Incredibles, The - Collector's Edition

Rating: PG

Distributor: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Release Date: March 15, 2005
Review posted: March 14, 2005

Reviewed by Dennis Landmann

SYNOPSIS

From director Brad Bird (The Iron Giant) comes this action-packed animated adventure about the mundane and incredible lives of a house full of superheroes. Bob Parr and his wife Helen used to be among the world's greatest crime fighters, saving lives and battling evil on a daily basis. Fifteen years later, they have been forced to adopt civilian identities and retreat to the suburbs where they live "normal" lives with their three kids, Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack. Itching to get back into action, Bob gets his chance when a mysterious communication summons him to a remote island for a top secret assignment. He soon discovers that it will take a super family effort to rescue the world from total destruction.

CRITIQUE

The Incredibles demonstrates once again that Pixar produces the best (computer) animated films. The studio's track record is impressive, both in terms of box office and critical acclaim. Like Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo making my top ten lists of years prior, The Incredibles is among my top thirteen favorite movies of 2004.

Brad Bird's screenplay doesn't tell the straightforward story of a superhero defeating a nemesis. Instead, he includes a twist: after public outcry and demonstrations, superheroes are forced to go into hiding and live as normal people. This twist and how the Parr family, especially husband Bob, adjusts to the new way of life makes the movie interesting to watch. Bird also infuses the script with a variety of fun but realistic nuances, which gives the movie comedic edge. On the other hand, there are several action sequences that are more graphic than I would've expected, so younger viewers may become a bit scared, but the action is never glorified. It's also interesting to note because of some of the action violence this is the first Pixar movie with a PG rating, and also the first Pixar movie featuring only human characters (previously featuring fish, monsters, ants, and toys).

Another area that makes The Incredibles a good movie are the characters, which are portrayed as lifelike and fun, with great voice work from Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter as the married couple, Samuel L. Jackson as Frozone and Bob's best friend, Jason Lee as Syndrome, Brad Bird as Edna, and many others. As far as the special effects go, they're terrific. Every little detail is carefully animated and the action sequences in the movie's third act are executed brilliantly. Adding to the excitement of the action are great sound effects, and Michael Giacchino's original and James Bond-inspired score offers plenty of cool music. The only (small) downside is the movie's running time of 115 minutes, which is a bit long for an animated feature.

THE VIDEO

Buena Vista presents The Incredibles in 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture presentation comes directly from Pixar's digital source. The results are pretty good, as colors look crisp and vibrant. Sharpness and detail are top notch, meaning excellent. There's nothing to complain about, except perhaps a few flaws that will be noticeable to only the trained eye, but there's nothing wrong with the presentation that I could see.

THE AUDIO

Buena Vista presents The Incredibles in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX. The sound effects and music by Michael Giacchino are very nicely reproduced across all channels, with surround sound evident in most scenes, especially the action sequences. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand as well, with excellent sound presentation from the front speakers.

THE EXTRAS

The first disc starts with a one-minute introduction from Brad Bird who welcomes consumers to the DVD.

Two audio commentaries are featured, one with writer/director Brad Bird and producer John Walker, and another with a group of Pixar animators. The discussions on both tracks range from interesting to mediocre to silence. Bird and Walker's commentary is informative in spots, with discussion on story, characters, and more, while the animators' commentary is of technical nature, obviously, and includes some interesting tidbits.

Also available on the first disc are a series of sneak peeks, or trailers, that play when the DVD loads. A THX-optimizer is also featured.

The second disc contains all the meat, starting with another introduction by Brad Bird welcoming you to the bonus material and explaining a few things.

Jack-Jack Attack (4:40) is the exclusive animated short that shows what happened to Kari the babysitter when she took care of Jack who discovered his powers. This is a very fun short presented in anamorphic widescreen, and adds to the experience of the movie.

Next are a series of deleted scenes that run a total of thirty four minutes in length. An alternate opening is also available. Before each scene Brad Bird and Mark Andrews (who provides voices in the film) offer brief comments, and they also appear in a roughly two-minute introduction where they explain the reasons for cutting some scenes.

The Behind the Scenes department offers a variety of extras, including Making of The Incredibles (27:24) and More Making of The Incredibles (40:53), which breaks down into ten featurettes that show different areas of production: Story, Character Design, E volution, Building Humans, Building Extras, Set Design, Sound, Music, Lighting, and Tools. There's plenty of footage and information gained from these two making-of's - it's good stuff.

Next is a brief blooper reel called Incredi-Blunders (1:42) that offers flubbed lines and animation mishaps but not many laughs. Vowellett - An Essay by Sara Vowell (9:21) is an audio feature in which the voice actor offers her thoughts on the character. Also available is an art gallery that shows various concept designs and a publicity gallery that features character interviews (6:30), the teaser trailer (2:03), the theatrical trailer (1:58), and the second theatrical trailer (2:33).

Included in the Top Secret department is the rather cheesy 60s-style four-minute Mr. Incredible & Pals cartoon and an in-character commentary by Craig T. Nelson and Samuel L. Jackson on the cartoon. Much more interesting that this is the National Supers Agency (NSA) Files, a cool, massive and informative archive of information on the main supers and various other supers (a total of 21), some glimpsed in the movie. Each file lists the supers' powers and possible weaknesses, as well as personality traits. An optional audio diary for each character reveals even more information, which is interesting and fun to listen to (as well as nicely written and performed).

Next up is the short film Boundin' (4:40), presented here in anamorphic widescreen, that screened in front of The Incredibles in theaters. Commentary is available by writer/director Bud Luckey, as is the four-minute Who Is Bud Luckey featurette.

The 115-minute feature is organized into a healthy thirty-two chapters.

FINAL THOUGHT

The Incredibles, a fun, smart and action-oriented animated feature, comes highly recommended because the DVD features great video/audio quality and cool supplements.

VERDICT: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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