The Incredibles is a 2004 computer-animated feature film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, centering around a family of superheroes. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director of The Simpsons previously best known for directing the 1999 animated movie The Iron Giant. The Incredibles was originally developed as a traditionally-animated movie for Warner Bros., but after Warner shut down its animation division, Bird moved to Pixar and took the story with him.
The Incredibles is Pixar's sixth feature film. It was presented by Walt Disney Pictures and released by Buena Vista Distribution in North America on November 5, 2004, and in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland on November 26 of the same year and in Japan, February 2, 2005. It is the first Pixar full-length film to feature an entirely human cast of characters. It was released in a two-disc DVD in the U.S. on March 15, 2005. According to the Internet Movie Database, it was the highest-selling DVD of 2005, with 17.18 million copies sold. It had its basic cable première on ABC Family as part of The 25 Days of Christmas in December 2007, and its second cable showing on Disney Channel as part of the No Ordinary Friday on February 1, 2008.
Plot
The film starts during a Golden Age of superheroes, also known to the public as "supers", when government-sponsored superheroes assist a grateful public with everything from freeing cats stuck in trees to foiling bank robberies. The plot itself begins when Bob Parr, a.k.a. Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), who is gifted with super strength, saves a man attempting a suicide. He then foils a robbery by the villain Bomb Voyage (Dominique Louis), while being harassed by Buddy Pine (Jason Lee), a young fan who wishes to be his sidekick. When Bomb Voyage plants a bomb on the young would-be superhero, Mr. Incredible manages to dislodge it, but in doing so, causes a train wreck that injures many. He then races to his wedding, where he marries Helen, a.k.a. Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), a dexterous, flexible super. Βoth the suicidal man and the victims of the train wreck sue the superheroes community for prevention of suicide and injuries sustained in these events respectively. As part of the government's settlement, all superheroes are placed into a government-sponsored protection program similar to witness protection, and forbidden to use their powers for heroism.
The film then jumps 15 years later; Bob and Helen Parr have settled into relatively normal suburban lives raising three kids, Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Spencer Fox), and baby Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile). The children have powers which reflect their personalities; Violet (a shy 12 or 13-year-old) has the power of invisibility and the ability to create force fields, while Dash (a hyperactive 10-year-old) has super speed. Jack-Jack appears to be a normal baby without powers. Bob, stuck in a thankless job at a corrupt insurance agency, laments the passage of his superhero glory days. He and his friend Lucius Best (Samuel L. Jackson), a cryokinetic super and fellow retiree called Frozone, still occasionally listen to police radios and secretly aid the authorities, much to the consternation of Helen. On one such night, the two are watched by a mysterious white-haired woman. The next day, Bob is called into the office of his unsympathetic boss. As he is receiving a lecture, Bob notices a man getting mugged outside. Bob offers to go help, but his boss threatens to fire him if he does. Enraged, Bob throws his boss through several walls, ironically losing his job anyway.
Upon arriving home, Bob discovers a video message in his briefcase featuring Mirage (Elizabeth Pena), the white-haired woman from before. She appears to know his secret identity, and offers to hire him (at a salary triple that of his current one) to subdue a renegade robot, the Omnidroid 8000, on Nomanisan, an uncharted island. After telling Helen and his family that he is going on a business trip, Mr. Incredible completes the task. Upon returning, Bob finds his life has begun to improve. He begins spending more time with his family and starts to work out more (Bob had become immensely obese due to his years of inactivity). Over the next two months, Bob maintains the image of still being employed, but secretly works out in preparation for his next assignment. One day, Bob notices his super suit had gotten damaged in the Omnidroid battle. He takes the suit to his costumer, Edna Mode (Brad Bird), for repair, but Edna offers to create a new suit for him instead. Meanwhile, Helen begins to have doubts and starts to suspect Bob of having an affair.
Bob is again summoned to Nomanisan, but is overpowered by an improved Omnidroid, and encounters Buddy Pine again, now revealing himself to be a psychotic villain and wealthy weapons designer called Syndrome. Buddy had been embittered upon rejection by Mr. Incredible, and wished vengeance upon his former hero. Mr. Incredible escapes and dupes Syndrome into thinking he is dead. He then learns that Syndrome used previous versions of the Omnidroid to kill other supers, and that the device learns and adapts from any previous defeat.
Discovering Bob's old patched up suit, Helen contacts Edna, who insists she come visit. Edna reveals she's designed matching super suits for the entire family, and also that each suit has a homing beacon on it. Using this, Helen learns where Bob really is, but her use of the signal device results in Bob's capture. Reluctantly donning her new super suit, Helen flies a private jet to the island. Nearing the island, she discovers Violet and Dash have stowed away, wearing their own suits. The jet is attacked by missiles from Syndrome's base, and Helen attempts to evade them, while telling Violet to put a force-field around the plane. Neither are successful, and the plane is destroyed by the missiles. Helen and the children narrowly escape the explosion, and make it to the island.
Helen urges the children to stay hidden in a cave, and pursues Bob herself. However, the cave is found to direct the flames of a rocket, and the children are forced to flee it. Upon being discovered, the children are pursued by Syndrome's henchmen. Meanwhile, Helen discovers Bob with Mirage, but realizes that Mirage was merely there to rescue Bob from capture (Syndrome had previously allowed Mirage to be used as a hostage by Bob, though Bob had proved too "weak" to kill her). After a brief argument while running through the island, Bob and Helen later meet up with their children, and together impressively take down their pursuers. Syndrome, however, appears and personally takes the family captive. He informs the family of his ultimate plan: unleash the Omnidroid on Metroville, and use his most impressive weapons technologies to stop it, making himself appear to be a superhero. After playing the superhero game for long enough, he would sell his weapons, so everyone could be "super", thus making the true superheroes less impressive.
Violet is able to release herself and her family from confinement, and the family attempt to return to Metroville to battle the Omnidroid. They find themselves in need of the same kind of rocket used to launch the Omnidroid to Metroville, and Mirage gives them the command codes to operate it. In the city, the Omnidroid "learns" that Syndrome's remote controls it and blasts it off of Syndrome's wrist. Shooting one of his rocket boots, Syndrome is knocked unconscious into a building. Bob and his family then arrive and with the help of Frozone, subdue the robot. Returning home, they discover Syndrome attempting to kidnap Jack-Jack, who then flies off to his jet above. Jack-Jack then begins to display a whole slew of powers, causing Syndrome to drop him. Bob then throws Helen to catch Jack-Jack, as well as his car at Syndrome, knocking him into one of the jet's turbines. Syndrome's cape is caught in the turbine and he is sucked in, causing the jet to explode; the wreckage falls on the family's house, but Violet creates a force field to protect them from the falling debris.
Three months later, Bob is now content with their civilian life, Dash controls the use of his powers in track events, and Violet, having found confidence, is asked by her heartthrob on a date. However, a new villain, the Underminer (John Ratzenberger) appears and attacks the city. The family members don their masks, and prepare to fight anew.
Characters
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- Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible: He has superhuman strength and reasonable resistance to harm, is also very resourceful and has often used his intelligence to outsmart opponents. Frequently reminisces about his "Glory Days". Voiced by Craig T. Nelson.
- Helen Parr/Mrs. Incredible/Elastigirl: She has superhuman elasticity and plasticity. Frequently worries for her family's safety. Voiced by Holly Hunter.
- Violet Parr: She has invisibility and the creation of force fields. Frequently wishes she was "normal". Voiced by Sarah Vowell.
- Dash Parr: He has superhuman speed. Is a competitive fourth grader. Voiced by Spencer Fox.
- Jack-Jack Parr: He has various powers, such as the ability to burst into flames, pass through solid objects, and emit laser beams from his eyes. Can also turn into a monster form and transmute his body into a heavy metal. Voiced by Eli Fucile and Maeve Andrews.
- Lucius Best/Frozone: He can create and control ice. Frequently relives the "Glory Days" with Mr. Incredible. Voiced by Samuel L. Jackson.
- Buddy Pine/Syndrome: Mr. Incredible's number one fan, but he grows up to hate him due to the fact that Mr. Incredible wouldn't let him become his sidekick. He serves as the main antagonist. Voiced by Jason Lee.
- Mirage: Assistant to Syndrome. She defects when Syndrome uses her life as a wager in a bet with Mr. Incredible. Voiced by Elizabeth Peña.
- Edna Mode: Famous designer of super-suits. A little obsessed with her work. Voiced by writer/director Brad Bird.
References to other Pixar films
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Reception
Critics
Critical response was overwhelmingly positive, receiving a 97% "Certified Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes[1] which made the movie the twelfth greatest action film of all time and the only one of Top 20 with more than 100 reviews[2]. Metacritic indicates The Incredibles "universal acclaim" with a 90 out of 100 rating.[3] Critic Roger Ebert awarded the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, writing that the film "alternates breakneck action with satire of suburban sitcom life" and is "another example of Pixar's mastery of popular animation." Rolling Stone gave the movie three-and-a-half stars and called the movie "one of the year's best" and said that it "doesn't ring cartoonish, it rings true."[4] Also giving the film three-and-a-half stars, People magazine found that The Incredibles "boasts a strong, entertaining story and a truckload of savvy comic touches."[5]
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was bored by the film's recurring pastiches of earlier action films, concluding, "the Pixar whizzes do what they do excellently; you just wish they were doing something else."[6] Similarly, Jessica Winter of the Village Voice criticized the film for playing as a standard summer action film, despite being released in early November. Her review, titled as "Full Metal Racket," noted that "The Incredibles announces the studio's arrival in the vast yet overcrowded Hollywood lot of eardrum-bashing, metal-crunching action sludge."[7]
Because of the violence it featured, The Incredibles was the first Pixar film to receive a PG rating from the MPAA.
Release
Following concerns that the film would receive underwhelming results,[8] the film grossed $70,467,623 in its opening weekend, the highest opening weekend gross for a Pixar film. The film ultimately grossed $261,441,092, the second-highest gross for a Pixar film (behind Finding Nemo) and the fifth-highest grossing film of 2004.[9] Worldwide, the film grossed $631,436,092, ranking fourth for the year.[10] The film was also the second-highest animated film that year behind Shrek 2.
Top ten lists
The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2004.[11]
- 1st - Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal
- 2nd - Chris Kaltenbach, Baltimore Sun
- 2nd - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
- 2nd - Ken Tucker, New York Magazine
- 2nd - Desson Thomson, Washington Post
- 3rd - Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
- 3rd - Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
- 3rd - All critics, Film Threat
- 3rd - Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
- 4th - Lou Lumenick, New York Post
- 4th - Glenn Kenny, Premiere
- 5th - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
- 5th - David Edelstein, Slate
- 5th - Mike Clark, USA Today
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- 5th - Kimberley Jones, Austin Chronicle
- 5th - Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
- 7th - Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
- 7th - Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com (tied with The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)
- 8th - Michael WIlmington, Chicago Tribune
- 9th - A.O. Scott, New York Times
- 10th - James Berardinelli, ReelViews (tied with The Polar Express)
- top 10 - Ella Taylor, LA Weekly
- top 10 - Ron Stringer, LA Weekly
- top 10 - Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
- top 10 - Shawn Levy, The Oregonian
- top 10 - William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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DVD extras and Easter eggs
The Incredibles two-disc Collector's Edition DVD set was released on March 15, 2005. Two versions of the set are available: one widescreen and the other full screen (possibly Region 1 only; see talk page) (this is unlike releases for other Pixar films, which often contained both versions in one set). Like many other DVD releases, there are various extra features available on the two discs including:
- Introduction, an introduction for the extras featuring Brad Bird.
- Deleted Scenes, the film's deleted scenes plus an intro for all but one of them. The other one is only accessible as an Easter egg.
- Jack-Jack Attack, a Pixar short film made especially for the release of The Incredibles about what happened while Kari was babysitting Jack-Jack.
- The Making of The Incredibles, a documentary about making The Incredibles featuring about 30 of the crew members.
- More Making of The Incredibles, another longer documentary also about making The Incredibles.
- Incredi-Blunders, The Incredibles outtakes.
- Vowellet: An Essay by Sarah Vowell, a documentary about the life of Sarah Vowell, a writer who did the voice of Violet Parr (possibly Region 1 only; see talk page)
- Character Interviews, actor and actresses interview the characters (possibly Region 1 only; see talk page)
- Theatrical Trailers, The Incredibles film trailers.
- Mr. Incredible and Pals, a Mr. Incredible cartoon spoofing cheesy superhero cartoons from the 1960s, as well as Synchro-Vox cartoons like Clutch Cargo.
- Mr. Incredible and Pals With Commentary, the cartoon with the characters' commentary.
- NSA Files, info about the supers.
- Boundin', a Pixar short film written, directed, composed, production designed and narrated by Bud Luckey.
There are also several Easter eggs in the menus[12]; the one on the main menu shows every door, button and explosion in the movie. Some of the other menus have more than one egg (e.g. one of the eggs on the first Index menu is a short sockpuppet version of the movie); which one plays appears to be a random choice.
The film was also released on UMD for the Sony PSP and in a limited edition VHS version, and was the last Disney/Pixar film to be issued in the VHS format. All future Disney/Pixar titles beginning with Cars would only be released on DVD and Blu-ray.
Merchandising
Several companies released promotional products related to the movie. Dark Horse Comics released a limited series of comic books based on the movie. Kellogg's released an Incredibles-themed cereal, as well as promotional Pop Tarts and fruit snacks, all proclaiming an "Incrediberry Blast" of flavor. Furthermore, in the weeks before the movie's opening, there were also promotional tie-ins with SBC Communications (using Dash to promote the "blazing-fast speed" of its SBC Yahoo! DSL service) and McDonald's. Toy maker Hasbro produced a series of action figures and toys based on the film, although the line was not as successful as the film itself.
In Europe, Kinder chocolate eggs contained small plastic toy characters.
In Belgium, car manufacturer Opel sold special The Incredibles editions of their cars.
In the United Kingdom, Telewest promoted blueyonder internet services with branding from the film, including television adverts starring characters from the film.
In all merchandising outside of the film itself, Elastigirl is referred to as Mrs. Incredible. This is due to a licensing agreement between Disney/Pixar and DC Comics, who has a character named Elasti-Girl (a member of the Doom Patrol). The DC Comics character is able to grow and shrink at will from microscopic size to thousands of feet tall.
In July 2008, it was announced that a series of comic books based on The Incredibles would be published by BOOM! Studios in collaboration with Disney Publishing by the end of the year.[13]
Video games
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The Incredibles is a video game based on the eponymous movie for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance, PC, Apple Macintosh, and mobiles.
Awards
The film won the Academy Award in 2004 for Best Animated Feature (the second out of three Pixar Animation Studios feature films to do so) as well as Best Achievement in Sound Editing. It also received nominations for Best Original Screenplay (for writer/director Brad Bird) and Best Achievement in Sound, but did not win.
The film was awarded the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form.
These and other awards place it among the most-honored animation films in recent history. [14]
See also
References
External links
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