Review
Review Date: 7-November-04
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy
The Incredibles (2004)
"Spider-Man 2" really raised (lowered?) the bar on the personal torment of the average superhero, but Brad Bird's "The Incredibles" adds new depth to the concept of gifted individuals searching for inspiration to keep on saving the world. The movie concerns an average, exasperated middle-class family, the Parrs, whose hidden powers can't protect them from the everyday onslaught of pettiness, aging, boredom, and futility. Denizens of suburbia with bills to pay, homework to finish, and cellulite to worry about, they don't have the luxury of Batman's billionaire angst, Superman's flag-waving righteousness, or even Spider-Man's driving obsession. Consequently, while their physical feats are incredible, their real triumph comes when they rise out of the standing pool of conformity.
As the story opens, a spate of trumped-up lawsuits and dimwitted public outcries force newlyweds Bob and Helen Parr to put aside their crime-fighting alter-egos, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, and retire to a life of subdued respectability. Cut ahead several years, and Bob (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) has grown fat and disillusioned in the dingy cubicle of an insurance company, while Helen (Holly Hunter) has become the harried drillmaster of their children: awkward teen Violet (Sarah Vowell), energetic boy Dash (Spencer Fox), and baby Jack. It's an unexceptional existence that Helen seems determined to weather and Bob seems desirous to escape, as he does briefly every Wednesday night when he and the former marvel Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) get together and try to recapture their glory days.
But Bob's wish really comes true when a mysterious femme fatale (Elizabeth Peņa) hires his superservices for an unnamed employer. Lying to his wife in a wild stab at significance, Mr. Incredible dons his suit once again and heads off to a fantastic island that would make any James Bond villain green with envy. He feels good at first about vanquishing the appointed foe, but his glee turns to despair when he discovers the identity and evil intent of his new client, a former fan of his whose lifelong obsession with being super has turned him into a madman known as Syndrome (Jason Lee). (Admiration must be noted for Syndrome's fabulous Heat Miser hairdo and the highly inventive scene in which he captures Mr. Incredible with a barrage of sinister goo.) Meanwhile, Helen's growing suspicion leads her to Edna Mode, the one-time couturier to the superheroes (hilariously voiced by Bird himself), who decks her out in the new Incredibles family crest and points her in the right direction. The kids, of course, tag along against her will, so that the whole family ends up together battling the enemy and discovering (or rediscovering) that life can have purpose for people such as they.
Bird made 1999's superb (and foolishly overlooked) animated tear-jerker "The Iron Giant," but this is his first collaboration with Pixar Studios. Unsurprisingly, the technical aspects of the film are stupendous, but perhaps the best effect of the Pixar connection will be its ability to get people into theaters to appreciate the unique quality of Bird's work. "The Incredibles" might finally dispel the antiquated reputation of animated films as kid stuff (it will reportedly be submitted to the Academy for Best Picture instead of Best Animated Picture), and this will open up the possibilities for mature filmmakers' imaginations. "The Incredibles" is a good example of this potential, offering not only whiz-bang action and PG humor, but also a thoughtful look at how easy it is for people to lose their way in our white bread world, and how heroic they are when they find it.
Copyright © 2004 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.
