The Incredibles (2004)
- To accurately portray their role in The Incredibles, Craig T. Nelson spent weeks conducting hands-on research and rehearsing directly with director Brad Bird.
- The Incredibles utilized mostly practical sets and locations to ground the story, a specific choice insisted upon by Brad Bird.
The Incredibles is a 2004 American animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and written and directed by Brad Bird. The film follows Bob Parr, a formerly celebrated superhero known as Mr. Incredible, who has been forced into suburban anonymity along with all other superheroes after a wave of lawsuits forces the government to ban superhero activity.
Now working a soul-crushing job at an insurance company and struggling with his mundane middle-aged existence, Bob is lured back into action by a mysterious employer, setting off a chain of events that ultimately requires his entire super-powered family โ wife Helen (Elastigirl), daughter Violet, son Dash, and baby Jack-Jack โ to work together to defeat a new villain. Brad Bird had originally developed The Incredibles at Warner Bros. before bringing the project to Pixar, and his background in traditional animation at Disney and his work on The Iron Giant gave the film a sophisticated sensibility that distinguished it from Pixar's other family offerings. The Incredibles was notable for being one of the first animated films to deal with distinctly adult themes โ midlife crisis, marital strain, workplace dissatisfaction, and the tension between exceptional talent and enforced mediocrity โ wrapped in a thrilling action-adventure package.
Michael Giacchino's brassy, jazz-inflected score, inspired by 1960s spy films, became iconic and perfectly complemented the film's retro-futuristic aesthetic. The Incredibles earned $631 million worldwide and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film. The film's exploration of family dynamics through the lens of superhero abilities โ each family member's power reflecting their personality and role โ has been praised as among the most clever conceits in animated filmmaking.
