The Incredibles (2004)
Article 5697 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 9-27-2019
Directed by Brad Bird
Featuring the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson. Holly Hunter
Country: USA
What it is: Animated superhero action

When superheroes fall out of favor, a family of them goes incognito and tries to live an ordinary life. However, a supervillain is out to destroy all of the superheroes for his own profit, and they must do battle with him.

I’m not particularly keen on superheroes, but I saw this one in a theater when it first came out on the strength of Pixar’s reputation and my admiration for Brad Bird’s THE IRON GIANT. It was well worth the effort; I can confidently say that of the superhero movies I’ve seen, I like this one the best. In fact, it made me realize that I’d rather see well-made movies featuring new and original superheroes rather than the well-worn Marvel and D.C. ones that dominate the movies. I love the way the family life / family problems motif dovetails with the superhero sections, and I really like the characters, especially the Edith Head-inspired superhero costumer Edna Mode (voiced by Brad Bird himself). And, like THE IRON GIANT, Brad Bird can’t resist throwing in a few fifties SF movie references; the underground traveling machine near the end of the movie looks very familiar, and I love the clever reference involving Syndrome’s computer password.