The Incredibles
The Incredibles, is a film that lives up to its name. If you have not seen it yet (it is due out in Europe next week but there have been advanced screenings everywhere this weekend) I encourage you to go, but the rest of this journal may contain more information than you want to know before seeing it for yourself.
When I first went to see Toy Story I was sceptical a feature length Computer Animated film would be any good but not only was I impressed by the animation, I was even more impressed by the story. Like many others I have been unsuccessfully predicting the downfall of Pixar, waiting for it to eventually make a turkey, to churn out the kind of mediocre rubbish that Disney tries to get away with (and more recently Dreamworks with Sharks Tale).
Last time I predicted their failure I pleasantly surprised by Finding Nemo. Despite being first and foremost aimed squarely at children it was simple story about family and it was clever enough to keep an adult viewer content and mildly amused. The Incredibles is another tale of family life, and is essentially about Mr. Incredible trying to balance his career and his family.
Unlike other studios where you have probably seen most of the best bits in the trailer (I'm thinking Taxi) not only do Pixar not give too much away in the trailer they even have an fun scene in the trailer that doesn't appear in the film itself.
The Incredibles owes a lot of inspiration to the Fantastic Four and many other characters from the pages of Marvel comics. The choice of super powers is not arbitrary and the powers of the children in particular speak to their character. What power is more appropriate for a hyperactive boy than speed or the power of invisibility for struggling insecure teenage girl? The film provides a few other subtle references here and there that comic book fans should appreciate but without being heavy handed about it. The look of Metroville has been described as a future based on ideas of what the future would look like as predicted in the 1960's. Similarly the design of the secret base has a very strong James Bond quality to it and there were also echoes of Star Wars in places. All these familiar references added to the Incredibles but it is nonetheless original and has a very fresh feeling to it.
In most computer animated or special effects driven films I am rarely impressed by the technology for more than a few minutes and after that I hope the story will be good. However while watching the Incredibles I was at times mesmerised by the flow of fabrics and the swaying of Violets long black hair. One of behind the scenes clips I watched explained the huge effort that went into the costumes and the designers said that Violets hair took so much work that it was almost a character of it's own.
I highly recommend the Incredibles, particularly to anyone who has enjoyed the previous Pixar films, or likes superheroes and I would tentatively give it full marks 5/5. If you are in any doubt as to how much I enjoyed the Incredibles I hope to see it again next week when it goes on general release.