I had a chance to see The Incredibles yesterday as part of a birthday party for a classmate of my son’s. This, by the way, is a good-and-bad way to see a kid-friendly movie. On the plus side, I didn’t have to shell out for tickets, and we got pizza, cake and popcorn to go along with the film. On the downside, I was one of about five adults accompanying 18 5-7 year old boys to a movie.
As for the film, there’s not a lot to say that hasn’t already been said. If you’re a fan of Pixar, go see the movie. It’s as good as anything else they’ve done, and leagues ahead of things like A Shark’s Tale. It is one of those animated features that transcends the medium, and a good test for whether any animated film will ever be a Best Picture nominee now that there is a Best Animated Film category.
The only negative criticism I have heard is that it is not as funny as Pixar’s best work. This is true. It is not laugh-out-loud funny, although it has its moments. It’s also not intended to be. This is a film featuring humans, not anthropomorphic toys or talking fish. The characters have the full range of human emotions, and some of these emotions are not as conducive to talking toy humor. In some ways, Pixar is growing up. The next Pixar feature is “Cars,” however, so the “old” Pixar isn’t gone. This is a different film that doesn’t try to be Toy Story III and shouldn’t be judged a failure because it is not.
If you’re a fan of post-Understanding Comics comics, you should see the movie, too. It is a direct heir to both Watchmen and the Black Knight graphic novels. There’s a whole tradition of “what would happen if superheroes were real” in the genre. The anti-cape diatribe is a good example of what made it fun.
As an action movie, it works, too. Part Indiana Jones, part James Bond, part X-Men. With witty dialogue.
The best part, though is the underlying message. We’re not all created equal. Some people are in fact exceptional, and a society that demeans their talents is a lesser society as a result. Trial lawyers take a well-deserved beating for essentially suing the superheroes out of existence for doing their jobs. More importantly, the villian in the film epitomizes the fallacy of “if there are no Supers, then we’re all Super.” No, we’re not. We’re ordinary people who no longer enjoy the benefit of those who excelled in ways we cannot.
I also especially enjoyed Violet’s superpower as metaphor for the junior high experience.
This is probably putting too fine a point on it. The movie is fun, and I was left wondering what happens next, in a way I wasn’t with any of Pixar’s previous offerings. I really want to know how the world responds to the return of The Incredibles and Frozone. And what, precisely, Jack-Jack can do.
March 14th, 2005 at 6:48 pm
How wonderful it is! Today, I had seen the film - “The Incredibles” this afternoon, my father also had seen this film in this evening. This cartoon movie is powered by Disney-Pixar.
In this film, I love the people’s sensation, scene, bugbears. The scene is so sublime.
With the great imagination.