The Incredibles is the 6th feature length film from the boys at Pixar, whose run as the kings of computer-generated animation (and heck, animation in general, for that matter) is unmatched since their release of Toy Story in 1995. Since then, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo have been not only massively successful, but also critically acclaimed and beloved by children and parents alike. They have also shared one all-important common-denominator: The "G" rating, a rating which is becoming less and less common in recent years, with only a handful of "G" releases in most years. While Pixar's films have always featured jokes for both children and adults, The Incredibles is skewed towards a slightly older audience overall. It's got more violence and more of the jokes may be over the heads of younger viewers.
Pixar has also called upon a new director, the multi-talented Brad Bird. Bird was the man behind one of animation's most underappreciated masterpieces, The Iron Giant. He also worked on a certain legendary show called The Simpsons for eight years. Bird brings a new and different voice to the Pixar world. The Incredibles is less cute and more biting in its satire and wit. Some of the characters, such as the children of the Parr family, are still cute, but they have more of an edginess to them, such as the gothish Violet (Sarah Vowell), a character reminiscent of Winona Ryder's Lydia in Beetlejuice. Bird also does a very good job of balancing a huge group of characters and giving each their own well-rounded development.
The voice casting of The Incredibles is, as has always been the case with Pixar, pitch-perfect. When I heard the initial casting of Craig T. Nelson, I was a little skeptical. What can I say, I never could stand that show Coach. Coach lovers, feel free to click on my name below and send me your death threats. Holly Hunter and the voices of the kids, along with a few other Pixar voice regulars and, of course, Jason Lee as Syndrome, all do a very commendable job. Sam Jackson, who was made for voice work, has some major laughs, although, unfortunately, his character is very under-used. Even Brad Bird himself does the voice of one of the film's standout characters, the Edith Head-inspired Edna Mode, who designs the costumes for the Incredibles.
I enjoyed The Incredibles, but not on the same level as Pixar's previous films, which I consider to be among the best animated films of the past decade. It's hard to decipher exactly what was missing. The story just felt a little off to me at times. Some of the jokes felt flat and overdone. Where the laughs seemed to flow effortlessly from the fantastic characters of previous Pixar efforts, some of the jokes of Incredibles felt desperate. The PG rating actually seems to be more for violence than anything else, because I really didn't find the humor to be any more "adult-oriented" than Pixar's other films. As I previously mentioned, keeping the interest of the adult audience, along with the kids, has always been Pixar's greatest strength. I also didn't find myself nearly as engaged or personally involved with the characters. Outside of Mr. Incredible, who has some pretty hysterical scenes, the other characters were mostly forgettable to me.
Technically, not enough can be said for Pixar's achievements. Bird himself has said that he does not believe that the animation style (be it hand-drawn, CG or even clay) is as important as the strength of the story, and I couldn't agree more with that statement. Still, the look of Incredibles is beautiful. The world often looks so real that, other than the stylized look of the characters, it's hard to believe that none of the backgrounds or props are real. Even as DreamWorks gets closer and closer with each of their CG animated releases, they will always be just one step behind the geniuses at Pixar.
The Incredibles is a good effort from Pixar. It falls a hair short of the high standards they've set for themselves, but hey, even a bad Pixar film would probably be light-years beyond most everything else out there, particularly the overload of drivel that is usual panned off to the indiscriminating younger audiences. Bird brings a nice sense of nostalgia to the film, as he did with Iron Giant. In the end, the very truth of the matter is that this film is going to be a runaway success and make a pile of cash regardless of what I say. It's not their best, but still a lot of fun.
3.5 out of 5 Stars, 7/10 Score