My Favorite Movies: #10—The Incredibles

10. The Incredibles (2004)

Genre: Animated Adventure

Director: Brad Bird

Writer: Brad Bird

Stars: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Bird

Awards: 2 Oscars—Animated Feature, Sound Editing        

Metacritic score: 90

IMDB Ranking: n/a

What if Superman married Wonder Woman and they had kids? And what if they stopped doing superhero stuff and tried to live like a normal, suburban family? What if Superman got fat and depressed about having to live a "normal" life in a dead-end job? This is the brilliant premise of Pixar's best movie of all time and my #10 favorite, The Incredibles.

Due in part to Mr. Incredible's (Real name: Bob Parr, played by Craig T. Nelson) penchant for adventure, the public begins to sue superheroes for the collateral damage of their heroism. The government's solution is to forbid superheroes from using their powers, placing them in a kind of witness protection program where they have to act like everyone else. Mr. Incredible's wife, Elastagirl (Real name: Helen Parr, played by Holly Hunter), just wants to raise their three kids—Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack—in anonymity, but Bob goes out on secret hero missions with his one friend left from the old days, Frozone (Real name: Lucius Best, played by Samuel L. Jackson).

Bob loses his temper and his job, and before he can admit the awful truth to Helen, he's approached by the mysterious Mirage (Elizabeth Pena), who offers him the chance to do hero work once again. He jumps at the chance, of course, and consults his old gadget supplier Edna Mode (voiced by director Brad Bird) for a new super suit.

The job is a ruse, however, brought on by Syndrome (Jason Lee), who idolized Mr. Incredible as a boy, but after his attempts to become his sidekick were gruffly rejected, dedicated his life to destroying all superheroes in order to get his revenge on Bob. Captured and imprisoned, Helen has to come to the rescue with Violet (powers: invisibility and force fields) and Dash (power: super speed) along as stowaways. They team up to try to defeat Syndrome from destroying their city as well as their family.

This is so much more than an animated film, and Brad Bird's brilliance as a director is one of the most thrilling things about the movie. Each scene, each line, each beat is carefully calculated for both immediate effect as well as foreshadowing. Not a moment on screen is wasted, and soon you've forgotten that this is an animated movie because the characters are not only real and relatable, but you've come to care about them as if you know them.

The real-life family dynamic carries a great deal of the appeal. Bob is miserable working as an insurance company drone; he knows he's capable of so much more. His first hero job for Mirage sets him free. He begins to lose weight, spend more time with his kids, and rekindle the romantic fires that brought Helen and him together when they were young. What middle-aged man could not relate to this?

Helen's concerns are real, too, and reflect the realpolitik of motherhood—women must always do what they can to make the best of what they have to work with. It's not that she doesn't miss being a superhero, but she's also concerned with raising well-adjusted kids. But the kids know that they're super, too, and that causes different problems. Violet just wants to be like everyone else and feels her powers make her an outcast; Dash resents having to hide his speed, recognizing that his mother's statement that everyone is special really means that no one is.

Jason Lee voices Syndrome perfectly as the spurned fanboy who uses his one true power—super intelligence—to live out his revenge fantasies in real life. He's like someone with an annoying Twitter account suddenly given control of the world's largest and most powerful military, and he uses it solely for his own self-aggrandizement.

Samuel L. Jackson is used sparingly but perfectly, his over-the-top voice and inflection setting exactly the right mood when it's needed. Brad Bird's performance as Edna is the comic stand-out however, the diminutive genius absolutely stealing every scene in which she appears. The final confrontation between The Incredibles and Syndrome is the perfect blend of superhero bravado and family drama; flying in an RV strapped to a missile by his elastic mother, Dash still whines, "Are we there yet?", to which Bob snaps, "We'll get there when we get there!" 

I could go on and on about the genius of this movie, but I must mention a few more things that also set this movie apart. First is the art direction, which gives the time era of the film a retro sixties feel while remaining modern and high-tech, giving the whole experience a kind of James Bond feel. Second is the brilliant neo-Jazz soundtrack created by composer Michael Giacchino, which complements the retro/timeless setting. Finally is the idea that the stakes in this movie are real. Syndrome has murdered dozens of former superheroes, and Helen warns her children that if they are caught, they will be killed, which helps us to fully invest ourselves in their experience.

The sequel to the original is due out on June 15 of this year, evidently picking up shortly where the first movie left off. According to IMDB, the entire original cast is returning, and like the first movie, Brad Bird is both writing and directing. Needless to say, I'll be in the middle of the theater at the first opportunity to see the second, but it will have to go a long, long way to eclipse the genius of the first. I recognize that many other Pixar movies, especially the Toy Story series, have a special place in many fans' hearts, but The Incredibles is, so far, my favorite by a long shot.