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The Incredibles is Pixar Animation Studios' sixth animated feature film, released in the United States on November 5, 2004 and in the United Kingdom on November 26, 2004.
It was written and developed by Brad Bird, formerly director of television series Family Dog and The Simpsons and best known for directing the animated movie The Iron Giant. The Incredibles was originally developed as a traditionally-animated movie, but after Warner Bros. shut down its animation division, Brad Bird moved to Pixar, taking the story with him.
Plot
Fifteen years ago, the world's superheroes were overwhelmed by an onslaught of lawsuits over rescues that resulted in minor injuries. In exchange for immunity from these suits, the "supers" retired from heroics, and the government relocated them in civilian identities. Now Bob Parr, formerly Mr. Incredible, lives a quiet suburban life with his wife Helen (formerly Elastigirl) and their three secretly superpowered children. Bored with this life of mediocrity, he occasionally sneaks out out with his friend Lucius (formerly Frozone) to fight crime and protect the innocent.
Upon receiving an invitation from a mysterious benefactor to be a hero again, Mr. Incredible leaps at the opportunity. But the "benefactor" turns out to be Syndrome - someone who, in his youth, called himself "Incrediboy" and tried to be Mr. Incredible's sidekick, but was shunned, and thereafter dedicated his life to eliminating superheroes and developing dangerous weapons so that normal people could be as powerful. It's up to the rest of the Parr family to save Mr. Incredible and the world.
Characters
- Robert "Bob" Parr, "Mr. Incredible" (6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), 350 lb (159 kg)) The "hero's hero," Bob possesses tremendous strength and reasonable resistance to harm. He reminisces about "the glory days" when he was celebrated for using his abilities to save people.
Elastigirl from The Incredibles - Helen Parr, "Elastigirl" (5 ft 8 in, 125 lb (57 kg)) Helen Parr can stretch any part of her body a long way. She can also reshape her body in a variety of ways shown in the movie including becoming a parachute or a rubber boat. She is a dedicated spouse and parent and is frustrated with her husband's continuing dreams of glory.
- Dashiell "Dash" Robert Parr (4 ft 0 in, 65 lb (29 kg)) Young Dashiell has fast reflexes and the ability to run and swim extremely quickly. He can also run across the surface of water without sinking. He exhibits overconfidence, cockiness, and hyperactivity; a bit of a showoff, he chafes under his mother's refusal to let him be in sports at school, for fear that his superpowers might be noticed.
- Violet "Vi" Parr (4 ft 6 in (1.22 m), 90 lb (41 kg)) Stuck at the cross-roads between girl and woman, Violet desperately wants to be like everyone else, to blend in with normal people and not to stand out. Appropriately, her superpowers allow her to turn instantly invisible. Violet can also generate spherical force fields. Her character development seems to be one of the side-stories in the movie, despite the fact that Violet herself isn't shown in very many scenes. (Certain speculation has been that this is due to the processing and time required to render Violet's full-length flowing hair.) One of these character developments appears to be the gained confidence needed to approach her crush, Tony Rydinger.
- Jack-Jack Parr (30 in (0.76 m), 25 lb (11 kg)) Jack-Jack is the baby of the family. His power is never fully described, but includes changing the composition and density of his skin and/or body, as well as assuming a gremlin form. (Until the ending sequence of the movie, everyone believes Jack-Jack has no powers.)
- Lucius Best, "Frozone" (6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), 180 lb (82 kg)) A long-time friend of the family, Frozone can generate bursts of ice from his body; the amount of ice depends on the amount of water available in the air and in his body. During the movie it's suggested that he has adapted to civilian life much more easily than his long-time friend, Bob Parr, though he still possesses a command center of sorts, as well as his super suit and all of his old gadgets in working condition.
- Buddy Pine, "Syndrome" (6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), 185 lb (84 kg)) This misguided villain was once Mr. Incredible's "greatest fan." In an attempt to earn his hero's respect, Buddy Pine attempts to aid him in fighting crime as "Incrediboy," with gadgets he's invented in his spare time, as well as showing plenty of "gee-whiz" spunk. Instead of respecting him as the sidekick he wishes to become, Mr. Incredible kicks him out on the curb - quite literally. Out of bitterness, he recreates himself as an evil genius that plots revenge on his former idol. After his initial plans were foiled, Syndrome planned to abduct Jack-Jack and raise him as a sidekick, but Jack-Jack (with powers, it would now seem) disagrees. Syndrome's cape got caught in his jet's intake and sucked him in. If not for the engine's blades, the explosion immediately following seems to point towards the conclusion that he is very much dead.
- Mirage ((Height unknown, Weight unknown)) The seductive representative of Syndrome, and possibly wittingly his accomplice in the murder of many 'supers.' Despite several nods towards a more intimate relationship between Mirage and Buddy Pine (Syndrome), it is never explicitly stated in the movie. Moreover, it is not known whether or not she herself is a 'super'.
- Edna "E" Mode (3 ft 8 in (1.12 m), "not telling dahling") Edna's no-nonsense personality and round glasses are a direct homage to Edith Head, the legendary Hollywood costume designer, perhaps with nods to Elsa Klensch and Anna Wintour.
US box office take
Its opening box office sales in the United States exceeded that of Pixar's previous animation films. At the time of its release, its opening-weekend attendance ranked fifth in 2004, behind Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Spider-Man 2 and The Passion of the Christ. It was ranked 14th among all opening-weekend results at that time.
All figures in United States dollars.
- Week 1: $70,467,623 (1st)
- Week 2: $50,251,359 (1st)
- Week 3: $26,523,852 (3rd)
- Week 4: $23,580,279 (2nd)
- Week 5: $9,015,796 (4th)
- Week 6: $5,036,631 (6th)
- Week 7: $3,120,541 (10th)
- Week 8: $2,417,039 (15th)
Merchandising
Several companies released promotional products related to the movie. Dark Horse Comics released a limited series of comic books based on the movie. Kellogg's released an Incredibles-themed cereal, as well as promotional Pop Tarts and fruit snacks, all proclaiming an "Incrediberry Blast" of flavor. Furthermore, in the weeks before the movie's opening, there were also promotional tie-ins with SBC Communications and McDonald's. In Mexico there has been a craze about the movie, literally hundreds of items are being sold there, with several of them being Mexico-Exclusive. Already many stores around the country have been reporting being completely sold out of certain popular items.
Comic book and movie tributes and references
The world of "The Incredibles" has several similarities to constructs from other comic book and film universes.
- The Fantastic Four: There are several similarities to the world of Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four, another family-unit that fights evil in matching specialized costumes. The moniker "Mr. Incredible" is similar to that of the FF's leader, "Mr. Fantastic". Elastigirl and Violet's powers are the same as Mr. Fantastic's and Invisible Woman's, respectively. Jack-Jack could also represent Franklin Richards (see Marvel Comics paragraph). In the end of the movie, a villain called the Underminer appears which bears similar resemblance to the Fantastic Four's villain, Mole Man.
- Superman: The city where all of the superheroes live after the batch of lawsuits is called "Metroville", possibly as a tribute to Superman's Metropolis. Also, a telephone booth appears in the background of one scene, and in another scene, Mr. Incredible opens his shirt to reveal his costume underneath.
- Marvel Comics: Frozone's power is the same as Iceman's. Dash Parr's powers appear to be quite similar to Quicksilver's, as well as arguably parts of his personality. Jack-Jack's (the baby's) powers are quite similar to those of Vision of Marvel's Avengers, while some fans suggest Jack-Jack might actually be a reference to Franklin Richards, son of Reed and Susan Richards from the FF, who with his reality-altering powers could be the most powerful being in the Marvel universe.
- DC Comics: Dash's power could also be a reference to The Flash. The movie's disparaging treatment of child sidekicks ("Incrediboy") is a response to the number of pre-teen wards like Robin that accompanied Batman, Green Arrow, and other crimefighters from the 1940s onward. The movie also deals with the goverment's edict that causes the supers to retire, a plotline reminiscent of the explanation of the Justice Society of America's pseudo-retirement in the McCarthy era. Mr. Incredible's nemesis Bomb Voyage bears a close physical resemblance to The Batman's nemesis The Joker.
- Powers: Certain people are born with superpowers, without an explanation (such as mutation). After a public-relations fiasco, superheroes are forced by the government to live in seclusion without the use of their powers.
- Watchmen: Edna's rant against superhero capes echoes a minor background detail, in which a 1940s hero named Dollar Bill was killed because his cape was caught in a door and he was shot to death by a bank robber.[1] (http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptionscomic/watchmen/dollarbill.html) Watchmen also echoes the theme from Powers where superheroes live in a world where their powers make them resented. The heroes in the Watchmen are also forced into retirement for similar reasons - lawsuits and public backlash. A much more obvious and direct tribute to Watchmen: In an attempt to set himself up as a superhero, Syndrome sends a robot through space to destroy a city and make it appear like an alien attack. This is a key element of the climax of the Watchmen story.
- Doom Patrol: Elastigirl's name was presumably inspired by Elasti-Girl, a founding member of the DC Comics superhero team The Doom Patrol. (Elasti-Girl's power is the ability to alter her size.) Another Doom Patrol reference appears when Mr. Incredible refers to his family as "my greatest adventure". The Doom Patrol first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80, June 1963.
- X-Men: Syndrome's main computer bears a striking resemblance to Professor X's Cerebro chamber as presented in the X-Men movies. Also, several of the superheroes, including Frozone, have goggles similar to Cyclops'. One of them, Gazerbeam, is seen to have incised letters into a cave wall while his body was pinned in place. (This is never actually displayed on-screen, thus dodging lawsuit problems, but the implication is clear.)
- The Spirit: In one scene, Mr. Incredible wears a blue suit with a red tie and a black domino mask. This is similar to the costume worn by The Spirit, a superhero whose adventures were published from 1940 to 1952. There are 2 differences: The Spirit's mask is blue and he always wears a blue fedora.
- The Black Hole: Some may not recall Disney's modestly successful 1979 theatrical release, but Brad Bird obviously did: his final OmniDroid version has some striking similarities to Maximilian, the evil servant of the mad-man scientist Dr. Reinhardt. If inverted, the head of OmniDroid has the same configuration and red glowing eye of Maximilian's head. The spinning blade arms are strikingly similar. The "sound" of the OmniDroid's laser cannon is virtually identical to Maximilian's similar weaponry.
- James Bond: There are numerous Bond tributes, including many musical cues in the soundtrack. In The Spy Who Loved Me, Bond had a Lotus Esprit which became a submarine which bears more than a passing resemblance to the aircraft which becomes a submarine to carry Mr. Incredible to Nomanisan Island; in fact, most of the appearance of Syndrome's "lair" bear a huge debt to many of the headquarters of Bond's villains, from the modest Dr. No underwater base to the sophisticated sets from Tomorrow Never Dies. The use of Mirage as the beautiful but evil character who turns to the side of good is a common Bond characteristic. Finally, Edna Mode has been equated to Q, both in her role as provider to the heroes and as sarcastic commentator of the heroes' actions. The soundtrack used for one of the trailers was the one of On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
- Return of the Jedi: Dash's chase sequence with Syndrome's hover-saucer squads echoes, both in sound and visuals, the Endor Forest chase sequence between Luke, Leia and Stormtroopers on hoverbikes.
Mature themes
Helen Parr aka Elastigirl with baby Jack-Jack at home "The Incredibles" is set apart from other Disney and Pixar films by its adult themes: Family, Death, Violence, and The Importance of Role-Models. Like Brad Bird's previous fim, "The Iron Giant," the characters and situations are so real, that we begin to empathize with them and treat the film as "real." (Interestingly, this is the first Pixar film to use only "human" characters, and even receive a PG rating, though in the United Kingdom, it received a lower U rating).
Family
There is a hint that the seductive Mirage may be coming onto the married Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible, until Helen Parr/Elastigirl comes on the scene and punches her out. Bob and Helen, furthermore, are shown in a variety of not only domestic but passionate moments. One particular montage is especially telling: it shows Bob and Helen playfully pinching one another in the derrière as each passes by the other in the hallway of their home; and later, they exchange an off-to-work kiss, after which Helen pulls him back into the home for more passionate play. (Bob is clearly happy to be a costumed hero once again; Helen is happy for her husband also, because she believes he has moved up in the company of his job). Regardless, this is possibly the first time a Disney-related animated movie has ever alluded to the fact that married couples do more than kiss.
On the other hand, Bob seems to alienate himself from his family. He holds on to the glory days. Even when he is given the chance at donning the suit, his attention seems more on becoming the center of attention he once was. Bob becomes somewhat distant as, before going off on a "business trip"--i.e. his first mission since hanging up his uniform--Helen believes that he may be having an affair, overhearing a conversation between Bob and Mirage. She tells him, before he departs, "I love you...so much."
Bob realizes how important his family is, once he believes they died by Syndrome's hand. Furthermore, as Bob and his family look to overcome the villian, Syndrome, each of their abilities come together to win.
Violence and death
There is a black humor montage showing the death of supers who perished by their capes, literally. This coincides with a scene with Bob finding out about the death of numerous 'supers' who have perished due to Syndrome's utilizing them as test subjects for his OmniDroid creations.
Later, Bob finds the skeletal remains of a fellow super, Gazerbeam, who went missing--presumably given the same offer to relive the glory days of being a super once again, and died in the attempt.
As aforementioned, Bob believes his family was killed by Syndrome as Helen and the kids, Dash and Violet, rush to the island to save him.
Violet and Dash are told by their mother, Helen, that the enemy will not hesitate to kill them just because they're children. When they are separated from their mother, they must and do protect themselves by taking out Syndrome's henchmen.
Further along in the film, as Syndrome's deadly OmniDroid hits a populated city, Bob and the family come along a trailer of henchmen who are taking alcohol shots for every civilian who runs screaming, and there is even another scene of henchmen cheering at the mayem the OmniDroid is causing. The only characters to actually die onscreen, however, go in methods that allow them to die in goreless fashions (large explosions being dominant).
Importance of role models
Buddy Pine/Incrediboy, who later becomes the deadly Syndrome, seems to look up to Mr. Incredible as a big brother or father figure. He has been warped so much by Mr. Incredible's rejection to having a partner, that he holds a grudge for 15 years in order to get revenge on all supers. Aside from that, there seems to be a role model relationship between Helen and Violet. Such phrases as, "That's my girl," seem to further the family unit focus of the movie.
Appeal of Elastigirl
Elastigirl finds more has changed in 15 years From forums dedicated to "The Incredibles" on IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, IGN.com, to personal blogsites, and even online film reviews, there is a question--obviously by male viewers--on whether or not it is right to say the characters of Mirage and Elastigirl are sexy eye-candy.
Take for instance part of a review from InnerArt.com (http://www.innerart.com/performancespace/#incredibles) of "The Incredibles":
Since this is animation, we lose out on the pleasure of Holly [Hunter] in the flesh, but Elastigirl certainly fills out a lycra spandex suit in the best possible way. In one of the little character moments that this film is filled with, Elastigirl has just donned her superhero uniform for the first time in 15 years. She is walking down a corridor in the bad guy’s hideout being pursued by his storm trooper guards. As she passed a polished metal panel for a moment, angles her backside for a better view and like any housewife trying on a bathing suit for the first time of the summer, has that "Do I look fat in this?" look on her face. Moments like that will sail right over the head of any one who isn’t old enough to vote, but lots of the audience had moments like this and it rings true.
Aside from her apparent assets that adds a certain physical sex appeal, Helen represents the ideal companion, or "Miss Right."
A poster brought out an interesting point about the attraction to the character on an IMDB thread (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317705/board/nest/13648301):
I think that's why so many find her "hot." She is the ideal life-mate. Smart, capable, funny, sweet, loyal, strong, sexy... Her heat is what we bring to her.
Interestingly, Helen isn't the vulnerable one in the Parr family. Actually, her husband Bob seems to be. Helen seems to utilize her powers even as a stay-at-home mother/wife, holding the reins in the family---much like many women in everyday life---and is just as perceptive, not only of the children, but of Bob's whereabouts and demeanor.
We may not see an upsurge of human/CGI character relations, similar to what was seen in Cool World or Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but it may be an interesting "what if" situation for Brad Bird, or any director, to tackle in the future.
Additional Images of Elastigirl
External links
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