The Incredibles (2004)
About This Movie
A family of superheroes forced into suburban anonymity by a government relocation program gets pulled back into action when a mysterious villain lures the father to a remote island, and the whole family must use their powers together to survive. The action sequences rival anything in live action superhero films, the family dynamics feel achingly real, and Edna Mode alone is worth the price of admission. This is a film that respects children enough to give them a story with genuine danger, complex emotions, and adults who feel like actual adults.
Why It's a Classic
Brad Bird wrote and directed The Incredibles as a film about a family first and a superhero movie second, and that priority is why it still feels richer than most entries in the genre twenty years later. Bob Parr's midlife crisis, his secret nostalgia for the days when he mattered, is rendered with a specificity that speaks to adults, while Dash's frustration at having to hide his abilities and Violet's adolescent desire to disappear capture the particular agonies of childhood and adolescence with equal precision. The action set pieces, particularly the sequence on Syndrome's island and the finale on the streets of Metroville, demonstrate Bird's background in traditional animation through their clarity of staging, fluid camera movement, and commitment to showing the audience exactly where every character is at every moment. Syndrome is a memorable villain because his motivation, the resentment of a rejected fan, is uncomfortably understandable. Michael Giacchino's jazz inflected score gives the film a retro sophistication that sets it apart from the orchestral bombast of most animated features. The Incredibles argues that a family's love for each other is itself a superpower, and it makes that argument through action and character rather than through speeches.
Fun Fact
Brad Bird originally envisioned The Incredibles as a traditionally animated film before Pixar convinced him to make it in CGI, and the demands of animating realistic human characters in motion pushed Pixar's technology further than any previous project. Edna Mode was voiced by Brad Bird himself after the team could not find an actress who matched the voice he used when pitching the character. Samuel L. Jackson improvised many of Frozone's lines, including variations on the famous "Where is my super suit?" exchange with his wife, and Bird used the funniest takes in the final cut.
Parent Note
The film has more intense action and genuine peril than most Pixar movies, including scenes where children are shot at by real weapons and a villain who has killed previous superheroes. The themes of marital tension and midlife dissatisfaction are present but handled subtly. There is a brief implied scene of suspected infidelity that adults will notice and kids will not. Most children around six and up handle the intensity well, and the family dynamics actually make the action feel safer because the characters always protect each other.
Quick Facts
- Year
- 2004
- Type
- 🎬 Movie
- Category
- Animation
- Age Group
- Kids (Ages 7–10)