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COPYRIGHT 2004 All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of The Condé Nast Publications Inc.
The Current Cinema
The Film File
Meet Bob, Helen, Violet the teen-age grump, her younger brother Dash, and baby Jack Jack. These are the Parrs, their very name redolent of the decently average. They are the stars of "The Incredibles," the latest offering from Pixar, which remains, at the time of writing, part of Disney. (A family that's far less functional than the Parrs, by the way.) Unlike Pixar's "Finding Nemo," that backward blend of the scaly and the sentimental, the new movie, written and directed by Brad Bird, shares with the studio's "Toy Story" and "Monsters, Inc." a sprightly central conceit. Years ago, Bob and Helen Parr were superheroes--Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl. He was mostly knuckles and chin, whereas she was as limber as it is possible to be without consulting the Kama Sutra. Together, they competed to punish villainy, although, even then, you sensed that their supremacy might fade--hence the beautiful, end-of-day shot of Elastigirl cartwheeling away over the rooftops, her legs stretching like gum as she loops out of sight. Jump forward fifteen years and the pair of crime-fighters are happier, because they are married with children, but sadder, because they are surplus to civic requirements. Anti-hero litigation raised its head, the cops now handle crime, and, by government decree, Bob and Helen are forbidden to exercise their powers outside the home. He works in insurance, she raises the kids. So, how can they stay super?
As you might guess,...
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