The Incredibles (2004) User Reviews

Charming and fun

[basrutten · 9/10 · 24 December 2004]

Shortly after Dreamworks screwed up with the uninspired "Shark Tale", Pixar contains its remarkably success story with "The Incredibles". And while I have to say that I liked "Finding Nemo" a bit better, "The Incredibles" is still an amazing movie.

First of all, this is because it's funny. It's not so funny that you're constantly laughing out loud, but there are more than enough good jokes in the movie to keep you entertained, and it's full of good observations about superhero movies (note all the ridiculous superhero and villain names) and references to other movies. It's also a brilliant James Bond spoof/homage, containing all the gadgets, secret island bases and crazy schemes that made early Bond movies so much fun.

Secondly, this movie has heart and charm in droves. It's full of memorably and likable characters you can really identify with and care about. Characters like Edna are instant classics. The voice acting is universally excellent, but Holly Hunter steals the show as Elastigirl. This is a movie that doesn't need toilet humor, characters modeled like celebrities, or a "hip" soundtrack...it easily succeeds on charm and style alone.

Also, I found it to be a surprisingly good action movie. The plentiful action sequences are full of energy, extremely fast-paced, and exciting, and put many a live-action movie to shame.

Finally, I also liked the tone and message of the movie. "The Incredibles" basically makes a plea against mediocrity, breaking with the politically correct idea that "everybody is special" (and thus nobody really is), and encouraging people to use the talents they have been given. I think this couldn't be more true. Not all people are equally talented (just compare Pixar to Dreamworks), but this is no reason to keep the talented people from not reaching their full potential just because it makes the less talented ones feel bad.

"The Incredibles", while maybe not as hilarious as I had hoped (though it's still very funny), is nonetheless an extremely entertaining movie, that manages to charm you wit its combination of great characters, lots of style, tongue-in-cheek attitude and good message. Highly recommended.

****1/2 of ***** stars

Amazing! Brilliant! Fabulous! Wonderful! Astonishing! I'm not avoiding using a certain word!

[ThePedofinderGeneral · 9/10 · 23 December 2004]

The Incredibles is a great film, and probably my favourite Pixar picture (Toy Story is the best, but that's different to favourite). It takes a while to properly get into the action, but when it does, it delivers it in spades.

And that's exactly it. I would actually call The Incredibles an animated action film, because to be honest, I don't think there was enough comedy to call it an animated action comedy film. There are quite a few funny moments, but the gags don't come as fast as Finding Nemo or Toy Story.

That being said, it does have truly amazing action set-pieces, brilliant voice acting, a fabulous script, wonderful characters and the animation is simply.....well....incredible.

The music is definitely a stand-out. It actually made me smile, with it's jazzy tones and James Bond type scores.

One of the greatest things about The Incredibles is that it's not a kiddies film; it's completely different to all the other Pixar films. They bring out tommy guns in the second scene, for crying out loud! If you want to see a more adult animated film, then go see The Incredibles, and enjoy every minute. But I wouldn't bring someone younger than 4 maybe, because it isn't really aimed at them, and they probably would find it quite scary.

This is a great film, one of the best of 2004 in my opinion. If it just had a slightly higher gag rate, than this would be an absolutely perfect picture.

9/10

An Amazing Message Over Looked

[coloradokatchoo · 9/10 · 16 December 2004]

I am tired of reading reviews about how an animated film is too violent for children, deals with mature issues like segregation or death, or is simply "too grown up" for small children. Since when did we decide to water down the truth for children, and when exactly are they old enough for certain issues, and why is it animation means it's suppose to be for children. Animation has allowed movie makers to break molds, has allowed them to do things that could not be done with regular actors or locations. We use CGI to accomplish effects we otherwise couldn't do, why is the art of illustration not considered on the same level as the art of computer graphics? I don't feel that just because something is made for children it should be dumbed down and I don't believe that an adult is too superior to watching something that is animated. Stories geared toward children such as Aesop's Fables or the fairy tales of the brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Anderson, were told to teach life lessons; don't cry wolf, be happy with what you have and don't trust strangers. These are lessons, and stories, that were not watered down, that showed to what evil depths greed, slothfulness and envy, just to name a few, could take hold of in a person.

The Incredibles does not shy away from being real; it has an amazing message for both adults and children. The message I saw over and over again in the movie but could not find in a single review was how society was oppressing people to be no better than someone else. We seem to be headed towards embracing mediocrity, Harrison Bergeron, the short story by Kurt Vonnegut that was later turned into a film with Sean Astin, is the perfect example of someone smart being held back because it would hurt the dumb kids feelings to know there was someone better than them. The Incredible's attacks this head on, in one scene the villain Syndrome (voiced by Jason Lee), who has no real super powers but invents rocket shoes and remote controlled robots, tells Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) that he plans on killing all the truly empowered people and, using his inventions, become the only super hero until he's had his fun, at which time he will sell his inventions allowing everyone to become special "which of course means no one will be".

Mr. Incredible and his wife, Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), have three children. Daughter Violet (Sarah Vowell) can make herself invisible but only uses it to hide from a boy she likes, she's been broken down in spirit to feel like there is something horribly wrong with her and that she should be ashamed for being empowered with this amazing gift, to her it is a curse. Violet's younger brother Dash (Spencer Fox) on the other hand is angry with not being allowed to play in sports, because of his super speed, even though he promises not to show off. Their character development is some of the most in depth I've seen for "children" in a film, in part because it's real, they face death and failure and they rise above their shame and anger to become real heroes.

This movie is funny, it was honest, and it was one of the best films of the year. There is real development, there are real issues and real messages and at the end of the film I wanted to find the super hero in myself. I don't see why we should deny younger people, our children, the right to see something that is so beautiful just because of its honesty.

One of the best films ever made

[evansjoshyr · 10/10 · 20 February 2021]

17 years after incredibles was released, it continues to be a compelling, entertaining, funny, smart, ambitious, original, mature and just simply enjoyable movie. The dialogue is exceptional and the animation holds up surprisingly well. The characters are well written and very fleshed out. It is an animated film about superheroes and yet the chatacters and world feel so real.

It is my favourite pixar film and probably always will be. If you haven't seen this masterpiece yet, stop reading this review and go watch it right now. Infact, even if you've seen it before, just watch it right now. It is that freaking good.

Wonderful, beautiful to watch, all in all, incredible.

[PyrolyticCarbon · 10/10 · 21 November 2004]

WOW! What a movie. I can honestly say this is in my top ten movies of all time, how do Pixar continue to out do themselves at every movie release?

The Incredibles is a fantastic story, wonderfully scripted and with the most stunning animation you have ever seen, it provides a perfectly rounded story with plenty of action, laughs and (almost) tears.

Basically, this is a story of a man encountering a mid life crisis and leaping headlong into it without a care or a thought for his family, proving exceedingly selfish and failing to see the good in his life. Meanwhile the wife is left to try and look after the family. Really, that's the story. Now, what Pixar have done is drop in the idea that the parents are Superheroes, banned from being Super many years previously by the Government and the people, trying to live a normal life. Add to the mix that some of their children have inherited their own powers and that the Super villains are planning a comeback, and you have this wonderful movie.

I can't begin to convey how wonderful the animation is, it's perfect. I mean you'll always be looking at it knowing it's animation, but when the story takes you along you'll suddenly realize you're still watching animation. The subtle difference is that you forget, and there are parts (for instance when the father is cheering his son during the race) that you actually think it is real. The effects for water, fire (two of the hardest things to recreate in animation) and lava are wonderful to watch and caught me drawing a breath when I first saw them.

The characters and acting are wonderful, and you will find yourself caring about them as real people. At some points I could feel a big swallow coming up and a wavering adams apple, obviously due to the food earlier, nothing to do with the movie.

I often find that movies aren't paced well, that they either have too long or too short an introduction to the characters, or the events that lead up to the pivotal point of the movie are unbalanced against the climax, all sorts of combinations. Not here, this move is perfect and well balanced, the story takes you along just when you are ready, and there were no points where I wished we could move on, or something could happen quicker. My only frustration were at the kids, and this was only because they were behaving exactly as real kids would.

It was interesting to see the comparisons and links to other famous Superheroes through comic-lore. Definitely with nods to The Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer and huge nods to The Watchmen. My only concern is that there is so much similarity to The Watchmen that those who haven't read the graphic novel will be saying "That's the Incredibles movie" when Watchmen finally comes to fruition.

The short film showing before this was wonderful in itself, and had the audience laughing out loud loads. Excellent, and once again, outdoes every short that they've produced before. Boundin' was beautifully animated and wonderfully told. Guaranteed to bring a huge big smile to your face.

All in all I think this movie is perfect and truly incredible.

A Truly, Pardon the Pun, Incredible Movie

[Sargebri · 13 November 2004]

This is one of the finest animated films I have ever seen. Not only is it a fine animated film, it is a great film period. The film obviously takes its cue from several real life super hero comic books, especially The Fantastic Four and the Justice Society of America. The Fantastic Four comparison is obvious due to the fact that Elatigirl and Violet were obviously inspired by Mr. Fantastic (aka. Reed Richards) and the Invisible Woman (aka. Sue Storm Richards) respectively. The J.S.A. influence is a little more obscure. Several years ago, DC Comics issued a mini-series that attempted to explain the demise of the Justice Society by claiming that the group was forced to disband after their loyalty to America was questioned during the 1950's. In this film, all the heroes were forced into hiding after the government refused to pay for wrongful legal claims brought against the super heroes of this film. Also, there are many in jokes that the casual viewer might not get, but that made it enjoyable for comic book fans. This the island scenes look as if they could have been inspired by many of the series produced by Gerry Anderson of the 1960's (eg. the Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet).

Another thing that made this film unique was its look. If you notice, the city where the story takes place looks like a fairly modern metropolis. However, if you look at the cars in the film, most of them look as if they would have been more at home in the mid to late 1960's. Also, the way that many of the characters were dressed also could have put them in that time.

However, the thing that I really loved about this film was the fact that even though it was geared primarily to children, it was dark enough in theme to appeal to adults. In fact, there are a couple of scenes that you wouldn't normally associate with a film geared towards children.

This film is definitely a classic of animation and once again Pixar shows why they are the masters of computer animation.

My favorite film from Pixar in over five years- Bird and company produce a triumph of a family film

[Quinoa1984 · 10/10 · 5 November 2004]

Writer-director Brad Bird here has something that I was caught off-guard by just a bit. I always expect Pixar films to be above-par, family entertainment, the kinds of films that can have an appeal to adults on a satirical, jab-in-the-side effect by having the characters reacting to each other as they would on a film with a higher rating, whilst giving the bright colors, action, and silliness that appeals to kids. Watching The Incredibles, their sixth feature-length offering, I wasn't so entertained and amused since their 98 film A Bug's Life, and it almost brought me back to the emotional impact I felt when in the theater for the first time getting Toy Story into my system.

It's a film that takes on a type in society that we all know well (in the past they've done toys, bugs, monsters, undersea life, and now comic book archetypes) and transforms it superbly to the imaginative computer-animated landscape. This is also in credit due to Brad Bird, who proved five years ago with his sleeper The Iron Giant that he could transcend the genre and appeal with heart and vigor for almost every age bracket.

So what little touches make The Incredibles so appealing? How it starts to deconstruct the idea of a superhero, perhaps, as well as how the family unit is shown in the usual conventions under unusual and funny circumstances. As an example, one of our heroes Mr. Incredible, a.k.a. Bob Parr (voiced wonderfully by Craig T. Nelson), goes to visit a woman who fixes and creates the uniforms of superheroes. In one scene she explains why a cape is not a good idea. This is the kind of scene that might not make it into most Hollywood movies, and would sometimes if not often be discredited as being too 'smart' for kids to get. But by appealing to a kind of level late teens and adults can relate to, it reaches a higher, far more intelligent plane. In fact, many of the best scenes in the film take on what we all know in films displaying the 'family unit' and morph it with the power and imagination of superheroes.

I won't go too much into the plot as some may already have, except to say that what makes the story in and of itself appealing is how it is a fully formed story, and doesn't try and sell itself short like other animated films (i.e. Sharktale for example). It also uses it's PG-rating perimeter wisely, and Bird and company create action sequences that are as exciting, if not more so, than in the action films that have been released this year (in fact, some of the scenes in the climax, for my money, could rival a couple of those in Spider-Man 2). By setting up the right emotional bases with the characters- Bob, his wife Elasti-girl (Holly Hunter), their kids, and with supporting characters voiced finitely by the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and Jason Lee, by the time the high-charged, internally fantasy scenes take off, they take off with great conviction and excitement.

Overall, The Incredibles is a film that is, in a way, what audiences wish they could get and rarely do- it's a film with wit and observance, a kind of video-game where the results are not as expectable as can be. Some kids may not get it as much as adults might, which is just as well, as it sometimes operates on a level like Antz did, only through the sphere of Disney. In other words, if you say the teaser trailer, which involved the out-of-shape Mr. Incredible trying with all his might to buckle his tights, you'll know what the film could bring. Personally, I can't wait to see it again.

Dahling, dahling, dahling.... this movie is incredible

[Mr Parker · 10/10 · 7 November 2004]

I hope that this movie does really well because this has to be one of the best animated movies I have ever seen. The story is really cool and it's obvious that there is a lot of respect here for the source of superheroes, whether it be comic books, serial flicks or Saturday morning cartoons.

The movie has an undeniably cool retro feel to it and it shows not only in the design of the picture but also in the music, which definitely sounds like something out of a 60's 007 flick. It is also unusually dark, especially for a Pixar flick. I'm not saying it's dark where people are getting their heads delivered to someone in a box or family members are sleeping with each other or anything like that but there were moments where I found myself wondering if a little kid might be able to deal with the intensity of what was going on on screen. Maybe it was the fact that the heroes were in very real danger most of the time. The bad guys weren't out to catch them as much as they were out to kill them. When you discover who the film's villain is, you can literally feel his anger coming off the screen. I may be over-exaggerating a bit but then again, it really is to the film's credit that it deals with human emotions in the way that it does.

Even though you are watching a film that is populated by CGI characters, the emotions they convey in what they say and do come across as purely believable. Whether watching Bob Parr interact with people at his job or just sitting at his desk was something that rang true to me, just in the feeling of it. Everything about this movie has a very concrete feel to it, even while looking like something you'd see in a comic book. The computer graphics in general were absolutely amazing and the voice acting is excellent across the board, so good in fact, that I really can't pick a favorite from the entire cast. I have to say that Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter were very good as Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl respectively. They had a moment near the end of the film that actually touched me but you can see that for yourselves. Samuel L. Jackson was hilarious and thankfully, he wasn't overused. Dash and Violet were realized so well that every time they came up on screen, I loved every minute of it. Dash, in particular was one of the funniest characters in the movie. Jason Lee made for a formidable villain as Syndrome. I loved the fact that he was your typical antagonist but was also aware of the conventions surrounding such a role, like when he chides himself for 'monologuing'. He was also one ruthless bastard, I'll give him that. Even the bit part characters were hilarious. There was a kid on a tricycle in this movie who comes out twice and made me laugh out loud both times.

In fact, this movie reminds me of why I like Finding Nemo over Monsters, Inc. In Finding Nemo, not only are the main characters great but every other character they run into makes some kind of impression on you. Remember all the characters that Marlin and Dory ran into on their adventures together? Of course you do. Whether it was that crazy pelican with the Australian accent, Willem Dafoe as Gill, leader of the fishtank crew, or Bruce the Shark, you remember them after all is said and done and it makes the viewing experience that much richer. That's exactly how The Incredibles is. Every character that appears will make you laugh or intrigue you in some way. I have to admit that I was laughing myself throughout the entire movie, especially with the character of Edna Mode who almost steals the movie. Man, even the end credits are awesome! I have to give the director Brad Bird a big thumbs up for this one. He pulled it off and hopefully this will attract attention to his other animated film, "The Iron Giant", which was sadly overlooked when it was released and is also a really great film.

All in all, I can't recommend this movie enough. I left very satisfied and felt no need to compare this to the rest of Pixar's movies. This one is just as good if not better than any other animated movie released this year and rightfully deserves its place among the best animated movies of all time.

RATING: ***** out of *****.

Serious original fun! A family film in every sense of the word

[mstomaso · 7/10 · 17 April 2005]

The Incredibles is a simple and slightly formulaic comic book-style animated Disney/Pixar feature with a great big heart. I just experienced this film for the second time, and though I didn't really catch anything new, or achieve a different perspective, I was certainly as entertained as I was in the theater the first time.

The Incredibles are the family of Mr. Incredible and Elasti-girl, living in a nightmare future where superheroes have been sued and regulated to the point that they are either forced underground or into protection programs complete with assumed identities and mediocre jobs. Mr. Incredible himself is invincibly physically strong, but emotionally drained by the uselessness of his new life as an insurance claim examiner, and his depression is so complete that he feels as if he is detaching from all that he loves. The children are "Dash" - a miniature Flash clone, "Violet" - who has all of the basics of Sue Richards, The Fantastic Four's Invisible Girl, and infant Jack Jack - about whom little can be said. Eventually, the entire family gets swept up into a crisis of vast proportion as a forgotten piece of Mr. Incredible's past comes back to threaten the very world which has rejected them all.

The film really does derive a lot of its archetypal character points from Marvel's classic Fantastic Four, but adds brilliant humor, a very positive message, and some voice work which really is nothing less than Incredible. I was especially impressed by Sarah Vowell's Violet. The voice talent in general, however, is exceptionally good, and the supporting cast doesn't slip a centimeter. Brad Bird's Edna is also a memorable stand-out.

Visually, the film is as good as any of the recent animated features most movie fans have enjoyed, though perhaps slightly less inventive and a bit less pretentious. I guess I would have to say that it's also my favorite, with Finding Nemo running a close second.

This would be a great film to see with your kids. It's clean, fun, and yet serious enough to engage even the most angst-ridden teenager. It also contains some very positive messages about the value and meaning of heroism, family, and 'sticking together' through the worst and the best of times.

Truly Incredible

[jon.h.ochiai · 10/10 · 19 December 2004]

I finally saw Pixar/Disney's "The Incredibles" after several scheduling glitches. Writer and Director Brad Bird's "The Incredibles" is truly incredible. It is one of the best movies of the year. The CGI animation is both cutting edge and simply stunning, and like all Pixar projects it has a solid story as it's foundation. Bird uses the Superhero mythology to tell a funny and poignant story: that when we forfeit or withhold our greatness, we are not being true to ourselves, and more importantly it is a disservice to those around us. As the story begins, Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) was the superhero's Superhero. As voiced by Nelson, Mr. Incredible, is very confident, on the verge of cocky. He uses his super strength and powers for good. He marries super, Elasticgirl (Holly Hunter). However, Mr. Incredible soon falls victim like his fellow "Supers" to the plight of our litigious society-- the people they save are suing them. Instead of getting malpractice insurance (which would have been a different movie), the persecuted... and prosecuted Supers assume their secret identities in a covert government relocation program. They also promise never to use their powers again even for good.

We catch up 15 years later with Mr. Incredible, now just Bob Parr, insurance claim adjuster. He is suffering. His wife Helen, the former Elasticgirl, is busy getting settled in their new home with their kids, Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Spencer Fox), and little Jack Jack. Violet and Dash have super powers, and Jack Jack is not yet toilet trained. Bob is totally frustrated by his job, and really the lie he is forced to live. Every week he and fellow Super, Lucius Best aka Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), on their "bowling" night, listen to the police radio band so that they can save people in danger. Mild mannered life is killing Bob. He tells Helen regarding Dash's 4th grade graduation, that they keep "creating new ways to celebrate mediocrity".

One day Bob is contacted by the mysterious, Mirage (Elizabeth Pena), enlisting his super powers for an undisclosed benefactor. Bob, still super strong, no longer has the six pack abdominals. He proceeds to train and trim the waistline. He sees his suit designer, Edna 'E' Mode (Brad Bird), to fix his super suit. In a hilarious exchange, E enrolls Mr. Incredible in a new suit, sans cape. It is disclosed that the benefactor is villain, Syndrome (Jason Lee). Turns out that Mr. Incredible was the one responsible for Syndrome's genesis when he invalidated the young Syndrome 15 years ago. Thus, we have the classic Superhero tale of conflict and revenge.

What also distinguishes "The Incredibles" along with the story about reclaiming greatness, is that it is about family. In a very touching scene when Mr. Incredible is about to do battle with the seemingly invincible Omnidroid, he admits to Helen "...I'm not strong enough..." Having super powers is great. Having the love of family is truly powerful. Craig T. Nelson is perfect as Mr. Incredible. He is bold, funny, and endearingly vulnerable. Holly Hunter is solid and folksy as Helen, who also projects a quiet power. Jason Lee is at his annoying best as Syndrome. Brad Bird as 'E' steals every scene that she is in. Director Brad Bird's "The Incredibles" is amazing to look at, and also has something special and touching to say.

Super, human.

[MisterMxyzptlk · 7/10 · 31 August 2010]

This is a very enjoyable movie, with a lot of smart and interesting twists to the superhero genre. however it feels like two separate movies. The first half is more serious and is like a cross between a superhero spoof and the idea of a superhero taken as reality. The problem comes when the movie switches from being something that questioned the genre and made it more real to something that no longer takes its characters seriously. By the end this is just a ride movie, not an action movie with consistent character development and a point that people could walk away with. now, i'm not talking about a sound-byte "Message" that was missing, because something like that actually was there, it was just betrayed by the ending. The family of the incredibles became people with extraordinary powers rather than truly special or extraordinary people. *Spoiler* The lack of responsibility towards the villain that Mr. "incredible" showed disproves that he is anything other than a man with superhuman strength. He is not a hero. His ego had a part in creating the villain. syndrome had free will and choice to do what he did and it couldn't be called Mr incredible's fault, but Mr. incredible does kill him in a very cavalier manner with no attempt to capture or rehabilitate him, as a hero, incredible is supposed to be better in character than regular people. The film also treated the killing of syndrome as a joke, with that cape thing. on the one hand something like that can be considered funny in a cartoonish comic book setting but not in a world that is supposed to be taken seriously as the world of the incredibles had been set up to be. This movie had great potential and is still excellent in many respects, but it is not the great film that many critics and audiences seem to think it is.

Can't really see what all the fuss is about

[john_oneill41 · 6/10 · 23 January 2010]

Maybe it's because I first saw this film six years after it was made, but I can't really see why such a big thing was made of it.

I got an overwhelming feeling of "is this it?" when I saw it. That's not to say that this is a bad movie by any means, but there is nothing outstanding about it either. Of course, this could be said about a lot of films but is particular pertinent here when one considers the huge hype surrounding it when it first came out.

It is quite an enjoyable tale about superheroes being forced to hide their identities, bring up families and fitting in until one day Mr Incredible gets the chance to relive the glory days...

There are some very funny characters (Edna and Huph in particular) and most of the cast do their job well although Holly Hunter's lisp does get a little distracting after a while. Having the fifties titles and appearance is a nice touch which makes the whole film appear a little different from the norm.

Like I said before, this is a good film, although if you haven't seen it before, try to forget all the hype surrounding it when it first came out.

Good movie...TERRIBLE messages

[TensersFloatingDisk · 3/10 · 2 June 2005]

Movies don't just entertain -- they MEAN. They have messages. They instruct, influence, and evoke.

So what is the meaning of _The_Incredibles_? Simple: You Don't Count.

I am, perhaps, unusual in that I scrutinize every movie, TV show, newspaper story and advertisement for its deeper message -- but I think that practice is a lot more common when we consider media aimed at children, as this movie, with its toy tie-ins and McDonalds-driven marketing, most certainly is. So when friends suggested that Pixar had hit another one out of the park with _The_Incredibles_, I naturally screened it for my kid, thinking this would be a beauty.

Imagine my shock and dismay to find that, underneath the comic-book overtones, this is not a movie for kids at all. Not only is the violence fast, furious, and rampant, it's deadly...as the characters themselves point out, Saturday Morning Cartoons offer kids an unrealistic belief that deadly violence is somehow fun. Well OK, I can get behind that message, but it's going to be tricky explaining to my six-year-old that when he sees a plane full of bad-guys blow up as it rips through a tree, that this isn't just metaphorical -- that guy is DEAD.

But I got more and more disturbed when I saw that the majority of the violence in this movie wasn't being perpetrated by the bad guys at all -- it's mostly coming from our "heroes," The Incredible family themselves. Mr. I. uproots trees, tosses bombs, knocks down buildings, and punches mere mortal villains with fists which we've seen lift train cars. And then, in a fit of pique, in an early establishing scene, Mr. Incredible punches his boss. Who is *NOT* a villain. He's an unarmed civilian, which Mr. Incredible outweighs by about 200 pounds. He punches this guy through several walls, and later views of this poor guy in the hospital make it clear that he's broken a lot of bones.

This is our HERO???? And then there's the main message of the film: you don't count. You see you, me, all us non-super-heroes, we aren't "special," like the Incredibles. And no, the idea that everyone has some special quality, that everyone has unique skills or traits, that's disdained by our hero as a "celebration of mediocrity" -- his normal job, like the one you and I have, you see that's not good enough for the special people. No, the special people should be given the opportunity to requisition government aircraft, to own supercars they haven't paid for, to throw civilians through walls without any consequence if they act annoying. In fact, the guy who suggests that everyone *could* be special or super, if given the chance, is the VILLAIN of the movie! So there goes about 2,000 years worth of morality, right down the drain. According to this movie, might makes right, and anyone who thinks otherwise deserves to be stomped into the pavement. Jesus wept.

The Incredibles 2004 Review

[chandean-69762 · 9/10 · 7 February 2021]

An amazing family film and also one of the best superhero films of all time. Action is amazing, especially in the final act with such a range of powers all used brilliantly. And do I need to say anything about the animation? Pixar just knocks it out of the park every time. The Incredibles is just full of personality and charm, making it endlessly rewatchable.

Also we need a Frozone solo movie.

Is it a bird, no it's a plane, no it's the Incredibles

[silva-w-pius · 9/10 · 29 May 2014]

Is it a bird, no it's a plane, no it's the Incredibles…Imagine if one crazed scientist had a colossal sized blender and put the love and affection of The Modern Family in it, then sprinkled some dysfunctional madness of Malcolm in the Middle and then added superpowers to the mix, I guarantee that what comes out still won't be a match for the crazy, adorable, high octane and utter zaniness that are the Incredibles. The dad is supper strong, the mother can stretch like taffy, and the teenage girl can become invisible and throw up force fields and the 10 year old is lightening fast, which is quiet lucky when they must come up against the rich, genius of the villainous Syndrome, who seeks to destroy the hero he once worshipped in Mr. Incredible and an the whole city along with him. Despite the film being an animation featuring a story line that was extremely fantastical, not once did I remember it was a movie. The actions scenes were spell bounding and highly imaginative. But most importantly, I really believed in these characters that spat witty sharp dialogue at each other at a furious pace, not just because they were funny, but because the characters were so believable and relatable. Subsequently it should come as to no surprise that film was nominated for a best screenplay Oscar, which is a rarity for an animated film, but this ain't just your average animated film, it's an Incredible animated film

Good Entertainemt For About Any Age

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 17 February 2008]

This was somewhat of a surprise hit when it came out in 2004. Most of the attention was on a competing animated film but this is the one that turned out to be a huge box-office success. Word of mouth helped his immensely. It's what made me check it out, as several friends recommended it. I wound up agreeing with them: it's excellent entertainment.

The visuals and sound are very impressive, but it's the story that carries this film: a solid combination of humor, drama, suspense, family ties and action. The action, as in many modern-day films, was overdone in the last half hour of the movie but overall....the DVD is a good investment since people 3 to 63 should enjoy this.

As an adult, it's not always easy to keep my attention for two hours with animation but the fact this movie does, tells you how good the story is presented. There are wonderful colors in here, too, and a good 5.1 surround system with a sub-woofer would probably blow the roof off!

Absolutely Incredible

[JayRobinson · 10/10 · 21 November 2004]

Wow. This isn't just the best animated movie I've seen in a long time; it's one of the best movies, period. For sheer giddy enjoyment, stunning visuals, engaging characters. When the industry makes films with this much action and special-effects wizardry and a couple of big-name faces up front, they generally don't spend money on niceties like writing and character development. But Pixar, since they have something to prove with their computer-generated actors, has done the hard and loving work to infuse these cartoon characters with a humanity that most big-budget live-action movies don't match. Go see this one. Go see it for:

Visuals. There is a reality to this picture that hasn't been present in previous feature-length CG movies. Hair, foliage, rust, water-all are executed very convincingly. You know these characters aren't human beings, but it's hard to believe that they aren't somehow real.

Acting. The voice work is excellent, particularly Holly Hunter and Craig T. Nelson. The animators have done a great job capturing the subtleties of those performances in the motions of the on-screen avatars. If you saw the ill-fated Final Fantasy movie (of technical interest only, not really for the general public)-these cartoonish characters don't look as real, but they seem much more human.

Bond References. There is an secret lair in this movie the likes of which Dr. No and Blofeld could only dream. Every Bond homage is pitch perfect, and we found ourselves laughing in an otherwise quiet theatre at the wonderful invention of the production design. Hey, we're movie geeks; apparently the others weren't. This movie is worth ten bucks for the modern architecture alone.

Edna Mode. This character is the manic love child of 007's "Q" and Edith Head, and will surely be remembered as one of the great animated characters. She is voiced by the director, Brad Bird.

I know I'm not exactly going our on a limb here; the Tomatometer shows 96% as of this writing. But I wanted to see this movie again as soon as I left the theatre.

Notes: This one is for older kids and adults, as the PG rating indicates.

There are no "outtakes" in the end credits. (Anti-spoiler?)

Pixar is Invincible

[tedg · 7 November 2004]

Spoilers herein.

All movies are about other movies. Most simply quote them, and most of these are bad. Some are very clever quoters, like Tarantino. But still mere quoters. A few weeks ago, I saw 'Van Helsing' which impressed the daylights out of me. It was all about transmutation at many levels including transmuting itself through several other movie identities.

Meanwhile, I've been impressed by Pixar for other reasons. They've always been the leaders in folding and introspective dimensionality. Their logo even shows it: an illuminator jumps on the 'i', replaces it, looks around and then looks directly at you.

In this film, their introspective experiments extend to quoting other films. But instead of the simple shopkeeping of Tarantino, we have appearances of other films but instead of being quoted they are re-imagined. Each transmutation is better than the original: This is better Bond than Bond, better Spy Kids than Spy Kids, better family drama than any recent experience. Better through-the-trees chase than Star Wars. Much, much better than 'Spiderman' and its ilk because it really understands pacing and manages ever-more unseen camera swoops.

And it does everything it does with familiar images. For instance, the scene where Bob smacks his boss through several walls and he ends up wrapped in bandages and in traction is a collection of classic images from old cartoons, starting with the big guy grabbing the little guy. Except you don't notice that the big guy is the good guy. Never happens in the classics.

There are two interesting folds here: the one that folds many movies genres as we mentioned and the one that conflates the folds of reality. Here's how this works: Usually there are two layers of a folded movie: the movie and some more abstract story within the movie. Spoofs depend on you knowing the layers, even if a layer isn't shown. So 'Austin Powers' has the intermediate level of Bond, even though it doesn't have an explicit segment that exists in the world of Bond.

Ted's law says the folding distance must be equal, so the abstraction between the real world and that of Bond is exactly the same as that between Powers and Bond, extra cartoonishness if you wish.

This Pixar project has two levels squashed into the same world. One level is the very realistically abstracted story between Bob and Helen. This isn't very cartoonish at all compared the regular world of cartoons. Then you have the superhero world which Bob and later Helen dive into; this is the most extremely abstract world of cartoons. Three levels, us, Bob and Helen as people (and they seem more real in this mode than most 'real' characters) and Bob and Helen and kids as superheros.

The novelty of the fold is that these are squashed together as if there is no distance. That (plus some very human-like camera angles and the 'interview' footage at the beginning) squashes the world of the viewer into what we see. Its the kind of brilliant novelty that can only be done by close students of the art.

A side comment that follows: the standard Disney cartoon has to have an obvious moral. Parents enthusiastically use this as a sad excuse for parenting. This film puts the moral in the spoof level. That means, folks, that it is equating it to the mediocre fictions Bob berates at the beginning. To distract the dopes in the audience, they do damage control by splicing an 'ordinary' moralistic dippy thing at the beginning.

The real moral is that most movie houses have 'insurance:' they test their films into mediocrity. Pixar does no testing. They figure it out and trust their geniuses. Along the way, they take two heavy hits in the story at insurance companies who literally put superstars out of business, and incidentally steal from the worthy.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

The Incredibly Mediocre Movie..

[Rob_Taylor · 6/10 · 24 November 2004]

Don't get me wrong...it has its moments. But they are few and far between in this film.

The decision to make the story more "real" by having the superheroes portrayed as an ordinary family with ordinary family problems went a long way to disappoint me, even though I had expected this from reviews. To me "ordinary" and "super" are two words that should never get mixed together. I appreciate the movie's thought that, if everyone had superpowers, then everyone would be ordinary, but come on. I want to be entertained, not run through an updated episode of The Flintstones.

Another nail in the coffin for this one was the hype. Once again, the movie moguls hype up a film, raising our expectations to silly levels. How can we be anything but disappointed with the reality?

If you compare this movie to the likes of Toy Story or Finding Nemo it doesn't even come close to being in the same league.

Unlike those movies, where a bit of affectionate scene plagiarism was appreciated for what it was, The Incredibles just annoyed the Hell out of me with its "Return of the Jedi" jungle chase scene. A quick flit through the jungle with the hero being chased by the bad guys - just long enough for you to realize it for what it was - would have been fine. But no. They had to drag the scene out for minute after minute, adding in all the scenes from the RoTJ chase, such as the enemy drawing alongside, the swinging from the vines etc. until you were sick of it and praying it would end.

There are some good ideas, but on the whole the film doesn't get my thumbs up of approval. Once again, partly the hype to blame, but also mostly because it's not that good.

Greatly bundled pack of entertainment

[Guga3D · 9/10 · 14 December 2004]

Pixar has again proved that it's ethics and capabilities are inexterminable even for the tough-willed Dreamworks, which are gradually attempting to catch up on with standards. But with Pixar's new title, we once more experience a great gratifying animation which deeps you inside by it's humorous and enthralling plot and keeps you laughing out loudly until the very end. Dreamworks' titles compared to Pixars are not too peculiar, but they seem to rip all their titles from Pixar and create a fake illusion of originality. Now that Pixar has created another chef-d'oeuvre, no doubt Dreamworks will once more rip the idea and create a title relating to superheroes. 9.5/10

A bewildering combination of brilliance and despondent themes

[GSmith9072 · 7/10 · 18 June 2007]

I want to congratulate director Brad Bird on one of the most original animated opening sequences I've seen. From the very start of the film, the viewer is all ready to submerge into a film that takes animation and "children's entertainment" to a whole new level, and this level isn't just pretentious gibber concocted to look revolutionary. This is the real thing. And it's almost a superb film. But I must take strong, even drastic conflict with the underlying themes that the film presents. What makes the "The Incredibles" both excellent and reprehensible is Bird's writing that unfortunately overlooks and neglects aspects in it's presentation. At least I hope so. The film leaps back and forth from a respectable animated film into something dark and ugly, and, amongst such, paints a gloss over it and claims accessibility to children. It is such a fact that I pray is never repeated.

Bird's writing flounders in the very fact that it is trying to promote a message, and not a silly one. While doing so in the context of a superhero film, the film meanders back and forth from being real and fantastical. Essentially, the film can't decide what it wants to be. Does it want to pay homage to classic comics where elements of our reality are taken for granted or does it want to portray a strange new world where supers are taken out of context and applied a different role in the society? That is, the film begs to be taken as some kind or allegory, at the time maintaining, even emphasizing it's seriousness. The film contains fantastic voice work from the whole cast involved, and toward the middle of the film there are some impressively convincing moments of drama and suspense. What is further done with this is utterly disappointing. The film sporadically morphs back into a comic book where the lives of everyone except our heroes are meaningless, as is the physical and emotional pain of these characters. Some situations that involve very serious acts perpetuated by the protagonists are never resolved and are thusly deemed as acceptable. This is evident from the very start of the film when our hero, who's personality is much more like the appearances of the characters in "Monster's Inc", derides the talent of the soon-to be powerful villain as a youngster and never cares to say anything about it until years later, when the tables are turned. The film's message is to point out that "no, we aren't all special", and I can live with that to a certain degree because it's true for the most part. But one wonders if these certain facts are necessary for smaller children to digest? Perhaps this film isn't for them at all, and that's fine. What do I as an older person think? I think these themes scream some pretty reprehensible notions, and it killed any entertaining factor that "The Incredibles" had, as well as making me dislike the characters. Aside from our hero's treatment of Buddy and his hardly fairly matched boss in the beginning, when you view what occurred in terms of the film's overall theme it fails to mesh into anything we'd think as admirable if you're the average caring person. Buddy's child-like enthusiasm for his talent is not a bad thing, but it is treated as such. One talent is favored over the other, and I'm not sure why. Justifably, Buddy seeks out to be like his ex-hero and is killed for it. Wait, I'm completely aware of Buddy, who's later turned into Syndrome, is a serial killer. But what can we say about the depiction of a struggling person desperate to be labeled what is considered "special" as a vicious murderer? Something just isn't right here. It isn't helped by the very fact that virtually every non-super is either looney or negative in nature.

There are further questionable sequences in the film, including the aforementioned violence occurring toward the end, that even while in self-defense, it is not believable when compared to the same intensity of other scenes involving the protagonists in mortal danger. I certainly do demand that films, despite the lowered standards for family entertainment, be further observed beyond their entertainment value or admittedly very good direction. Still, the film is also to be commended for it's artistic landscape, a somewhat 1950's universe laden with modernist design. A true rarity animation for adults is, and this so disappointingly has to offend in an unusual and problematic way.

Very predictable, but very lovable at the same time

[Smells_Like_Cheese · 10/10 · 18 April 2005]

Yes, I've seen this story a million times. I'm also not a very big fan of Disney and Pixar together, but this time they got me hooked. After fearing to rent this, many of my friends convinced me that I should take a look at it. So, I did and feel in love with it.

The effects, I feel like today, there are way too many fancy computer effect movies. But it works with "The Incredibles" because that's half the humor with it. There are some very reconizable voices in there that you know very well.

Is this just a kid's movie? No, it does contain some adult humor. I can see with parents taking their kids to the theater, it has to be somewhat enjoyable to adults too. So as a family or whether you have children or little relatives, I would recommend this movie for you guys. It is very enjoyable and fun to watch.

10/10

cute kid tale, excellent visuals

[MLDinTN · 7/10 · 26 September 2005]

This was an OK movie, but I'm sure 12 year olds would love it. It has a simple plot we've all seen before. In this, a family of superheros tries to blend into society. But the dad is lured into a trap that was set up by a jealous superhero. So the family, wife and 2 kids, must band together to save each other and the city.

The graphics are the star of this movie. I wish Sam Jackson's Frozone would have been in it more. He was cool.

This is definitely more adult themed than Finding Nemo. Some of the characters actually appear to die. But, I think it's fine for kids 8 and up.

FINAL VERDICT: Entertaining enough. I'm sure kids will like this more than adults.

Incredible Mediocrity

[fleetmind · 1/10 · 15 March 2005]

Am I missing something here? When this movie came out last year everyone went on about it like it cured cancer. Well I just saw it on DVD. What is remotely new about this movie? Nothing. It's nice visually, but so what? I thought it was going to be a biting, snide and outrageous parody. Instead we get the same old family dynamics and boring "be yourself" speeches.

A few minor jokes about expanding waistlines do not carry a movie. And frankly, too much action leaves me numb and animated action even more so. The whole idea of the stay-at-home (not to mention incredibly NAGGING) mother was a bit tired. And I thought the black character was really insulting. Was it necessary for him to be a jive-talking stereotype? This movie is for people who actually thought Finding Nemo was good too.