THE INCREDIBLES

'''The Incredibles''' is a 2004 Academy Award-winning 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, Brad 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 movie to be rated PG by the MPAA and the first 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.

Contents

Plot

Voice cast

Reaction

DVD extras

Merchandising

Goofs

Video games

Awards

Associated short films

Trailers

See also

Notes and references

External links

Plot

After a train rescue that left a hundred people injured, a series of lawsuits has forced superheroes, known as "Supers," into a government-sponsored witness protection program in exchange for a promise to stop all superhero work.
15 years later, two superheroes, Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) and Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) have married and settled into relatively normal lives. Now known as Bob and Helen Parr, they have a house in the suburbs and are raising three kids, Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dashiell ("Dash") (Spencer Fox) and baby Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile). Violet and Dash each have superpowers like their parents, while it seems as if Jack-Jack is a normal baby without powers.
Bob is frustrated with the drudgery of his job as a claims adjuster for a corrupt insurance company and secretly helps deserving clients to find loopholes to get their payments. He dreams of returning back to his glory days of superheroism, going so far as to moonlight as a crimefighter by listening to a police scanner with his friend Lucius - another former super called Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson). When Helen finds out, it causes an argument. Bob hates having to hide their gifts, and wants to return to the heroics of the old days, while Helen is concerned about keeping the family together and not having to start over again by going into hiding in a brand new location.
Eventually Mr. Huph (Wallace Shawn), Bob's miserly boss, suspects Bob is helping clients and reprimands him. During the lecture, Bob notices a person being mugged in the street. Mr. Huph stops Bob from going to the victim's aid, threatening to fire him, and the mugger escapes. Bob is furious, and when Huph smugly begins lecturing again, Bob grabs him by the neck and hurls him through several office walls. Huph is hospitalized and Bob is fired.
While Bob is trying to figure out how to tell Helen, Mirage (Elizabeth Peña), a mysterious agent, contacts him and offers highly-paid work: subduing a renegade robot, the Omnidroid 9000, on Nomanisan, an uncharted volcanic island. Bob takes the assignment, hiding both the loss of his job and the renewal of hero work from Helen. Bob defeats the Omnidroid, damaging his supersuit slightly from the battle, and becomes much happier. When he takes his suit to its designer, flamboyant Edna Mode (Brad Bird), for repair, she creates for him a brand-new suit. Unbeknownst to him, she also creates suits for his entire family.
Two months later, Mirage calls Bob with a new assignment. Helen overhears the call, but does not realize its full implications or content. When Bob returns to the island, he is ambushed and defeated by an improved version of the Omnidroid prototype robot. He is held captive there by Syndrome (Jason Lee), once a young fan named Buddy Pine. Buddy once wanted to be Mr. Incredible's sidekick, but was harshly rejected. Embittered, he made a fortune in high-tech weapons technology. He then invented the Omnidroid, a robot designed to kill supers. Bob manages to escape from Syndrome and discovers that Syndrome has killed many of his superhero friends in the process of developing the Omnidroid, and is now planning on unleashing the robot into the city of Metroville where it will cause mass destruction, with only Syndrome able to stop it.
Back at home, Helen notices that Bob's old super suit has recently been repaired. She learns from Edna that Bob lost his job and has resumed superhero work. Edna has also created super suits for Helen and the children, and advises her to take control of the situation.
Helen activates the homing device Edna built into Bob’s super suit, which reveals his location to both her and Syndrome (who recaptures him). She heads for the island in a jet plane, on which Violet and Dash have stowed away, after leaving Jack-Jack at home with a babysitter. Syndrome, meanwhile, tortures Bob for information and launches a missile attack against Helen's airplane. Helen and the kids manage to escape unharmed, and swim to the island, though everyone on the island believes they are killed. Bob grabs Mirage and threatens to kill her unless Syndrome frees him; Syndrome calls his bluff, and Bob releases her unharmed, remaining Syndrome's prisoner.
While Helen infiltrates Syndrome’s base, the new and improved Omnidroid 10000 is launched on a rocket towards its target, Metroville. In Syndrome’s base, a grateful Mirage secretly frees Bob just before Helen. The two superheroes rush to find their children, who are fighting off Syndrome’s henchmen. A battle ensues, wherein the family co-operates to defeat their attackers. However, Syndrome arrives and captures the Incredibles using his zero-point energy fields. Syndrome then explains his plan: to save Metroville from his own Omnidroid and thereby become a hero. He then leaves the Incredibles in an energy prison. Violet’s force fields allow them to escape, however. With Mirage’s help they depart for the mainland after Syndrome.
In Metroville, Syndrome attempts to stop the Omnidroid's destructive rampage, but the robot figures out the nature of his remote control and knocks him unconscious. The Incredibles and Frozone fight the robot. Together, they are able to get the Omnidroid to disable itself. The town applauds them for their achievements; the possibility of superheroes coming out of hiding is mentioned. Syndrome wakes up to find that the Incredibles have stolen his glory.
The Incredibles return home to find that Syndrome is kidnapping Jack-Jack. As Syndrome attempts to fly up to his jet using his rocket boots, Jack-Jack suddenly reveals his super powers by transforming into fire, metal, and then an imp-like monster. Syndrome drops Jack-Jack, who is caught by Helen, and attempts to flee. Bob hurls the family car into the jet; Syndrome is knocked into the turbine and is killed when his cape is caught in the engine and pulls him in. Violet then protects the family from the raining flames and debris as the jet explodes, much to the amazement of their young neighbor.
Three months later, the family is much happier; even Bob is content with their civilian life. Dash is running in a track meet; he carefully controls his use of super-speed and finishes in second place. Violet, who formerly felt alienated to the point of using her hair to hide her face, is found with her hair pulled back and successfully asking her friend Tony for a date to the movies. As they walk out of the sports complex, a new villain, The Underminer (John Ratzenberger), rises from the ground and declares "war on peace and happiness.” The family members, including Jack-Jack, put on superhero masks and prepare to fight.

Voice cast

Actor	Role
Adam Godley	Narrator
Craig T. Nelson	Robert Parr / Mr. Incredible
Holly Hunter	Helen Parr / Elastigirl
Sarah Vowell	Violet "Vi" Parr
Spencer Fox	Dashiell Robert "Dash" Parr
Jason Lee	Buddy Pine / Incrediboy / Syndrome
Brad Bird	Edna Mode
Samuel L. Jackson	Lucius Best / Frozone
Elizabeth Peña	Mirage

Reaction

Critical response to ''The Incredibles'' was overwhelmingly positive, receiving a 97% "Certified Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.^[1] 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."
Some negative criticism was directed towards the film's violence, some of it mean-spirited and gratuitous, suggesting that "Incredibles" are free to arbitrarily punch criminals and enemy troops to render them unconscious and injured, even when those criminals or troops are disarmed and posing no threat; indeed, the film is much more violent than any previous Pixar film and the first to receive a PG rating from the MPAA. Eleanor Ringel Gillespie of the ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' wrote that "the Pixar whizzes do what they do excellently; you just wish they were doing something else."^[2] 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."^[3]
Following concerns that the film would receive underwhelming results,^[4] the film grossed $70,467,623 in its opening weekend, the highest opening weekend gross for a Pixar film, just barely beating ''Finding Nemo's'' opening weekend take of $70,251,710.^[5][6] 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.^[7] Worldwide, the film grossed $631,436,092, ranking fourth for the year.^[8]

DVD extras

''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 (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 films deleted scenes plus an intro for all of them

★ '''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

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★ '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

★ 'Character Interviews', actor and actresses interview the characters

★ 'Theatrical Trailer', ''The Incredibles'' film trailer

★ 'Mr. Incredible and Pals', a Mr. Incredible cartoon spoofing cheesy superhero cartoons from the 1960's, as well as Synchro-Vox cartoons like ''Clutch Cargo''

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★ 'Mr. Incredible and Pals With Commentary', the cartoon with the characters' commentary

★ 'NSA Files', info about the supers

★ '''Boundin'''', a Pixar short film directed by Bud Luckey

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★ '''Boundin''' With Commentary', ''Boundin''' with commentary by Bud Luckey

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★ 'Who Is Bud Luckey?' a four-minute documentary about the making of ''Boundin'''

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.
In Europe, Kinder chocolate eggs contained small plastic toy characters.
In Mexico, there has been a craze about the movie, literally hundreds of items are being sold there, with several of them being exclusive to Mexico. Already many stores around the country have been reporting being completely sold out of certain popular items.
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.

Goofs

★ When Mr. Incredible crashes into the building trying to save a man, his shadow disappears.

★ While the family eats dinner at the table, the food keeps changing position.

★ The part in Violet's hair switches sides several times. (This was a deliberate "mistake" by the filmmakers - hair was so difficult to animate, that to save time and expense, they switched the part in Violet's hair to show her face when needed.)

★ When Helen Parr is talking on the phone to Edna, although Helen's shadow appears on the wall behind her, the phone and phone cord have no shadows.

★ Although it is clear that Bob breaks the car window in the scene where he drives home, the window seems fixed when he drives home after getting fired, but the damage on the roof is still visible.

Video games

Main articles: The Incredibles (video games)

Awards

The film won the Academy Award in 2005 for Best Animated Feature (the second Pixar Animation Studios feature film 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.

Associated short films

The video/DVD release also features an additional short called ''Jack-Jack Attack'', starring one of the film's characters Jack-Jack Parr. It depicts the off-screen details of Kari McKean's "very weird" night caring for the baby.

Trailers

One Pixar tradition is to create trailers for their films that do not contain footage from the released film. Trailers for this film include:

★ An out-of-shape Mr. Incredible struggles to get his belt on (hence, none of the Incredible Family members wear a belt in the film, and instead sport elastic waist straps).

See also

★ Characters from The Incredibles

★ List of animated feature-length films

★ List of computer-animated films

Notes and references

1. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/incredibles/?critic=columns
2. http://www.accessatlanta.com/movies/content/shared/movies/reviews/I/theincredibles.html
3. http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0444,winter2,58041,20.html
4. http://imdb.com/news/sb/2004-11-04#film6
5. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=incredibles.htm
6. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=findingnemo.htm
7. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2004&p=.htm
8. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2004&p=.htm

External links

★ Mini-Review @ DVD Lounge

★ Official website

★ Trailer

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★ The Official DVD Website