Review of The Incredibles (2004) by Quinten P — 24 Sep 2013

Pixar has done it again with one of my personal favorites in their long list of fantastic, nostalgic films from my childhood, The Incredibles. The Incredibles is yet another phenomenal Pixar film that both children and adults can appreciate, kids will love the action packed super heroics and adults can appreciate the very mature plot. The plot yet is another phenomenally well crafted story from the fine people at Pixar, simple enough for a child to enjoy, but strung together with plenty of dark and mature nuances only adults, in most cases, will understand. The fact that the majority of the plot centers around the idea of superheroes being sued for property damage is a hysterical commentary on the ridiculous amounts of lawsuits that were going on at the time of the films release and are still going on today, but on a grander scale the story is a metaphor for getting older. The transition all people go through from being young and still believing yourself to be invincible and that anything was possible and then becoming an adult and the reality sinks in that you're no different than anyone else and will have to find your way in the world just like everybody else on this planet and the urge to feel that sense of self importance and near invincibility you had when you were young again.

As is the norm with Pixar films the voice casting is impeccable. Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter deliver fantastic performances as the adult leads, Bob Parr a.k.a. Mr. Incredible and Helen Parr a.k.a. Elastigirl. Sarah Vowell and Spencer Fox do a great job as the super kids, Dash and Violet Parr. Mr. Earl J. Hickey himself, Jason Lee, does a phenomenal job as Buddy Pine, a.k.a. Incrediboy, a.k.a. the criminal mastermind, Syndrome. Major props to Mr. Lee, by the way, for creating such a complex villain and, don't get me wrong Jason Lee is one of my favorite comedic actors, but I had no idea he could pull off such a layered performance, the movie just wouldn't be the same without the rejected side kick turned vengeful super villain he created and for that he deserves some recognition. Samuel L. Jackson takes quite a departure from his usual bad mofo repertoire of characters to bring a fun, light hearted and memorable supporting superhero performance as Lucius Best a.k.a. Frozone. Even Elizabeth Pena as Mirage and, surprisingly, Brad Bird as Edna Mode deliver memorable supporting performances.

This is definitely one of my all time favorite animated films from my childhood, up there with Toy Story and Tarzan. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to call this film the Dark Knight of kids' superhero movies, both in caliber and in the fact that it is really dark at times. It's a light hearted film overall, but between the disgraced and vengeful side kick story, to the multitude of murders and deaths that occur throughout the film, they're things that would fly over most kids' heads, but looking at it now it sends shivers down my spine. Anyways, I'm rambling, I couldn't praise the Incredibles enough, from its execution to simply the amount of joy it brought to me from when I was a kid to whenever I catch it on TV nowadays. It's a spectacularly well crafted, executed and acted film that both kids and adults can enjoy that left me wanting a sequel (hint, hint, Pixar) and, for that, it's a 5 out of 5. For the Syndrome Foundation for Disgruntled Side Kicks, this is The Truth You Can't Handle, signing off.