The Incredibles is just a flat-out fun movie. Tons of laughs, some nice family moments, and lots of explosions and cool stunts (although the latter were somewhat subdued because of the crappy sound in our theatre). Elastigirl is my new favorite superhero?great superpowers, a wonderful mom, and she vacuums too. Edna Mole, voiced by Brad Bird, who also wrote and directed the film, was the funniest character, but the uber-quick Dash provided the best laugh of the movie for me. The film was also packed with references to other movies. I only caught the Star Wars ones, but I?m sure that some industrious movie nerds are even now compiling an extensive list of references which will be available on the web soon.
Reader comments
Nov 06, 2004 at 10:33AM
I loved the concept of catching a villian “monologuing” when he should be killing you. Austin Powers picked up on that before, but Pixar gave it terminology that superheros can throw around when they reminisce about the old days. The movie was so full of ideas - it could have been twice as long easily. I loved the bad-guy hardware too; just amazing.
My eight year old loved it, but my 6 and 4 year olds were not as thrilled with it as they were with Nemo. I think that the movie skews slightly older than the other Pixar movies, and I look forward to their getting older and loving it as much as I and the eight year old did.
How ‘bout that Star Wars trailer? I was surprised at the emotional punch - it is going to be almost tear-jerking to watch Annakin turn bad and kill his fellow Jedi.
Nov 06, 2004 at 10:46AM
This is a Pixar movie for slightly older kids. My four-year-old wanted to go home, then fell asleep, even though it was her idea to go, while my six-year-old and I both liked it a lot.
If you’re the type who doesn’t want to expose your kids to violence and death (though that’s never stopped kids from finding out), this isn’t your Pixar movie. There’s nothing graphic, but somehow having actual people (often henchmen) blown up or sucked into jet engines is different than having bugs or fish eaten by birds or barracudas.
And, on the tangent, I wish George Lucas were as good at making movies these days as he is at making movie trailers.
Nov 06, 2004 at 10:47AM
I saw it in a theatre full of Disney execs, their families, and movie critics. There were still more laughs and guffaws than I could count. I hope the skewing toward the older audience doesn’t hurt its chance at big BOFFO. Brad Bird and the Pixar crew deserves major accolades for this one.
I also liked the opening short ‘Boundin’. It’s a perfect statement of the Pixar company’s philosophy. Cowboy Poetry may not be for everyone, however.
Nov 06, 2004 at 10:55AM
How ‘bout that Star Wars trailer?
There was no Star Wars trailer at our showing, which pissed me off a tiny bit. It’s available online, but it’s not quite the same.
Nov 06, 2004 at 11:15AM
I saw it at Pixar at a sneak preview last week, and I really enjoyed it, but something felt a bit off. Then I read Slate’s review, and it nailed it for me: I came out really loving this as an action movie, when I had expected to just enjoy it as a Pixar movie. It’s better than a lot of action movies lately, but I still like Nemo or Monsters Inc. as an animated film.
Totally loved Edna Mode, and Brodie from Mallrats does a pretty good villain. And Sarah Vowell, from This American Life fame, has a great voice.
The Luxo blog has been posting a lot of good links and interviews with The Incredibles guys; apparently Violet’s hair was one of the hardest things to animate. I was amazed at the characters’ hair (it looks like a swatch or a pattern, not computer-generated), and some of the scenes are so perfectly lit that I don’t know that you could tell it was animated.
Nov 06, 2004 at 11:23AM
My partner and I saw The Incredibles last night with some friends. The opening bit, “Boundin’” was great. Perhaps because I’ve still got PED (post election depression), I couldn’t help but see the moral of Boundin’ as advice on how to survive the next four years.
There was also a theme that came up a couple of times, from different characters in The Incredibles and I wondered if anyone else had thoughts on it. It was this theme of “if we are all special then none of us is”. One good guy (Dash) and one bad guy (Carrot Top (or whatever his name was)) expressed the theme. I couldn’t figure out what they meant. Help?
Nov 06, 2004 at 11:33AM
Oh, and pairing Sarah Vowell’s voice with Holly Hunter’s voice was really a genius piece of casting.
Nov 06, 2004 at 12:45PM
I, too, loved the film It was a heap of fun. I’d read one review previously that had said the movie was full of ideas. yes, it was. But, the interesting thing to me is that the reviewer said that many of the ideas were Ayn Rand ideas. Troy Williams, above, references the whole “if we are all special then none of us is.” Interesting concept. In the realm of cartoons it seems great. I have this innate fear of Rand, though. I don’t know why. Perhaps it was just my liberal college education. Never read her. Never quite understood why so many despise her andd think her ideas would bring about the death of gracious culture. anyway, a cartoon that can make you think is a really good one.
And what about that hair! The hair and water were so amazing that I just couldn’t take my eyes off of them. Wow!
Nov 06, 2004 at 12:56PM
I have only seen the trailers for The Incredibles but am I mistaken if I think this is more of a adult film then Finding Nemo, Shrek etc? Not that it is scenes not suitable for children but isn’t the jokes more enjoyable for adults then kids? Can’t wait to see it though and I’ll probebly see it twice: Once by my self and a second time with my kids when it is dubbed in Swedish so they can keep up - its a pain to translate to the kids in the theaters while you are trying to watch. ;).
Nov 06, 2004 at 1:28PM
A dissenting voice: I saw The Incredibles last night, and didn’t much care for it.
The technical achievement is stunning, of course — but amazing hair and water algorithms do not a great movie make. As already noted here, the film is too complex and violent for very young children; at the other end of the spectrum, the character development and conflicts are too shallow to engage adults. Worse, the movie feels about thirty minutes too long — what might have been an engaging, fast-moving ninety-minute flick feels turgid and bloated at 120 minutes.
Finally, for a movie about performance and the beauty of embracing one’s own gifts and abilities, the film sends confusing mixed messages. In the first act, Dash is discouraged from participating in sports at all; in the third act, he’s allowed to participate, but encouraged to come in second place in order to fit in better with the other kids on the team. What kind of message is that?
There’s no denying the movie contains a chuckle or two, a number of clever sight gags, many in-jokes and references to other films, and hypnotic visuals. But, like the last two Star Wars films, the emphasis on style far outweighs attention to substance … producing what I felt was a relatively sterile movie experience.
Nov 06, 2004 at 2:34PM
Did anyone catch the Pizza Planet truck?
Nov 06, 2004 at 2:58PM
I loved the subtle office set design, poor Bob Parr has the disproportionate cramped cubicle with the concrete pillar.
Nov 06, 2004 at 3:16PM
This is, by far, my favorite Pixar movie. The writing was… incredible. I couldn’t stop laughing. I do agree, however, that this movie is geared toward an older audience. That will only fuel it to a larger box office return! Even in a movie theater packed with old, young, and in-between, Pixar can turn every eye to the screen and keep even the smallest child alert.
And the baby Incredible! I saw something coming, but nothing nearly that funny (I won’t ruin it for everyone else). I’ll be seeing this film another time or two.
Nov 06, 2004 at 4:10PM
Also, I loved that all the clocks on the wall in Mr. Incredible’s boss’s office were set to exactly the same time! None of that New York / London / Tokyo stuff. His clocks were as aligned as his pencils.
Nov 06, 2004 at 8:45PM
This film was MOST awesome!
I agree Edna was the funniest…
Nov 06, 2004 at 10:20PM
I’m trying (as we speak) to find a movie to go see. While “The Incredibles” looked entertaining, I’m a big tired of the 3d pixarish movies - since Toy Story it seems everyone is trying their hand at making these movies and quite frankly I’m over it. Anyone else?
Nov 06, 2004 at 10:33PM
God. The capes rant alone was worth the price of admission.
A reviewer — possibly the NYTimes one — also suggested that there was some Rand influence in there. I dunno. The celebration of super-ness wasn’t obnoxious or strident or ideological. I mean, cripes, Rob’s obsession was defending the weak, with no expectation of reward.
I like the fact that the characters weren’t 3D CGI _humans_. They were 3D CGI cartoons.
I don’t think young kids will get a lot out of this. It’s eye candy, but there’s an awful lot of talk and grow-up humor. Like Edna’s snortingly funny rants.
For some reason, the trailers and pre-trailers digitally-projected promo pieces were all heavily kid-skewed. The promos were all actually for one movie (TV show?); a lame-looking kids’ CGI item called “Biggs.”
The DVD will be a must-rent, if not must-buy. I don’t think I caught more than a fraction of the references.
Nov 07, 2004 at 12:05AM
Hey, jk, perhaps a spoiler warning might do well at the top of the comments…
… I just got back, and I’m again impressed. The subtley of the facial movement and the hair is great, but I was far and away most impressed with the lighting. Strong dynamics did well for the storytelling. And that’s what this is all about, Pixar is pushing the technical boundries to be able to support the (outstanding) story. What an fun concept: superheros trying to lead their ordinary lives. An it delivered. At points I forgot I was watching an animated film. Of course, that could be because I was stuck in the first row and could only see 1/2 the screen at a time, looking straight up. I might see it again (I’m stauchly against seeing movies in theatre 2x, so this is saying something) because I feel it’d be even better if I weren’t straining to see the movie.
The references to other action flicks were fun to try to find. And yes, this is an action movie first, animated film second.
Nov 07, 2004 at 12:49AM
I just came back from it and I loved it. Much better than Shrek 2 in my opinion. It was full of laughter.
I am probably just over there target audience though, being a young teenager that is. It was very nice animation and effects.
Nov 07, 2004 at 2:46AM
I just got back from seeing it as well.
Great movie. The water was awesome (I’m thinking particularly of the bit near the end when the spherical robot splashes into the water).
Nice concept and excellent execution.
Nov 07, 2004 at 5:13AM
I saw the incredibles tonight, and was pissed off that I could not use the word incredible to describe the movie without making an awful play on words. At 20 years old, with the heart of a 6 year old, I felt this movie was directed directly toward me.
Already a huge fan of original animated features and Pixar in general, this movie was a must see. I love the way Pixar makes movies from beginning to end, and they never cease to be creative at every step. I really enjoyed Boundin’ as the obligatory “we make an animated short every year that will kick every one else’s animated short butts.” The owl in that was a hoot.
The movie itself was a mastery of the action-comedy genre, yes, it was predictable at points, but I think you want that in an action-comedy. Too much unpredictability makes people too scared to laugh. The family/married couple oriented humor was the best to me. The visual effects stunned me, the things they do with hair and facial expressions… most impressive.
In comparison, I like it more than every disney movie I’ve seen, and slightly better than the other PIxar films, I would put it at the level of Spirited Away for creativity and even with “Cowboy Bebop:The Movie” in terms of animated action.
Nov 07, 2004 at 9:53AM
I really want to see it, but I can’t. I have to wait a week since that’s when Ramadan is over. It’s finally time Pixar puts people as the main characters in their film. I’m looking forward to seeing it, though.
Nov 07, 2004 at 12:36PM
I was thinking that I would wait for the DVD on this one, but you’ve convinced me that I need to see it sooner. Thanks. :)
Nov 07, 2004 at 12:42PM
This is certainly a different class of animated film. I found myself distracted through the first third simply because the images were so stunning. But then, when the story settled down and all of the introductory stuff had been established, I was able to simply enjoy it for being a film, and not just as “animation.” Occaisionally I’d get distracted, particularly by the hair, but as soon as something else happened with the characters, I’d be right back in the story.
Nov 07, 2004 at 4:10PM
I had to focus very hard on the beauty of the animation to keep myself from leaving the theater. What a Disneyfied propaganda of family values.
How can Super Heroes suffer so much from the mediocrity society forces them into and still choose to live by the same sexist middle-class roles in their own house? Why is does Elastigirl turn into a whiny mother when she enjoyed fame as much as her husband did at one point? Why does the family end up being Incredibles, wearing i-suits in stead of Elastics?
Why is Frezone the only black guy in the movie, a mere sidekick in good old blaxploitation-mode. Why is the ultimate superpower to have plain, dumb strenght? Everybody has cooler powers than Mr. Incredible, yet he’s the star.
Nov 07, 2004 at 5:00PM
Did anyone else catch the Frank and Ollie reference near the end of the movie? I am now wondering whether this was put in prior to Frank’s passing, and in fact, whether Frank and Ollie voiced for themselves. I just LOVED their comments there — heralding and appreciating the way things used to be done in “the old days” (reference to traditional, 2-D animation) placed within the confines of a 3-D CGI movie! What a tribute! Bravo, Pixar!!
Nov 07, 2004 at 6:10PM
My wife and I both thoroughly enjoyed it. The story and visuals were wonderful and the character development was surprisingly rich for something considered to be a “kids” film.
I can see how folks like David and some of the other posters so far could dislike it (did y’all catch the almost verbatim quoting of GW when Elastigirl tells her daughter something along the lines of “We don’t have the luxury of doubt any more”), but since when does everyone like any one thing anymore?
In terms of visuals, I too was blown away by the hair and the water and, most of all, the hair when the charaters were in the water! That brief segment when Elastigirl and the two kids were in the water was just astounding.
Nov 07, 2004 at 6:18PM
Oops, I meant to ask, did anyone else notice the “rendered on Intel processors” line near the end of the credits?
I was surprised by that given Jobs’ association with Apple, but moreso because I thought RISC processors were still ahead of CISC when it came to floating point intensive calculations, which is a huge part of what 3d rendering is all about, isn’t it? I guess I had just assumed that Pixar was using G5 or Ultrasparc-based render farms.
Anyone have any insight into why Pixar is using Intel boxes for rendering?
Nov 07, 2004 at 6:36PM
Millie:
I know the characters to which you are referring, but I’m drawing a blank: Frank and Ollie?
Nov 07, 2004 at 8:27PM
i can’t wait more to see the movie here in Spain, 15 days remains.
Nov 07, 2004 at 8:34PM
ek: There was talk of them switching from Intel to teh G5s. In 2003, they finished the transition from Sun computers to Intel and some are reporting their switch to G5s. You have to understand that the G5 didn’t exist when they made the switch to Intel (early 2003). Now that they do and that they’re in XServes, they’ll probably make the switch.
Nov 07, 2004 at 8:40PM
Reading tvspot’s post, I had a brief, vivid image of Sarah Vowell and others re-reading their lines in a variety of other languages.
Voice casting is an important part of a successful cartoon. I wonder who choses voice actors for dubbed versions of a film?
Nov 07, 2004 at 9:11PM
I took my 5 year-old to a matinee opening day and she loved it. (Already got me to buy her an Incredibles T-Shirt.) Edna Mode was the funniest particularly with her cape rant. Violet (invisblity/force fields) was my favorite hero though the rest were quite fun.
Dash being chased through the jungle was definitely a Return of the Jedi speeder bike chase paraody. As for other movie references, I thought many parts of the movie took more subtle elements from the early Bond movies. First there was the John Barry-esque soundtrack. (They used his On Her Majesty’s Secret Service composition for the trailer 18 months ago.) The volcano base where the bad guy launches his rocket and the egg-like monrail cars was very similar to You Only Live Twice. Mr. Incredible’s suits, tux and sports car also were Bond-like. Escaping the rocket exhaust — Moonraker. Bob Parr’s “half” a cubicle brought Brazil to mind, but that may have been conincidence. (Afterall he didn’t have to fight anyone for more desk space.)
I’m sure there were many more movie references that I missed because I was either delighted or laughing too hard. This movie was just plain excellent.
Nov 07, 2004 at 10:23PM
Believe it or not, David, some Moms still give up their jobs to stay home and take care of the kids. And Elasticgirl didn’t look too upset about it, either. She just wanted Mr. I’s support with the kids’ issues.
Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson were legendary Disney Animators and the last of the “Nine Old Men.” They were responsible for drawing many of the popular classic Disney characters. Tinkerbell and Sleeping Beauty come to mind, but there were many others. Frank passed away in September.
We saw the movie as well and loved it. I may go see it again to pick up what I missed.
Nov 07, 2004 at 10:43PM
how great was it that the lil kid on the scooter (in the driveway) was Squirt(the voice) from Finding Nemo?
Nov 07, 2004 at 10:55PM
I too enjoyed it quite a bit. It didn’t change my life or anything, but it was excellent and one of the better movies this year.
Nov 08, 2004 at 9:31AM
One more bit about Frank and Ollie. They previously appeared in Brad Bird’s “The Iron Giant”. There they played train conductors (both were also train enthusiasts in RL). In the animation world Frank and Ollie are considered gods of hand drawn animation reaching levels in the artform that few if any reach. Hence, their lines in The Incredibles, “now that’s old school” is a poke at CG animation.
Nov 08, 2004 at 10:18AM
So about the PG rating - I really wanted to take my 4 and 6 year old girls to this and was bummeed about the PG. Is it merely for the action violence? How bad was it?
Nov 08, 2004 at 10:20AM
Doh, maybe I should have read the first few comments…hmm still wonder what you all think. I agree people getting sucked into engines and exploding are different than animals, and this makes me think that no, its not appropriate.
Tom
Nov 08, 2004 at 11:37AM
Anthony Lane made a curious error in his review of The Incredibles for the New Yorker:
“…Pixar, which remains, at the time of writing, part of Disney”
Pixar’s winding down a multi-film deal with Disney which will not be renewed, but Pixar is quite separate from Disney. But anyway, I liked his comparision of The Incredibles to Dreamworks’ animated movies:
“[Brad Bird] has bothered to think through the impact of his outlandish designs, whereas one of the depressing things about a big summer hit like “Shrek 2” was that it nodded at other recent movies, and commercial fads, purely on the ground that they were recent and would thus grab a temporary laugh. The “Shrek” pictures, like “Shark Tale,” will date fast, eaten by the rust of their own cynicism, while “The Incredibles,” silly as it is, retains just enough innocence to suggest that it might hang around.”
I liked Shrek a lot (haven’t seen either Shrek 2 or Shark Tale), but Lane has a point here…Pixar’s movies are more thoughtful about how they incorporate culture, foregoing jokes about recent pop culture in favor of riffing on more broad cultural themes, making them more self-contained and generally accessible.
Nov 08, 2004 at 12:45PM
I thought the movie was great and both my kids enjoyed it but they didn’t have the same excited reactions afterwards as they did after Finding Nemo. My son, 2, watched the whole thing without blinking. My daughter, 4, was a little scared in a few parts but was fine watching it from my lap. And it was her idea to play “superheroes” all that evening.
Nov 08, 2004 at 1:25PM
re: the PG rating.
I think it depends how comfortable your kids are with cartoon violence. Think Spiderman, Batman, Batman Beyond, and GI Joe. There are no deaths of any of the major characters, so no worries there. The scariest it gets is during a few fight scenes. Some of these scenes drag on just a big, but some have some of the lightest moments of the film in them too. Finally, if you’re really worried, you can always watch it yourself first. I found the movie plays better on the second viewing.
Nov 08, 2004 at 4:40PM
My 4.5 year old didn’t get it, but my husband and I enjoyed the Star Wars references in particular (the Star Wars trailer they showed before The Incredibles had my husband rocking in his seat). I was too concerned about the level of my kid’s boredom throughout the movie to really appreciate it. I spent the time being disappointed for her.
When it comes out on DVD, I will Netflix it and see it again. A comprehensive list of hidden references would help pique my interest again and may convince me to buy another theatre ticket now. Any leads yet on a good list, JK?
Nov 08, 2004 at 4:51PM
Just saw it last night, and I must agree, I definitely loved it. I suppose I was even more surprised by it then I was by Finding Nemo (another great one, though I think the Incredibles was much better). Like someone else said, I went into it expecting a more kids oriented animation movie, not such a fun action flick. Definitely worth seeing again, I think. Could this mean a new age for Pixar? Apparently, this movie had huge opening profits, so I’m hoping they’ll make more of the same caliber.
Nov 08, 2004 at 5:15PM
I think one thing to keep in mind re: “a Disneyfied propaganda of family values” is that this family is a group of superheros forced to live a “normal” life. It plays more as satire of what they think normal is than coming across as a reflection of their outdated family values.
Also, the idea of a superhero working in an insurance farm or vaccuming is really funny.
Nov 08, 2004 at 6:29PM
Hey Samuel Sidler, thanks for the response re: the use of Intel.
I had forgotten how long these movies take to make — though I’m still surprised that, at the point at which their previous render farm was put together, a RISC-based solution was not the better option.
Oh, and thanks for that link! It’s cool to see that Pixar’s challenge to Apple has resulted in technology that all of us will soon be able to appreciate at the desktop level. Could one dare use the word “synergy” to apply to the Apple/Pixar relationship? ;-)
Nov 08, 2004 at 7:03PM
LOVED, LOVED LOVED this! Wanna see it again and again! but that &$^%*$ who brought their newborn to the theatre….. is there ANY movie that a newborn should be taken to?
Isn’t the Rand philosophy, to paraphrase “Those who can’t should get out of the way of those who can (or will)? In her novels, the super-achievers who can produce are always being dragged down and stifled by the mediocre masses. What I found in “Incredibles” was perhaps the view from theother side of the fishbowl - and something not found in Rand’s work - a sense of ‘noblesse oblige’ on the part of the superheroes?
Nov 08, 2004 at 8:25PM
Note that Rand’s philosophy is expressed by a villian and a pissed-off ten-year-old boy. Not exactly a ringing endorsement if you ask me.
Nov 09, 2004 at 8:48PM
This movie was/is the best Pixar flick yet. No question. I took my four-year-old son to this movie and he loved it just as much as I did. But, unlike the other Pixar films, this has a very “mature” sense about it. I can’t quite put my finger on it except to maybe say it used people instead of toys, monsters, fish or ants.
And when the plane was shot down, I teared up. I really teared up in a Pixar film. Even the Jesse flashback in Toy Story 2 didn’t generate that type of emotion. Or maybe it was the popcorn I was eating, who knows.
The point is that Brad Bird didn’t break the Pixar mold, he just took it and made it better. It’s still a Pixar movie, just a more mature one and one that will entertain pretty much every one. And, I can’t wait to play the game on my X-Box.
Nov 12, 2004 at 8:59AM
Simply put, it was one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time, Pixar created or not, and overall it was just an entertaining flick. Vibrant, fast-paced (in most areas) and overflowing with creativity and energy.
I’d love to see a sequel to this, just to see what happened to these characters. They’ve certainly set it up for a potential sequel, but the only brick wall I can see in this process would be that Disney reportedly owns the rights to the Incredibles characters and since Pixar bailed I’d think Disney would find another way to create the film, with or without the guidance of Brad Bird, which if you think about it, wouldn’t be a good thing.
Nov 12, 2004 at 11:16AM
I loved, loved, loved this movie.
Is it me or does Brad Bird look just like Buddy? :
link to pic of Brad
If it interesting that he might have cast ‘himself’ as the gadget-laden superhero wannabe, given that he is making a CGI-based sendup of the golden age of comics. Anyway…
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Nov 12, 2004 at 11:27AM
we took the kids last night to see it at disney’s el capitan theatre in hollywood. before the show started they did a little live show with some gay dancing and singing, disney style, the kids really enjoyed that.
the movie was simply awesome. side from the fact that we had to sit in the front row. contrary to the usher telling us these were the best seats in the house and had no clue as to how we could have gotten such great tickets, the kids had to sit on their knees to see over the stage.
Nov 12, 2004 at 11:42AM
One gag I caught the second time around…when Mr. Incredible first meets Incrediboy (voiced by Jason Lee) and fumbles around trying to remember his name, he calls him Brodie, which was the name of Lee’s character in Mallrats.
Nov 12, 2004 at 12:18PM
Saw it a few days ago. Loved it. It’s one of those movies that is of such a high quality all around I could probably watch it over and over. The whole volcano island sequences had a very james bond film feel and I loved that it was coming from an animated film. Brilliant.
Someone should put page together with a list of references/gags from the movie, and people could keep adding to it.
Nov 12, 2004 at 9:28PM
I enjoyed the movie’s strong grounding in the classics. Most of the family powers were straight from The Fantastic Four, and both Edna’s cape issues and society shutting down vigilantes were straight out of The Watchmen. The Star Wars references were pretty obvious too. I need to watch it again and look for a Wilhelm scream.
Nov 13, 2004 at 1:29AM
Did anyone call the phone number on Mirage’s business card? It’s a toll free number (866), and I’m betting it’s real.
Nov 13, 2004 at 2:07AM
With the absolute lake of creativity at Disney, Pixar is the only spark remaining, if you want to call it that considering that the Disney company is the distribution force and not the creative one. As for “The Incredibles”, I loved it. As awesome as the animation is, it’s the story, stupid! As with the preceding Pixar successes, it is story driven very much like the early days of the Disney company when Walt, the great story teller, ran the show. As for Ollie and Frank at the end of the movie, I saw it as not only as a tribute to these two great Disney animators bit as a slap in the face of Michael Eisner who has never understood the Disney dream. “That’s how they did it in the old days”
Nov 14, 2004 at 4:37AM
I loved the movie. Brad Bird did an amazing job on it just like he did with the Iron Giant. Taking his portrayal of the 50s nuclear family as a reactionary reinforcement of outdated gender roles is clearly missing the point: the whole movie is an homage to 50s and 60s design, culture, and comics. It’s making light of those things without dismissing them. Watch the Iron Giant and you will see the same fascinations. I mean, look at the cars! Impeccable attention to detail with that and otherwise.
I think I caught a Matrix reference but maybe I was being too assuming. The part where Mr. Incredible gets knocked into the Office Building and runs back out and leaps over the Droid seemed very Morpheus-esque. And obvious tributes to the Fantastic Four and Watchmen like said.
Nov 15, 2004 at 1:49PM
I loved this movie too, and wanted to comment on the small-children question. I brought my 8-yr-old and my 3-yr-old, both previously exposed to very little violence. The 8 loved it. The 3 was a little scared in places (covered her face with her coat), but never asked to leave or anything, and doesn’t show evidence of any permanent scars. Had I seen it myself first, I probably wouldn’t have brought her. Anyway, Darth Vader in the SW3 trailer before the movie scared her much worse than anything in The Incredibles.
This thread is closed to new comments. Thanks to everyone who responded.
MichaelNov 06, 2004 at 9:37AM
I can’t wait to see this. It premieres here in Denmark in about a week (contrary to Finding Nemo and - slightly related - Shrek 2), that both took their sweet time getting over here (3-5 months!).