An Incredible Pixar tale! (The Incredibles (Collector's Edition, 2 DVDs))

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	The Incredibles (Collector's Edition, 2 DVDs)
Date:	01/03/08 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great film

Disadvantages: None really, apart from the PG rating, so younger kids miss out on this Pixar marvel

Pixar is an animation company now owned by The Walt Disney Company. Their CGI work has won them multiple awards. 'The Incredibles' is the sixth Pixar film, released in 2004 before the company was bought by Disney.

The Plot

It is the tale of Supers, superheroes in a time when they are everywhere, saving society left, right and centre and being hailed by the public and the media. This all goes wrong when one Super gets sued, opening the floodgates for further instances of suing. The Supers have to conceal their identities and relocate, starting regular jobs and hiding with their families, essentially starting a new life.

The most famous Super is Mr. Incredible, and his wife is Elastigirl. They restart their lives as Bob and Helen Parr, and have three children, Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack. Yet Bob still yearns for the time when he was a Super, and he gets his chance when a secret radio call is made to him. He responds, and is soon recruited to undertake a covert operation on a desert island. The story then unfolds as complications take place, and pretty soon the rest of the world becomes endangered, and only a 'Super' effort can restore normality!

The cast of voices provided for the Incredibles is impressive, and includes the following stars:

Bob Parr (Mr Incredible): Craig T Nelson
Helen Parr (Elastigirl): Holly Hunter
Frozone: Samuel L Jackson
Syndrome: Jason Lee

Jason Lee is brilliant in his over-exuberance as wannabe Super Syndrome. He brings an intensity to the film which is in keeping with the superhero nature of it, but not with the family aspect provided by Nelson and Hunter as the relocated family. Samuel L Jackson provides excellent support acting, as usual. The casting is good, as the characters are very believable. I would have liked to have seen a bit more development of some of the characters, and there are some points in the film which make it hard for parents to feel comfortable letting their kids see it all unsupervised, but this is why it is rated PG.

The CGI from Pixar is amazing, as usual. All characters are human, something which was new for Pixar, but there is fluid motion and the figures are believable, although deliberately caricatured.

But the thing that stood out for me was not necessarily the characters but the way they were incorporated into each scene of the film. The scriptors have used the powers of the Supers very well to create situations and develop them. A brilliant example of this involves Elastigirl and a series of automatic doors. The combination of the Supers' powers at times is well worked, too.

The DVD extras on this double-disc addition are very helpful and interesting. As well as the feature film on disc 1, there is also the Filmakers' Audio Commentary, where the film is shown with a commentary explaining what they were trying to do at each point in the film. The second disc contains further extras, including two Animated Shorts, one involving Jack-Jack and his babysitter, the other entitled 'Boundin'. There are also deleted scenes and 'outtakes', and a blooper reel, as well as a very interesting 'Making Of' documentary, which goes behind the scenes of The Incredibles. This provides a wonderful insight into the world of Pixar. The film runs for 111 minutes and is a PG certificate.

I loved this film, and rate it as four stars. My 4-year-old son also loved it, but there are some moments which require the PG rating. A bit of peril and some scary moments involving a machine. Other than that, I found it appropriate for my son.

The Incredibles is available from amazon.co.uk for £7.98 new, £5.00 used.

This review may also be found on ciao.co.uk

Thanks for reading.

Summary: Pixar's 6th fim, The Incredibles.