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Movies: The Incredibles
Monday, 2004 November 29 - 11:56 pm
Just goes to show, animated films really can have interesting stories and characters.

I always find it interesting to compare Pixar and Dreamworks productions side by side. In Pixar films, you get rich storytelling, complex character development, and genuine emotion. In Dreamworks films, you get fart jokes and shallow morality fables. These days, Pixar is unmatched in animated film development, even easily surpassing its one-time parent/partner, Disney.

With "The Incredibles", Pixar has done it again. It's the story of Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), a superhero forced into retirement and hiding after being sued for saving a man attempting suicide. He hangs up his uniform, and along with his wife Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) and their kids, he tries to eke out a suburban lifestyle as an insurance claims adjuster. His yearning for the glory days of his youth is just one of the numerous grown-up-oriented themes in this movie, themes that really make the movie appealing to adults as well as kids.

While sneaking off trying to relive some of his superhero lifestyle, Mr. Incredible suddenly finds himself in the middle of a villainous plot that requires him and his family to take on their superhero personalities again. From this, the real action ensues. And believe me, the action sequences are gripping and visually spectacular. (For parents with young kids, note that some bits will be pretty scary for toddlers, and there's a fair amount of cartoon death and destruction.)

But all that action eye candy takes a back seat to the movie's sincere and heartfelt emotion. Really, it's a movie about recapturing lost dreams, about maintaining family connections, and about love. This is probably about as good as animated films can get.

Rating: 4.5 / 5
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Posted by Ken in: moviesreviews

Comments

Comment #1 from Jen (Guest)
2004 Nov 30 - 1:31 am : #
I don't generally like animated films, but I'll probably see this one just because everyone has raved about it.
Comment #2 from Javi (Guest)
2004 Nov 30 - 1:36 pm : #
noodles - spot on about the difference between pixar and dreamworks - i sit with my mouth agape at all the praise the shrek movies get and wonder if i was put alone on this earth. the fact that shrek - featuring the umpteenth rehash of michael meyers's "i'm scottish, isn't that FUNNY?" schtick - beat "monsters, inc." a movie with a real plot, characters, storytelling and ingenuity for an oscar is a crime. no doubt, dreamworks is to pixar what pcs are to macs (with apologies to all non-mac-cultists out there).
Comment #3 from Ken (realkato)
2004 Nov 30 - 4:45 pm : #
I almost made that PC-to-Mac analogy myself. I also wanted to write something with Golden Corral or Wal-Mart representing DreamWorks, but I couldn't think of well-known stores and restaurants that would appropriately complete the analogy.

And yeah, I'm dreadfully tired of Mike Myers' fake Scottish accent too.

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