The Incredibles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Incredibles is a 2004 computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons.
The story focuses on the Parr family, each of whom has superpowers. The starring voices are Craig T. Nelson as Bob Parr, a superhero named “Mr. Incredible” who is forced to give up saving people’s lives; Holly Hunter as his wife; Sarah Vowell as their teenage daughter; Spencer Fox as their young son; Jason Lee as Mr. Incredible’s most avid fan; Samuel L. Jackson as Bob’s friend; and Elizabeth Peña as the beautiful assistant of a vengeful supervillain. Bob’s yearning to help people draws the entire Parr family into a battle with the villain and his killer robot.
The film was originally developed as a traditionally animated film for Warner Bros., but after the studio shut down its division for fully animated theatrical features, Bird took the story with him to Pixar, where he reunited with John Lasseter. The film was presented by Disney 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. It is the sixth full-length Pixar film, the first whose main protagonist is human.
The film won two 2004 Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature. It also received nominations for two other Academy Awards, won a 2005 Hugo Award, and was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the 2004 Golden Globes.
PLOT
The story is set in a world where some people, called “Superpeople” or “Supers”, have superhuman abilities. Mr. Incredible is exceedingly strong, and Elastigirl can stretch her body into almost any shape. Mr. Incredible has a bright but foolhardy young fan named Buddy, who invents gadgets and wants to be Mr. Incredible’s sidekick. Mr. Incredible rejects Buddy and other would-be helpers, telling them “I work alone.” The film begins in the city of Municiberg, as Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl marry each other, calling themselves Bob and Helen Parr, after a busy day of crimefighting. Shortly afterward, lawsuits from injured bystanders lead to a political backlash that forces all superheroes to stop saving the world and live normal lives.
Fifteen years later, Bob and Helen live unhappy suburban lives outside the city of Metroville. Their young son Dash is able to run faster than the human eye can see, and their teen daughter Violet can turn invisible and create protective force fields, but they are not allowed to reveal their powers. The baby, Jack-Jack, appears to be an ordinary child. Bob has gained a lot of weight, and he feels frustrated by his office job in an insurance company. He regularly sneaks out to secretly fight crime with his friend Frozone, who can freeze things by spraying them with ice.
One day, Bob is fired from his job for losing his temper and assaulting his boss, who refused to let him rescue an innocent crime victim. However, before he can reveal this to Helen, he finds a video message from a beautiful woman named Mirage, who offers him a large sum of money to stop Omnidroid 9000, an out-of-control robot on a remote island. Bob accepts the offer, and he disables the robot after being flown to the island. Afterward, he takes his torn superhero suit to be repaired by the famous fashion designer Edna Mode. Edna also makes new suits for Bob and his family. Bob requests a cape for his supersuit, but Edna refuses, citing numerous cape-related superhero deaths.
With plenty of money and satisfying work, Bob happily spends his days getting back into shape, still pretending to have his old job. However, his next trip to the island is a trap: Omnidroid and the island are owned by Mr. Incredible’s old fan, Buddy, who now calls himself Syndrome and intends to avenge himself against Mr. Incredible and the other Supers for shunning him. He has already killed many Supers by luring them to the island to fight Omnidroid, improving its design as they revealed its weaknesses. His plan is to make people believe he is a Super by staging a fake battle with the robot. Bob is attacked by Omnidroid and barely escapes from Syndrome.
Meanwhile, Helen discovers the repair on Bob’s old supersuit. She visits Edna, who gives her the new set of suits and helps her locate Bob with a homing beacon, but Syndrome’s security system detects the homing signal and captures him. Helen flies to the island in a jet, with Dash and Violet secretly stowing away and Jack-Jack at home with a babysitter, and Helen, Dash, and Violet make their way onto the island after being shot down by missiles. After hiding the children in the jungle, Helen sneaks into Syndrome’s facility to rescue Bob, only to find him embracing Mirage, who freed him after a confrontation in which Syndrome refused to save her life. After some bickering, Bob and Helen regroup with the children, who triggered the Island’s security system shortly after Syndrome launched a rocket to fly Omnidroid to Metroville. After a lengthy action sequence, Syndrome captures the family and follows the robot in a jet, but they escape and follow him in a second rocket with help from Mirage.
In Metroville, Syndrome uses a remote-control device to prevent Omnidroid from harming him, but he is knocked unconscious after the robot’s artificial intelligence becomes aware of the device and shoots it off of him. When the Parrs arrive, they and Frozone defeat the robot, and when Syndrome wakes up and tries to kidnap Jack-Jack, Jack-Jack uses his recently emerged superpowers to attack him. Bob and Helen save Jack-Jack after Syndrome drops him in midair, and Syndrome is killed when his cape gets caught in one of his jet’s engines. Three months later, after Dash races with his school track team and Violet makes a date with a boy she likes, a new villain appears and the Incredibles prepare to fight him.
Cast and characters
* Craig T. Nelson as Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible: Bob possesses tremendous strength, and heightened resistance to harm and is the film’s protagonist. He also has enhanced senses. Syndrome’s Operations Kronos Database assigned him a threat rating of 9.1, the highest of any Super Hero. His powers are similar the Marvel Comics superhero The Thing or to the DC Comics superhero Superman in his earliest days in comic books, before he gained the ability to fly and total invulnerability.
* Holly Hunter as Helen Parr/Elastigirl/Mrs. Incredible: She has superhuman elasticity and the secondary protagonist of the film. A dedicated wife and mother, she is frequently worried for her family’s safety. Her powers are similar to the Marvel Comics superhero Mister Fantastic or the DC characters Elongated Man, Elastic Lad, and Plastic Man. She is also comparable to Stretch Armstrong.
* Sarah Vowell as Violet Parr: She has invisibility and the creation of force fields, but shy and insecure. Her powers are similar to the Marvel Comics superhero Invisible Woman.
* Spencer Fox as Dash Parr: His power is superhuman speed. Dash is a competitive fourth grader and frequently wishes to prove that he’s special. His name and powers are like the DC Comics superhero Flash or the Marvel character Quicksilver. He is also blond, mischievous, impetuous and something of a showboat like the Human Torch. Also like the Torch, he is the youngest member of the group (at least until Jack-Jack wears the uniform at the end of the film).
* Eli Fucile and Maeve Andrews as Jack-Jack Parr: Jack-Jack is in all essence a shape-shifter, able to configure his molecules into various forms. In the film, he bursts into flames, turns into metal and into a monster. Later revealed in Jack-Jack Attack (a Pixar short of The Incredibles) to also have the abilities to teleport, levitate, pass through walls, and fire optic blasts. Therefore, his powers are similar to Marvel characters Nightcrawler, Cyclops, Human Torch, Colossus, The Incredible Hulk, Kitty Pryde, among others. The possible implication here is that there is no limit to Jack-Jack’s abilities, suggesting a strong similarity to Franklin Richards, the child of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, and a powerful mutant who is able to alter and even create realities.
* Jason Lee as Buddy Pine/Incredi-boy/Syndrome: Initially Mr. Incredible’s most enthusiastic fan, he grows up to hate him due to the fact that Mr. Incredible wouldn’t let him become his sidekick. He serves as the main antagonist of the film. He is the second Pixar antagonist to die (the first being Hopper in A Bug’s Life). Syndrome’s facial features in the film were based on Brad Bird’s. The character bears some basic, archetypal resemblance to Doctor Doom in that both hold a grudge against their respective protagonists and boast advanced technological prowess and resources.
* Samuel L. Jackson as Lucius Best/Frozone: Best friend of Mr. Incredible and a “cool guy” (literally and figuratively). He can create ice and freeze objects by using the moisture in the air, similarly to the Marvel character Iceman. Frequently relives the “glory days” with Mr. Incredible, though he is reluctant to take more direct action. Samuel L. Jackson was cast as the voice of Frozone because the film’s writer/director wanted Frozone to have “the coolest voice”.[2]
* Elizabeth Peña as Mirage: Assistant to Syndrome, love interest and the secondary antagonist of the film. She defects and aids the Incredibles shortly after Syndrome shows he has a complete lack of concern for her life.
* Brad Bird as Edna Mode: Famous fashion designer and original outfitter of the superheroes with super-suits, who is highly impulsive and a little obsessed with her work. She closely resembles the famous Hollywood costume designer Edith Head.
* Bud Luckey as Rick Dicker: An agent and personal government liaison for the Incredibles whose job is to clean up and cover super accidents. Is a bit frustrated by Bob’s tendency to get into trouble and overwhelming the company, but remains a good friend of his.
* John Ratzenberger as The Underminer: A supervillain who has the appearance and traits of a sort of human mole. His appearance at the end of The Incredibles created a cliffhanger ending. He has since appeared in The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer video game. The character appears to be inspired by the Fantastic Four comics, specifically by the supervillain Mole Man.
