Musings in Search of a Muse

The only goal I accomplished today was to visit my local theater to watch The Incredibles. That was probably my best goal in a while, too. Being a Pixar production I knew the animation was going to be state-of-the-art or better and that the story would be good. What I didn't know is that the story would be great, the characters would be fully developed, and it would be filled with subtleties that most live-action movies don't have -- not just the inside jokes that often litter these films.

The story: You've probably heard the basics of the plot like the need for superheroes to settle into "normal" lives and the family dynamic. What you may not have heard is that the story is also about the mid-life crises that hit men, women, and their relationships. It is also an examination of the transition from being a young adult to full adulthood by looking at two characters -- one with a loving family and one without. And it's also one heck of an action yarn. I wish more movies had actual stories and not just a hook that they keep playing on. This is what made The Mummy (1999) better than The Mummy Returns (2001).

The characters: Having a family of superheroes is probably not a new idea, but these characters are surprisingly well developed for not coming from a prior work like Spiderman or Superman. Even though we don't know their whole backstory there is a definite feeling that it's there and is driving even their most minor behaviors. Sadness, joy, love, remorse, and frustration are just some of the emotions that are superbly portrayed with great animation and truly fine voice work.

The subtleties: All the characters are alive and doing something, even the extras, at all times. And their activities are all driven, as mentioned above, by being made as much like real people as the crew could make them. Elastigirl checking out how her new supersuit makes her butt look is the most obvious of these. But anyone who has watched James Bond movies will recognize elements of the various pre-title card action sequences such as the stealth music, the missions, the gadgets, and more. And the script isn't afraid to make fun of the superhero genre with jokes about villainous monologues, more jokes about needlessly complicated traps or silly methods of imprisoning the hero, and a great sequence on the stupidity of uniform capes that quietly becomes a major part of the story. Even the closing credits were worth watching though they don't have the now-obligatory scripted "outtakes" that will almost certainly be added in a few weeks to boost the box office. I look forward to seeing the movie again to catch things I missed the first time. And it's already on my list of DVDs to own.