Starring: voices of Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson and Craig T. Nelson (Animation film)
Director: Brad Bird
Rated: PG
IN 1995 a fledging film company burst onto the international scene with a film entitled Toy Story. It grossed $192 million.
Pixar went on make Toy Story 2, A Bug’s Life, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo.
Here they are again spinning their animation magic with The Incredibles, but this time around there are worrying developments.
The Incredibles refers to a collective of super action heroes who prowl American city streets ready to right a wrong as soon as they can get their costume on.
These include, among many others, Mr Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) and Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson).
After a few unfortunate incidents the government outlaws these action hero vigilantes and they are forced to live in suburban obscurity.
Even so Mr Incredible and Frozone moonlight late at night on the super hero beat.
After several years as Mr and Mrs Parr, Mr Incredible and Elastigirl, together with their gifted children Dash (Spencer Fox), Violet (Sarah Vowell) and Honey (Kimberly Adair Clark), are called into action to fight the arch villain Syndrome (Jason Lee).
The animation in The Incredibles is worthy of Pixar’s stellar reputation. Every film sees their animatic ability advance to a new level of sophistication.
What is disappointing in this film is that unlike most of the other recent Pixar films, The Incredibles lacks heart.
Part of Pixar’s brilliance has been to take simple stories about toys, fish and monsters and given them so much spirit that we really care about the characters and their destinies.
Maybe it’s the action hero thing, or the large scale drama upon which they embark, but what happens to the Parrs does not engage the viewer in any way like Nemo did.
Furthermore, the violence, animated though it be, is fairly full on, so be warned that The Incredibles is, sadly, not for younger children.
