It’s that time of year again. The studios have emptied out the end of summer/early fall garbage, and are ready to unveil the good stuff with eyes on prizes like Oscar, and all the extra coffer-filler such accolades tend to generate. For critics, it’s a time when at least once a week we leave a screening room asking ourselves, “Was the film I just saw the best of the year?” Regarding the new Pixar wonder, “The Incredibles,” my answer to that question is “Yes … so far.” We’re barely into November but, boy, has visionary writer-director Brad Bird (“The Iron Giant,” “The Simpsons”) ever thrown down the gauntlet. “The Incredibles” boasts the total package: Great cast, invigorating storytelling, state-of-the-art 3-D animation and, best of all, that elusive quality known as movie magic. It’s a wondrous feeling that grabs you right from the film’s outset, and never lets go. This is a family film with an edge that you’re going to want to see again and again.
When we meet Bob Parr, aka Mr. Incredible (voiced with deadpan cool by Craig T. Nelson), he’s a celebrated masked crime-fighter with a sculpted, inverse-pyramid physique and a rubbery superhero sweetie, Elastigirl (Holly Hunter). After a few miscues and some costly lawsuits, the government suspends all superhero activity, and Mr. Incredible and his ilk are forced to take on civilian identities and retreat to the suburbs. Fifteen years later, a bloated Bob is an insurance adjustor living a life of quiet desperation with Elastigirl — now known as Helen — and their unnaturally-powered kids: the brooding teenage Violet, the lightning-quick ten-year-old Dash and drooling baby Jack- Jack.
Bob’s itching to get back in the crime-fighting game, and he gets his chance when a mysterious communication summons him to a remote island for a top-secret assignment. Ah, but things aren’t what they seem, and Mr. Incredible is soon in need of rescue, forcing Helen and her brood to suit up and swoop in. In the process they discover the true power of self-expression and clan unity. As The Incredibles’ nemesis, Syndrome, Jason Lee is wickedly good, and director Bird damn near steals the show as the voice of diminutive fashion diva, Edna Mode. What fun. What a movie. (Rated PG for action violence. Running time: 115 minutes)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 5, 2004. Read the original PDF.