[Edwin Pereyra]

Pixar continues to dazzle and improves the CGI animation landscape with its sixth feature film, The Incredibles. Director Brad Bird parlays his much celebrated writing skills from The Iron Giant into an action adventure film that again raises the bar for other studios in the computer animation arena to follow in the areas of content, style and execution.

The Incredibles is not only one of this year’s best family film. In fact, it is the best! Clocking in at 115 minutes, it takes the running time of computer animated films produced in the U.S. into another realm and breaks the traditional mold of keeping the length of these type of films to no more than 90 minutes. It is an undertaking and a risk that actually pays off with a story that both delights and entertains. Taking a cue from its title, this one is simply incredible.



~Edwin

[Ernest Rister]

THE INCREDIBLES

(d. & scr. Brad Bird)

by

Ernest Rister



---------------------------------



After seeing John Lasseter's CGI animated feature Toy Story in 1995, I wrote in my review, "The critics have got this all wrong. They're comparing [Toy Story] to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Toy Story is not Snow White. Toy Story is 'Steamboat Willie' - it is only the beginning."



If Toy Story was the equivalent of "Steamboat Willie", then Pixar's latest film, The Incredibles, is Disney's "The Skeleton Dance". In "Skeleton", the first of Disney's acclaimed Silly Symphonies, Walt moved away from the endearing comedy of Mickey Mouse to experiment with subject matter that was more overtly adult-oriented and frightening. Parents complained it scared their kids. Walt, thank goodness, didn't listen to them - he wasn't making films for toddlers, he was making films for a general audience. The success of "The Skeleton Dance" allowed Walt to continue the Silly Symphonies, which led to further innovation, until Walt reached the zenith of the hand-drawn animated feature medium with the Golden Age features of the late 30's and early 40's, namely, Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi.



I think the last nine years have proven me right - that Toy Story was not "the zenith" of CGI feature animation, but only the beginning. And now, with The Incredibles, we're seeing the Pixar studios starting to branch out into more overtly adult subject matter and push the boundaries of what people should expect from them.



A quick word on that -- Pixar does not make films for children, they make films that young people as well as older people can enjoy. That was Walt's philosophy, but he would occasinally make films that were too intense for very young viewers. Bambi, Pinocchio, Snow White and many others all feature moments of horror and violence that remain too frightening for small children. Likewise, though Pixar makes movies for general family audiences, their films do occasionally feature moments that can scare the pants off the very young and easily frightened. Think of the mutilated toys that hide under Sid's bed in Toy Story, the violence of Hopper and "Thumper" in A Bug's Life, the corporate scream factory of Monsters Inc., and the various ocean dangers of Finding Nemo. The Incredibles is probably the least-accessible film for the very young that Pixar has yet made - but that's a good thing. Like "The Skeleton Dance", the Incredibles is still a family film, but not appropriate for toddlers and pre-schoolers. Parents of toddlers and pre-schoolers should take the PG rating seriously.



The Incredibles is the most fun I've had at the movies in years. It is the sort of film that you watch and and before the end, you realize your facial muscles are starting to get sore because you've been smiling non-stop for two hours. It is a dazzling showcase for human imagination, and technical innovation. It is at once a warm blanket of comic nostalgia and a sharp criticism of modern politically-correct appeals to equality. People in their thirties might remember what it was like to see E.T. for the first time back in 1982 or Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981. The Incredibles is the first film I've seen in my adult years to give me the same feeling.



When James Cameron wrapped Titanic, he told Premiere magazine that movie ticket prices should be raised for "event" pictures -- I think Pixar could get away with charging $20 a seat for The Incredibles, and leave few people complaining.



To discuss the particulars of the movie would be to spoil the many wonderful surprises contained within, so I'll leave a discussion of the plot for others to pick over. Instead, I'd like to single out a few aspects of why this film is so special.



The first is the most subtle, but the single biggest factor in the film's success. If I were teaching a college class, at about this time, I'd start showing some of the previous attempts at animating humans in CGI animated films such as Toy Story, Jimmy Neutron, Shrek and Finding Nemo.



And then I'd show the dining room sequence in The Incredibles.



I hate to keep using comparisons to the hand-drawn tradition animation legacy, but they're the most apt in these instances. Throughout the 30's, Disney struggled with the balancing act of animating a human being. Make them too real, they clash with the other characters in the film (see Snow White). Make them too much of a caricature, they lose all believability (see "Goddess of Spring"). Pixar has struggled with this since their animated baby in "Tin Toy", which did not achieve believability in either animation nor design.



Now, over a decade later, here we are with The Incredibles, a landmark animated film in that human characters have finally been achieved in CGI equalling the grace, freedom of expression and caricature seen in 101 Dalmatians. This achievement should not be understated (and it should also be the primary reason The Incredibles should be considered the front-runner at the Academy Awards). Because the characters are presented with such naturalism, because the acting is so good, we come to believe in these characters -- in their world, in their pain. They gain empathy in this way, and they endear themselves to us. You take that achievement in CGI character animaton and marry it to outstanding vocal work and a firecracker screenplay, it isn't too hard to see how The Incredibles has a legitimate claim to the throne of "best CGI animated feature film" to date.



Another subtle achivement - though no less important and no less a breakthrough - is Brad Bird's work as director of this film. A protege of Disney animator Milt Kahl in the early 70's, Bird has always been respected in animation circles, but I wasn't introduced to him until his "Family Dog" episode of Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories in the mid-80's. Even then, he showed a gift for staging and imaginative use of his "camera", traits he would refine working on "The Simpsons", and then showcase with his acclaimed animated feature, The Iron Giant.



In The Incredibles, Bird's gift for staging is unleashed -- from epic city battles, to the dilemna of ElastiGirl trapped in multiple corridors, to even small, quiet scenes, such as a husband driving out of a garage leaving behind a wife who thinks he might be cheating on her. This is a film directed by a man as confident in his storytelling abilities as Steven Spielberg, and as gifted in his staging and composition as Michael Curtiz.



Finally - and this is not so subtle - the look of the film and the period settings are a major contribution. The art direction and settings of the film are solidly rooted in the 1960's, which allows the film enough distance from the modern age to not be burdened by slavish realism while still allowing the film to retain a certain "Johnny Quest"-era believability to the space-age technology. Naturalism is the word for "The Incredibles", not Realism, and the world-builders at Pixar look to have had an absolute field day designing a "retro-future". From wall clocks to business cards, from airplanes to living room furniture, from volcanic lairs to office cubicles, we are presented with the look of an age from the American past, but not so distant as to make the technology utterly implausible (see the Will Smith western Wild Wild West for an example of misjudging technology and setting). In fact, fans of the James Bond films of the 60's and 70's should find much to delight in here. The villain of The Incredibles has a secret base on a tropical island more stunning than the lairs of Drax, Scaramanga, Blofeld, Stromberg, and Dr. No combined.



I've often written that there is no such thing as a perfect movie, except for Chuck Jones' "One Froggy Evening". Brad Bird's The Incredibles comes pretty close to being the second. When the character Dash is finally allowed to be all he can be, the liberation is an amazing thing to behold. Free to move into PG territory, Pixar's liberation is also a wonderful thing to experience -- and like Toy Story in 1995, I tell you now that this is not the height of their powers. Toy Story was not Snow White, and The Incredibles is not Pinocchio. In fact, The incredibles strongly hints at a future where "action" films shot with live stuntmen and actors may become irrelevant. Historians will look back one day and say that this was only the beginning.



-- Ernest Rister

[Tim O.]

Just got back from seeing "The Incredibles again"...and I still can't get enough of it...what a fantastic movie. Brad Bird (and Pixar) hits a grand slam again.



Best Movie of 2004 so far....Best Superhero Movie ever...Best Pixar movie to date...one of the best American animated films I've ever seen (besides The Iron Giant, also a Bird film)...I could go on and on.



BTW. it's the only movie besides Lord of the Rings I've seen more than once inside of a week....and I will try and see it again in theaters..



I wish there was a DLP showing near me though[img]images/smilies/frown.gif[/img]

[RobertR]

The best movie experience I've had in a long time. Easily the best Pixar film and MUCH better than the typical CGI dreck thrown at audiences. It had heart, humor, action, and well done family drama. I loved the expressed opposition to the idea that being exceptionally gifted is "bad" and that mediocrity should be rewarded. I laughed, I cheered. Highest rating.

[Chris Atkins]

THE INCREDIBLES

out of

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to see the members of the Fantastic Four take on the plotting of a James Bond film, then this movie is for you.

And, yes, it's that cool.

[george kaplan]

A great movie.

out of (and no, that's not a typo )

There's only one negative thing I can say about this film, and that is that we sat through the entire closing credits hoping for something (bloopers, an animated tag, anything), and there was nothing. But that in no way detracts from what a great film this is.

[Adam Lenhardt]

Every now and again a movie comes along that strikes you at the right moment and in exactly the right way. I’ve had two this year, and The Incredibles is the latest and greatest.
The last one, Garden State, spoke to me at a specific time and place in my life. I think Bird’s genius is in creating a work that speaks to everyone. I knew I’d love this movie from the very first belt-popping teaser in front of the fun and well-crafted but ultimately bland Finding Nemo, but it wasn’t until the black, white, and grainy newsreel footage at the beginning that I gained an idea of exactly how much.
The world of the Parr family is in various ways both retro and modern. The design of the metropolis looks as if it was ripped from the pages of golden age Superman, but the stale and monotonous realm of the insurance business is an all too current play on our times. Too many recent superhero flicks make the mistake of trying to force their heroes into our world. Like any Pixar production, the “supers” of this movie exist in a world of their own, which influences them and is influenced by them. The thing that propelled Spider-Man 2 past its predecessor was that Spider-Man wasn’t planted into a superficial mock-up of Manhattan landmarks. His Manhattan exists only in that movie, but it lived and breathed around him. Likewise, I can trace the influences of all the locations in The Incredibles, but the way they are blended into a cohesive whole is unique and much greater than the sum of its parts.
But beyond all of that, the thing that sold me on the movie above all else was the characters. The trailers presented the typical post-feminist “Mother knows best” role reversal that has become all too tired as of late. That aspect is definitely there, but there are greater complexities that the trailers would lead to believe. Bob Parr aka Mr. Incredible is a revelation; I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a dedicated and complete portrayal of the adult male in an animated feature. There are plenty of times when he is vulnerable and flawed, and Helen (aka Elastigirl) definitely rounds him out around the edges. But he is not the helpless fool man that is too often portrayed any more; from the opening action sequence to the way he helps his clients at the insurance company to the way he handles himself on Syndrome’s island to the way he notices his daughter’s new hairstyle in the midst of chaos, Bird and company take the time to present as many admirable traits as human weaknesses.
The kids are also revelations; Dash falls into the rambunctious schoolboy cliché and Violet into the shy and introverted goth stereotype. Like their father, however, all is not as it seems. Both children are affected by the quirks of a super-powered family. Rather than relying too much on angsty diatribes of “I just want to be normal,” we are shown their family life and how exactly things are the same and different. The dinner scene, for instance, feels perfectly natural even though Bob is holding up a table with three people attached to it and each of Helen’s arms are stretched several feet further than they should be. When the parents get in an argument late at night, neither the impetus of the argument nor the kids’ manner of eavesdropping would exist in an average household, but the impact the arguing has on the children exists in every home and the united front the dueling spouses put on to shield them from it happens in the better ones.
Finally, the most inspiring thing about this film is the way it bucks the trend of conformity and uniformity. Increasingly, children are being taught to ignore one another’s talents and faults and treat people exactly the same regardless of who they are. So fixated is our society on surface differences like gender, race, and age, we lose sight of the rapidly dwindling diversity of talents and ideas. There’s a moment in which Helen tells her son that, “Everyone's special, Dash.” The son replies, in an uncommonly melancholy tone, “Which is another way of saying that nobody is.” Very few people are truly special anymore, because they succumb to the oppressive blandness that society nurtured so well. It’s about time a film came along that tells kids to act out, stand up, and approach life differently and relate to others differently. Bravo. (****)

[Chuck Mayer]

I'm not bumping this for any malicious (or salacious ) reason. I simply never shared a review for the film, and thought I'd do so now.

I've probably seen The Incredibles more than any other film I've ever reviewed at HTF. My son watched this religiously for a period of about a month a while back. Like all kids, he has his phases, and I try and ensure Pixar is a prominent part of each one. It makes the stuff he watches (and I listen to or watch) much more bearable.

Pixar is still batting 1.000 for me. And this is their crown jewel. The best thing about Pixar is they always deliver on a few key storytelling concepts. While they typically mine existing concepts and storylines, they bring a warmth and a humanity to each appraoch that refreshes the material. Most of the reviews in here capture what makes the film great.

I think it starts great. Pixar looks for visionaries with ideas they are passionate about. By doing that, enthusiasm is a part of every project from the get-go. They work the script over and over. Normally, script by committee leads the story right to the middle. But ordinarily, script by committee is designed to have mass appeal. When Pixar polishes, they polish the story to serve the story. The audience does not take precedence. Top-tier animation has always had polished scripts...they invest the time into it.

The next step that really makes it work is casting. The entire cast is exceptional (has SLJ ever been this fun...not even in Pulp Fiction), but Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter provide some of the best animated performances ever. Combined with the brilliant acting by the animators, their expressiveness and quests drive the film. Honestly, Holly Hunter just completely elevates her character. Nelson is outstanding himself, but I feel Hunter finds another gear. Their scenes together, or with their kids, never make you doubt the relationships.

The devil is in the details: I've long said that Pixar has no competitors. The other CG animators are doing good work, but they are usually more than a year behind Pixar. They pump movies out with big names and decent pop culture jokes. Pixar is well beyond that (though not above it from time to time). Their films are simply beautiful to look at, and the Incredibles is no exception. Beyond the incredible technical work, the art direction is exquisite.

As a comic book nut, The Incredibles simply distills what I love about that medium, but adds something a cut above. Especially for a new parent like myself.

This was an easy 10/10 for me. One of my favorite films of all time. You see new little details, all of which are meaningful, every time you watch it. Even if you watch it a LOT

[Michael Reuben]

Folks, this is still the review thread. If you post anything here other than a member review, it will be deleted.

For anything other than a review, please use the Official Discussion thread.

M.