The Incredibles

In some ways, it's boring to review Pixar films. They never fail to charm the pants off me, so they always get the highest marks. This one is somewhat different from the rest, however. I found it just as kid-friendly, but there's a maturity about this film that tones down the slickness we're so familiar with by now. There's more thought given to building the story, so by the time we get to the big explosions at the end we are completely ready for them. When I watched this in a theater full of kids, I got a little worried that during the slower, more character-driven sequences they would lose interest and start chatting. Didn't actually happen, so maybe I was just being super-sensitive. For those of you who've been living on Pluto for the last 6 months, the Incredibles are a family of superheroes living in obscurity, forbidden to use their superpowers to help others after some questionable rescues. Naturally, they mourn their previous life, or at least Bob does (aka Mr. Incredible), and things get put in motion to pull them back to that life. On first viewing, I didn't notice the more subtle stuff because my mouth was hanging open as in all Pixar films. With the DVD in hand, I found references to Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, all the Bond films, and even Tarzan. And since Pixar films EVERYTHING they do, the special features give you an inside look at the Pixar "plant" and the process behind making the movie. Which gives you a chance to appreciate the people behind the story, the lighting, the music, you name it. If there's something missing (and perhaps I haven't found it yet), it's the lack of footage of the voice actors. Where's Holly Hunter saying how totally swell it was to voice Elastigirl? Oh well, I guess they can't be completely perfect. Still, for me the capper was the original drawings of Elastigirl -- that lithe, huge-boobed supergirl style -- that morphed into a normal looking person with a big butt, just like us regular women.

year: 2004
length: 121 min.
rating: 4.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317705/combined