An Incredible Review

The Incredibles

Herald rating: *****

Yes, five stars. Why? Because this is a movie that succeeds on so many levels and the two-disk DVD simply takes it to a new level, a home entertainment smash that will appeal across the generations.

It’s from Pixar Studios, which created the Toy Story/Buzz Lightyear franchise, A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc and Finding Nemo, written and directed by Brad Bird, the guy behind The Iron Giant.

As the movie opens, Mr Incredible is a comic-book superhero who zaps around the city fighting crime and saving people. Sometimes the people don’t want to be saved, so Mr Incredible faces lawsuits for unlawful rescue.

Under the Superhero Relocation Programme, Mr Incredible (voice: Craig T. Nelson) moves to the suburbs with his wife, the superhero formerly known as Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) and their children, Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dashiell (Spencer Fox) and Jack Jack (Eli Fucile, Maeve Andrews).

Fifteen years later our superheroes have been relocated into suburban anonymity as the Parr family. Bob works in an insurance office. Helen raises the kids: Violet, a teenager whose can turn invisible and create force fields; Dash, the super-runner who has to slow down to compete at the school sports; and Jack Jack, who will be extremely useful when he’s potty-trained.

Bob spends a lot of his time with Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), another superhero in the protection programme, who freezes things. They tell their families they’re going bowling when they sneak out at nights to tell lies about the good old days.

Old and new lives will collide when Mirage (Elizabeth Pena) lures him to a Pacific island where Mr Incredible will have to battle Omnidroid 7, member of a robot race created by the evil Syndrome (Jason Lee), who took the dark path when he felt rejected by Mr Incredible as a kid.

He now wants to set up as a superpower by unleashing his robots on an unsuspecting world.

Some will see The Incredibles as a spoof of superhero comics. Some will see it as a satire on the blandness of Middle American life. Some may find a takeoff of Bond movies. Yes, it’s smart and savvy. Unless you’re a kid: then you’ll just see it as a whole lotta fun.

Phew! Smartly aimed at the kids and dads (or Poppa), the DVD contains more extras than you could throw a cloak at. Bird’s first opportunity to revel in the limelight comes with the making-of documentary, followed by video diaries and 10 behind-the-scenes features. The three bonus cartoon features are included – Mr Incredible And Pals, Jack Jack Attack and Boundin’ – and six deleted scenes, including an alternative opening.

Interactive features include Top Secret NSA Files, describing even more superheroes and indicating that we’re not far off enjoying The Incredibles 2, and Incredi-Blunders, an animated version of the usual blooper reel.

* DVD, Video rental today