"The Incredibles" has shown that animated films have the ability to revive not only dead careers, but an entire genre of film as well.
What was the last thing anyone heard from Craig T. Nelson? He'll always be "Coach" to a fan base of millions, no matter how many made-for-TV movies he might do.
In "The Incredibles," though, he has proven he's still got the goods. Goods, in fact, which are better suited to animated film. He voices the part of Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible. Parr is Mr. Incredible's alter ego; something that a series of interviews in the film's opening explain is absolutely necessary for a super hero.
The interviews are an interesting way of making the characters seem more life-like and of this world, as they fumble to pin the mics on their super-suits and get flustered in the course of answering the hard-hitting questions. These discussions take place in an era many years previous to the bulk of the story.
When Mr. Incredible gets sued for saving someone who didn't want to be saved, a series of frivolous lawsuits spring up against the "supers." The law then orders that all supers stop showing themselves, stop being super.
Mr. Incredible and his wife, Elastigirl, voiced by Holly Hunter ("O, Brother Where Art Thou?") move from the city to a '50s-style suburb, always a depressing move for someone who loves action. The houses are quadrangular and flat, like everything else about this realm. Bob takes a job as an insurance agent who gives his clients financial advice under his breath, earning him reproach from his boss, voiced by Wallace Shawn ("The Princess Bride"). Elastigirl becomes a housewife.
Bob finds the need to pad his life with a little more action, taking it upon himself to sit in a car with his fellow ex-super Frozone, voiced by Samuel L. Jackson ("Pulp Fiction") and listen to a police scanner for citizens in distress. Whether or not writer/director Brad Bird meant to insert the word "fro" into the name of the film's only black character, he is stereotypically cool. (Get it?)
Predictably - but that's all right - the city meets a new villain in Syndrome, voiced by Jason Lee ("Mallrats"). Adventure/hilarity ensues.
The film is rich enough in character material to be comfortable with making Jackson, unquestionably the best actor in the film, secondary. Nelson plays a part that might have been better suited to John Goodman ("Roseanne"), who has already done a Pixar film, "Monsters, Inc."
They have equal experience with playing the family man, thanks to their respective sitcom roles. Hayden Fox's constant dealings with Christine Fox in "Coach" gave Nelson the necessary experience to make the serious husband-wife dialogue in "The Incredibles" more than bearable.
The score to the film is perfect. It is a combination of classic Bond films and the '50s Batman TV series, with trumpet blares at points of action and full orchestration for transition points. Perfection could have been achieved with just a single onomatopoeia, "Blammo!" with an explosion star around the word.
Animation could revolutionize the action film, not CGI. Complete animation allows for good actors to play the lead roles. No more moronic muscle-heads with limited vocabularies.
It's also nice to just have characters that were born super, cutting out the obligatory origin section of the movie. No realization of powers or any such nonsense. Just plain super. It allows the characters to be developed in their own ways rather than the formulaic way. Bob is a perfect frustrated man in a suit, having gained considerable weight, circles around his eyes and a bite in his discourse.
The family has the classic powers, mostly borrowing from early super heroes of the '50s and '60s. The family seems to be closely modeled after the Fantastic Four, with Elastigirl having the same power as Mr. Fantastic. Daughter Violet is Invisible Woman's equal. Mr. Incredible is the strong man, like The Thing. The odd ones out are the two young sons. Dash, the older one, is like The Flash, and the infant has at the film's beginning has not shown any powers, but has a Human Torch moment near the end. These similarities may steal some thunder from the Fantastic Four movie due next summer.
So Bird can credit Stan Lee for the idea, but himself with a near-flawless execution.
