Les Incroyable

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

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

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.

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.

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!