"The Incredibles," Pixar's marvelous take on the superhero movie, gets a Blu-ray treatment worthy of a film of its stature.
In using what is historically a child's medium to offer a treatise on adulthood, Pixar created a memorable, thrilling origin story about a family of superheroes led by Bob Parr (voice of Craig T. Nelson) — once a superhero named Mr. Incredible, who now fights middle-age spread and a world that no longer allows him to be relevant — and Helen Parr (voice of Holly Hunter), his wife, who has domesticated him and just wants to lead a normal life for them and their three children.
Here's the deal for the uninformed: After Mr. Incredible saved a man in the midst of a suicide attempt, he injured that man, leading to lawsuits and eventually the abolition of costumed, super-powered vigiliantes.
Bob and Helen, then went underground, living in suburbia and having children. Years later, former superheroes start disappearing just as a mysterious figure contacts Mr. Incredible, hoping to call upon his powers for a special project.
Turns out that mysterious figure is Syndrome (voice of Jason Lee), a burgeoning supervillain who has his own reasons for hating Mr. Incredible. The resulting battle will put at risk the lives of Parr's entire family and indeed the entire world.
"The Incredibles" is an almost perfect film. It brings an emotional connection to the characters, as well as note-perfect action sequences, a terrific sense of humor (that never strays toward lame pop-culture gags, giving it a timeless feeling when such contemporaries as "Shrek" are already showing their ages) and the sense that this is in fact a real family. It's everything that Fox's "Fantastic Four" movies should have been but for a lack of talent and attention by the filmmakers (and indeed this family has a lot in common with the Richards/Storm/Grimm clan).
Bob's arc is especially resonant, and in many ways, it's his film. He laments not only his own forced restraint, but that he's passed that trait to his son, who has to keep his super speed a secret and, as a result, can't do what other boys take for granted, such as playing sports. But all of the Incredibles have their own arcs: Helen feels betrayed and suspects the increasingly absent Bob is losing his attraction to her and straying; Dash's own restraint causes him to lash out behaviorally, leading to problems at school; and Violet, at that awkward preteen age where she feels invisible to everyone, literally is so.
Memorable background characters abound. There's the diminutive, flamboyant costume designer Edna Mode, who builds an excellent case against a hero wearing a cape. Frozone (voice of Samuel L. Jackson) is an Iceman-like hero who is Bob's best friend. And then there are the villains whose egos prove to be their undoing when, faced with certain victory, they fall into "monologuing," long-windedly explaining their vile plans and giving the heroes the chance to escape and regroup.
The plentiful bonus features include a terrific second disc that includes the artists who worked on the film discussing their involvement, "Easter Eggs" that includes a tribute to the strange assortment of buttons, doors and explosions in the film, a gag reel, and material recycled from the DVD release (which is conveniently labeled as such). Disc 1 features the short film "Jack Jack Attack," which explains what happens to Kari the babysitter and the baby of the Parr family during a key section of the film, the "Boundin' " short that preceded the film in theaters, and a filmmaker's roundtable featurette. You will also get the film on DVD and a digital copy.
This set is a must-own, whether you're a fan of animated films, superhero movies, Pixar, Disney or movies in general.
Film: 5 Yaps Extras: 5 Yaps