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Member since:06.07.2003
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I’m a fan of Pixar’s films, and the Dreamworks ones too. Ever since Toy Story pioneered the feature-length computer-animated format, I’ve been hooked.
<A short history of the genre>
I was sceptical about Toy Story. It’d be a kids film, with graphics and animation that’d just about pass as acceptable for kids – but be inadequate for my own discerning eye.
Boy, was I in for a shock. Pixar were smart enough to know that the quality of the animation was, above all, vitally important. But they were smarter than that, too. Lighting, storyline, humour, characters, music – everything just gelled beautifully, and they created a very funny film for kids and adults alike, that could stand watching again and again.
From that point onwards, every film, from either Pixar or Dreamworks, has added a little more to the genre. The characters have been developed further. The concepts have become both more clever, and better executed. And the animation has become eye-poppingly good.
Toy Story 2, Shrek, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo
and Shrek 2 – all have advanced the cause of this genre in their own ways. Personally, I think Monsters Inc is the pick of those films. And Finding Nemo is the weakest of them – not rubbish, by any means, but, well, just less outstanding.
<The Incredibles storyline>
I struggle to bring myself to understand how this ever made it past concept stage. Someone rushes into the exec’s office and exclaims ‘I’ve got a GREAT idea! We’ll create a whole FAMILY of superheros, but like most families these days, they’re dysfunctional!’. Me, I’d have binned the idea straight away. Thankfully, some greater mind took the decision to run with it.
Here we have two superheros – Mr Incredible and Elastigirl. They fall foul of a spate of lawsuits against superheros (people being saved who actually wanted to commit suicide, etc), and the government orders them (along with all the other ‘Supers’) to cease their derring-do and good-deeds. They get married and try to settle down to a normal life – Mrs Incredible bringing up their children, Dash, Violet and Jack-Jack, and Mr Incredible is reduced to being Bob (or as the Americans would have it, ‘Baaaaaab’), a lowly insurance clerk who’s always in trouble with the boss.
As a result of the frustration and tension of not being able to help others in need, Mr & Mrs Incredible are always arguing, and meanwhile Dash and Violet are squabbling like any young brother and sister would.
Events then take a sinister turn (trying not to give too much away here), and the whole, squabbling family are drawn into the situation to try and save the world (they ARE Supers, after all…).
The trick they’ve managed to pull off is that all the cute little references to the way couples, families, little boys and little girls behave are not dwelled-upon. They’re just little side-references in the overall story. Enough to get the gags, but not enough to make you sick of them before the end of the film. A trick that many live-action American movies would do well to emulate… Ultimately, though, the result of this subtlety is that The Incredibles probably has a higher ratio of adult-oriented gags to kids ones than any other Pixar film to date.
<The Incredibles production>
Yet again, I was blown away by how impressive this film is. You’d think that by this stage, we’d all be getting used to the imagination and creativity that has become such a staple of the genre. But, no. The ‘sets’ are jaw-droppingly well thought through, with the added bonus of a subtle reference to the 60s throughout (check out the VERY cool titles!). The characters are sheer genius. Again, though, the subtle way that their little character-traits are incorporated into the plot is brilliant.
The Bond-baddie-esque scenes are pulled-off brilliantly, while adding imaginative sequences that would simply be impossible with live-action (or at least prohibitively expensive!).
What I also quite liked about this film was the way that the outstanding graphics and animation weren’t thrust in your face. This was my only (minor) criticism of Shrek 2 – while I was watching it, I felt that a couple of scenes in there were only put in to showboat the animators’ latest tricks. Not an issue with the Incredibles. All you’re left with a few thoughts rolling around your head after the film ends, along the lines of ‘Oh, yeah, I remember that bit – it was so COOL!’.
The DVD 2-disc collectors’ edition has the usual Pixar high-quality extras – 2 short films and ‘out-takes’, plus a making of documentary, and several other little pieces.
<Conclusions>
I haven’t quite made up my mind yet whether this supplants Monsters Inc as my favourite film of the genre. What is clear, though, is that it’s difficult to choose between them. They’re both entertaining, imaginative, ingenious, insightful. Oh alright, then… and incredible.
<Where to find it>
You should find it on DVD for around £15 or £16 in most shops or online. You shouldn’t have to pay anything like the alleged RRP of £22.99, that’s for sure. On video, you’ll probably find it for around £14.50.
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Do you know...I've not seen this yet - MUST rent it, methinks! Great review x
mattygroves 24.05.2005 14:42
I'd be curious to know what you thought of Bounding. And did you find the Easter Eggs (I've found all but the sock puppets). By the way, did you know that a goldfish has an attention span of seven seconds? Cheers Kate
Mar 27th, 2005
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