricky job to do. It has to be an action film and a comedy and a family film at the same time. I think it performs this job admirably. It IS funny, but never really gets into parody mode. The heroes are treated with respect, as I would think is the source material, which would have to be comic books. The film actually feels more like an action film though, with plenty of over the top action that would make Jerry Bruckheimer proud. (Damn, that’s two Bruckheimer references in my past two reviews!)
But throughout the film, family always seems a high priority. So without the “cutesy-ness factor” that can sometimes be a hindrance to a typical Disney flick, this is still safe for the kiddies.
As for what The Incredibles achieves, kudos to writer – director Brad Bird. Great great job. He and the rest of the Pixar gang do a great job with everything from the costumes to the action to the “sets”, etc. Nice, nice job.
All the voiceovers are great too, with Craig T. Nelson stealing the show as Mr. Incredible, and Holly Hunter backing him up nicely as Elastigirl. The great Samuel L. Jackson rocks as Frozone, and Jason Lee is perfectly over the top as Syndrome.
I am worried though. This movie seems very different from the past Disney – Pixar hits. I dunno if this one will rake in the kind of dough it deserves. I hope it does. I want this movie to succeed. I know it may be one of the last of the collaborations between the two parties, so I want them to go out with a bang, you know?