The Invegeble

Big Bob Parr (voice of Craig T. Nelson) is a cone-shaped mountain of a guy, an ex-superhero doing time as a layperson in a world gone small - from his office cubicle to his aspirations. Married to superheroine, Elastigirl (voice of Holly Hunter), like every husband, he sneaks out at night occasionally to hang with the boys - in Bob's case, to fight crime as Mr. Incredible with his former teammate, Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson).

Bob's two kids have inherited superpowers as well: son, Dash, super speed and daughter, Violet, telekinesis and invisibility (think Invisible Girl from The Fantastic Four). (A discussion on how the genetic combination of super-strength and elasticity in the parents would yield super-speed and invisibility in the offspring would get us nowhere.)

This 3D-animation marvel is separated from its peers by its thematic thunder - sure, it gives us the usual "familial values," but digs deeper by making the characters smart enough to ponder their roles as super beings in a mediocre world. The parents know that provincialism denotes they must keep their powers/identities hidden and their children sheltered, but the kids don't understand why, raising Socratic questions about herd mentality and the conundrum of being "created equal" yet more gifted. Mom tells Dash, "Everyone's special" (which is its own special form of condescension) and Dash, instead of taking it like a Disney knockout punch - as most kids in these "family" movies are inculcated to accept - retorts (quite logically), "Which is another way of saying that nobody is."

And when the action comes, it delivers in ways that even some live-action superhero movies do not. And by this I mean, the whole group uses their powers efficiently and intelligently, working together to combat their threats, rather than getting taken down by some inane plot point which they could have easily escaped simply by being themselves.

And of course, there is the mandatory Group Hero Pose, perfected so gaily by N'Sync during their two-month heyday. (Apologies to my more sensitive readers for using the "N-word.")

Jason Lee voices the villain, Syndrome, whom the family team must combat to Save The Day.

Written and directed by Brad Bird (who does triple duty as Edna Mode, a fashion designer for the hero-conscious), the humor is wit, rather than slapstick, the heroism is moral rather than muscle-bound and the whole outlook is adult rather than kiddie - The Incredibles is as real a movie as a cartoon gets.


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