Director Brad Bird may not be a household name but he should be. He directed the wonderful “Iron Giant” and worked as executive consultant on “The Simpsons”. Now I enjoyed “Finding Nemo”, but it suggested that Pixar were finally giving in to the Disney sacred childhood ethic. It was good but a touch saccharine at times. Thank God then for Brad Bird who has brought a darker sensibility to the CG company’s output. The gags have more bite to them (witness Edna’s beautifully illustrated diatribe against capes; “Look what happened to Stratogirl – sucked into a jet engine!”) and the characters take on the air of the disgruntled everyman (like Bob taking his frustration out on his car in souped-up Basil Fawlty style). Going against the Disney grain, people die in horrible (but often hilarious) ways. The titular family is far from perfect and there is plenty of bickering and backbiting to go around, reminding us of everyone’s favourite animated TV family. The characters are in the main, recognisable sit-com staples that the audience can identify with, with a handful of weird and wonderful wildcards thrown in.

The production design has a late 1950s’ to early 1960s’ retro-futuristic flavour to it, with the Parrs’ home looking like an exhibit in an ideal home show of the period. It all ties into a parody of the golden age of James Bond movies. Everything from the costumes to the score add to the super-spy-referencing gambit. There are glamorous girls, gadgets, gizmo-filled cars, inventors and double lives; I mean the super-villain has a lair inside a volcano! And there are plenty of nods at villains’ tendencies to launch into monologues at inappropriate moments. The distinction between the real and superhero worlds are reflected in the characters’ surroundings, with flat colours and hard edges illustrating the mundanity of Bob’s office, while his nemesis’ lair is made of curves and brilliant shades and colours. Similarly a great deal of attention to detail has gone into the design of the heroes’ costumes, with an alarming array of colours and textures being used to capture the superhero vibe in lycra and PVC. Frozone dresses and moves like a speed skater, while Elastigirl’s body and outfit take on all manner of shapes as she stretches all over the place.

The jokes come thick and fast, incorporating sight gags (like Mr Incredible squeezed into a tiny car, or throwing his back out as he takes on a monstrous foe), character and situation comedy (Elastigirl finding out her husband has been secretly helping people after fining rubble on his collar) and cartoon violence by the bucketload. There are also plenty of one-liners to savour like “They’re penetrating bureaucracy!” There are some real surprises, in the tradition of all the best superhero and spy movies, though some plot twists are obvious. The biggest and funniest shock, though is when baby Jack-Jack’s powers come to the fore. I laughed so hard I nearly choked on my popcorn.

This being a Pixar movie, there is of course a short preceding the main feature. It is a wonderfully odd creation called “Boundin’” that combines folksy vocals and the tale of a fluffy little lamb whose pride comes before a very big fall. It’s worth seeing just for the oddity value. It plays like a 3D take on the earliest animated shorts where all the characters danced about continually, just because they could. I was particularly fond of the hopping mad owl and the “Whack-a-Mole” gophers. And the Jackalope is clearly the product of a deranged mind.