Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

The Incredibles' DVD lives up to its name

Ever imagined what it would be like to be part of a Super Hero family? Many people certainly did as a child, and it is quite obvious that "The Incredibles" writer/director Brad Bird did as well. Pixar has done it again. "The Incredibles" is amazing. "The Incredibles" depicts Bird's version of the attempted "normal" life of the Parr family, all of whom possess superpowers. Bird's writing/direction, along with several readily identifiable character voices including Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson and Jason Lee created a memorable animated picture, praised by children and adults alike. Pre-marriage, Helen and Bob Parr worked as superheroes. Helen was known as Elastigirl because she was capable of stretching and contorting her body in all kinds of directions and shapes. Bob was Mr. Incredible, his extraordinary strength allowed him to do just about anything, including jump from building to building, slam through walls and much more. The two superheroes got married and shortly afterward were forced to go into hiding. Lawsuits against the superheroes were brought to court, and all of the "Supers" were forced to go into hiding and to suppress their natural inclinations to fight crime. Helen and Bob then started a family and had three superhero children. Violet, the oldest child, has the power to become invisible and also to create protective force fields. Dash, the troublemaking middle child, has superhuman speed. The baby, Jack Jack, does not have any obvious powers until the end of the movie.Shortly after the introduction of the family, Bob (Craig T. Nelson) is fired from his job and is recruited to complete a secret superhero mission. His nostalgia for the old "Glory Days," as he calls them, compels him to take the secret mission. He lies to Helen (Holly Hunter) about the mission to hide his involvement in this superhero activity from his protective wife. Helen begins to get suspicious about his behavior and is afraid that he is having an affair. She eventually discovers that he had left for a mission, locates his whereabouts and sets off to find him. The children, minus Jack Jack, stow away in Helen's transportation and the three find themselves caught in the middle of a sticky situation. They find that they must save Bob from Syndrome (Jason Lee). Syndrome is a disgruntled, self-made superhero, who at one point in his life, was Mr. Incredible's number one fan. Mr. Incredible dismissed Syndrome as a young boy, and since then he has been looking for revenge against Bob. The remainder of the film is a showcase of the family's powers and their cooperation throughout the mission. Pixar Studios left the end of the film wide open, so it is entirely possible that a sequel may be created sometime in the near future, which will no doubt, be well-received. This two-disc edition of "The Incredibles" is full of extra features. Two animated shorts are found on the second disc, one called "Jack Jack Attack," which shows the baby displaying his superpowers to his unsuspecting babysitter. The second is a Pixar original short that was shown before the feature film in the theaters, called "Boundin'." Both short films are hilarious. There are behind the scenes features, all sorts of commentary from the crew, a short bloopers reel, deleted scenes, a list of "The Incredibles" superheroes along with their abilities, fake junket interviews and other features on the second disc. Between the movie itself and the fully loaded second disc, the two-disc edition of "The Incredibles," will keep you busy for hours and is well-worth the purchase.