Movie Reviews

Is Pixar ever going to make a bad movie? At the rate they've been going, it doesn't seem like it's going to happen anytime soon.

The Incredibles is another great film from the makers of other classics like the Toy Story series, A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc., and Finding Nemo. This time around, the director in charge of the film is Brad Bird, the man responsible for one of my all-time favourite animated movies, The Iron Giant (it's a real shame that not many people have seen that one).

Mr. and Mrs. Incredible -- and many of their old friends -- used to be superheroes, and their super-heroics used to be appreciated by the public; that is, until a string of questionable lawsuits brought against them forced them into hiding, where they had to acquire 'normal' jobs and lead 'normal' lives. For Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, this also meant raising three children and forcing them to refrain from using their innate superpowers. When an opportunity arises for Mr. Incredible to begin using his powers again, he jumps at it, not knowing that his new 'job' could have terrible consequences for his family and for civilization as a whole.

The Incredibles lives up to its name in a lot of areas. It's smart and funny enough for older viewers, yet bright, colourful, and fun enough for really young kids, too. Of note is the fact that it's fairly long for a Disney/Pixar film, and is a touch slow to get started (the extra time is well-used though, to establish the 'superhero-in-hiding' scenario, and to really get to know the whole Incredible family). Also, the Pixar "magic" that has permeated all their previous films was a little less evident here (by this I mean that, in my opinion, Pixar is best at making non-human characters come alive -- something that obviously isn't done here because the characters are human).

Still, The Incredibles easily continues Pixars streak of producing great, wonderfully-animated films that everyone can enjoy.