The Incredibles

The Pixar Animation Studios, which looks like they can do no wrong, hits another home-rum with “The Incredibles,” a 2004 superhero satire that changes immediate action with sarcasm of suburban sitcom life. After the “Toy Story” movies, “A Bug’s Life,” “Monster’s Inc.” and “Finding Nemo,” here’s another example of Pixar’s skill in famous animation.

If it’s not really on the same level as “Finding Nemo,” how many movies are? Roger Ebert said in his review, “That may be because it's about human beings who have some connection, however tenuous, with reality; it loses the fantastical freedom of the fish fable.”

Ebert went on to say, “The story follows the universal fondness for finding the chinks in superhero armor; if Superman hadn't had kryptonite, he would have been perfect, and therefore boring, and all the superheroes since him have spent most of their time compensating for weaknesses. Think about it: Every story begins with a superhero who is invincible, but who soon faces total defeat.”

Mr. Incredible, the protagonist of “The Incredibles,” is a superhero in the traditional 1950s decay, running around town fighting crime and saving lives of threatened citizens. However, the population is not universally grateful, and he goes up against a handful of lawsuits for unlawful rescue and accidental side-effects that he’s forced to retire. Under the government’s Superhero Relocation Program, Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) moves to the suburbs, along with his wife Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) and their children Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dashiell (Spencer Fox) and baby Jack Jack (Eli Fucile, Maeve Andrews).

They have tied the knot in being Parrs, Bob and Helen. Bob works at an insurance agency, where his superhero physique cannot fit inside his cubicle.

Helen raises her children, and there’s so much work involved: Ebert said, “The world is occasionally too much for the teenager Violet, whose superpowers allow her to turn invisible and create force fields out of (I think) impregnable bubbles.” Dashiell, called Dash for short, can run the same speed as The Flash, but has to slow down so much when his parents finally allow him in his school track team (if they can’t see you running around the track, they guess you never left the finish line, instead of you being already back there.) Jack Jack’s powers have still not formed, not at the point of being bathroom trained.

Bob Parr hates his insurance job. Along with him in the suburb is another relocated superhero, Frozone, voiced by Samuel L. Jackson, who can freeze anything. Lying that they are a part of a bowling league, they sneak out at night so they can talk about their past and do a little low-profile superhero stuff. Then they are whisked back into the superhero business, when they get a call from Mirage, voiced by Elizabeth Pena, who brings them to a Pacific island where Mr. Incredible, obese and slower, fights a robot named Omnidroid 7.

We find out that this robot is one of creations of a line of new machines created by their villain Syndrome, voiced by Jason Lee, who was Mr. Incredible’s number one fan as a kid but hated him when Mr. Incredible refused to let Syndrome become his partner. He now wants to set up these threats by releasing his robots onto society.

When you look at it, “The Incredibles” is a satire on superhero comics. Under it all, it’s an analysis of modern American regularity. Mr. Incredible is forced to retire, not because of age or being outdated, but because trial lawyers threatening him for his voluntary good deeds. Ebert said, “He’s in the same position as the Boy Scout who helps the little old lady across the street when she doesn't want to go.” What his town needs is not superheroes but offense change. “They keep finding new ways,” he sighs, “to celebrate mediocrity.”

Ebert analyzed, “Anyone who has seen a Bond movie will make the connection between Syndrome's island hideout and the headquarters of various Bond villains.” “The Incredibles” also has a character inspired by Q, Bond’s gadget maker. This is Edna Mode, known as E, voiced by Brad Bird, who also wrote and directed. She’s a glasses-wearing short mastermind who gives a funny lecture to Mr. Incredible on why there will not be a cape on his new uniform. Ebert suggested, “Capes can be as treacherous as Isadora Duncan's scarf, and if you don't know what happened to Isadora Duncan, Google the poor woman and shed a tear.”

Brad Bird’s previous film was “The Iron Giant,” which was about a misunderstood extraterrestrial robot and the little boy who he befriends. It had a charm and weakness that was unique in the genre, and “The Incredibles” also has special qualities, especially in the indirect ways it looks at gifted characters trying to look human and blend into society. Kids in the audience will probably miss that part, but will like the enthusiasm of characters like Dash. Parents are probably going to be surprised at how smart the movie is, and how unfairly sensitive.

Like I stated yesterday, this is one of my favorite superhero, one of my favorite animated, one of my favorite Pixar, and another one of my all-time favorite films. I really liked this animated film by Pixar, which I think they were inspired by the Fantastic Four. They really pulled this off, and in 2018, the long-awaited sequel will be released, which will be exciting. I know I’m really looking forward to that. In the meantime, if you want to prepare yourselves for the sequel, see the first one because you will love it. Sit down with the whole family, they will all love it, I promise you.

Check in Monday when I look at an underrated and wrongly-hated Pixar movie that isn’t as bad as certain people say it is, but didn’t break the “Pixar Good Movie Streak.” This will be a right defense in “Disney’s Pixar Month.”