The Incredibles (2004)

The Incredibles: 2004, dir. Brad Bird. Seen at Galaxy Highland (Dec. 11).
As anyone who writes about film will tell you (and already has, because it’s a good excuse), it is much easier to write about bad films than good ones. You can do all sorts of imaginative and amusing things with a review of a big stinker. As a result, bad reviews are generally more memorable.
Good reviews … well, how many times can you say, and for how long, that a movie is good? You always end up using the same adjectives, and it is difficult to convey your extreme enthusiasm for a movie.
The Incredibles was very very good and you should all go see it, you will have a wonderfully entertaining time.
There. I’ve told you what I think. Am I done now?

I know, you all went to see it already, and my boyfriend and I are the tardy ones. We wanted to wait for the crowds to die down, we wanted to make sure we saw it in a theater where it would look good but we weren’t bombarded by migraine-inducing commercials, and then last weekend we were busy organizing Holidailies and didn’t do much of anything that didn’t involve a computer. So I can’t exactly recommend it to most of you because you already recommended it to me. I can tell you that yes, you were right.
You were also right in telling me that Holly Hunter kicks ass. I admit I have not yet seen the movie where Holly Hunter does not kick ass, even if the movie is overall kind of mediocre. If someone ever makes a movie about my life (or more likely, someone else’s life in which I play a supporting role as the amusing cynic), I would like them to cast Holly Hunter as me. Holly Hunter is excellent, but not so much of a standout that the rest of the movie suffers.
The characters are realistic within their universe, the actors realize the parts perfectly (my favorite character was probably Edna, although it is hard to say), the universe of the film looks gorgeous and is consistent, the music is fabulous in a 1960s James Bond-ish kind of way, the way in which the animated characters’ hair moved was surprisingly realistic …
I remember going to Pixar movies in the past and being impressed by the quality of the animation, noticing little Pixar in-jokes that other people had told me to watch out for, and enjoying the movies in a very visual sense. However, that is not how I enjoyed The Incredibles. If there were in-jokes afoot, I did not see them because I was so absorbed in the storyline and the characters.
The Incredibles is not a good animated movie, it is a very good movie, period. The script was excellent. The movie was written and directed by Brad Bird, who was also responsible for Iron Giant (which I haven’t yet seen) and who directed some early episodes of The Simpsons (which I have seen).
How can you not like a story about a family with superhero powers trying to remain undercover and blend in with the rest of the world, until suddenly the lure of fighting crime drags Mr. Incredible back in? And did I mention that Holly Hunter plays the mom?
I was worried this movie would fall into too many negative female stereotypes, what with the stay-at-home mom and the sullen teen girl and all that, but it manages to deftly avoid such tired sitcommy cliches.
So if you’re one of the other dozen people who haven’t seen The Incredibles yet … make the time. You need to see this movie in a theater. I think it is the funniest movie released this year.