The Incredibles
Not only is this movie adorably awesome, it’s intelligent and reflective of huge themes in modern culture. First and foremost, you have the abandoned superhero problem – what is a superhero’s worth to a society who doesn’t want his or her help? The Parr’s have to live with their powers, but keep them quiet; they have to hide who they are to be ‘normal’, something Violet says they know absolutely nothing about. Dash wants to be on the track team, but his mother won’t let him because she knows he’d excel effortlessly… and show off his powers. She says ‘everybody’s special’ in the car on the way home, and Dash angrily says that thats ‘another way of saying no one is.’ It’s funny that he and his family dwell so much on being different; Bob’s distraction and disinterest in his work, Helen’s child-rearing, and Dash’s and Violet’s constant arguments are definitely within the scope of normal for a family. I love the scene of the fight at dinner, where Dash and Violet end up using their powers against one another, and Helen tries to sort them out with her elastic arms. It’s a great image… definitely reminds me of my mother when my sister and I went at it as kids. The movie reinforces the family dynamic at the same time as it pushes forward the ‘super’ theme, and the idea that they’re in hiding: when the doorbell rings, they sort out in a split second.
So family and superpowers factor in huge, obviously. Next was the marriage dynamic, which I think was definitely part of what made the movie work for an older audience as well as a younger one. At the start of the movie, Elastigirl didn’t want to settle down… she marries Mr. Incredible, the country turns on superheroes, and suddenly she’s June Cleaver. She raises the kids while Bob brings the money in. After Mirage recruits Mr. Incredible for Syndrome’s machine, and Helen begins to fear that Bob is cheating on her, it becomes apparent that he’s going out on superhero jobs as well, and she calls enough enough and decides to go after him, inadvertantly bringing the kids along. They end up working through their family issues while working to save each other’s lives, and eventually also the city Syndrome threatens.
I love everything about this movie, but most of all the resolution. Bob and Helen resolve their marital issues, Violet stops being so shy, Dash goes out for the track team and takes second place in his race… not to mention Jack-Jack’s wonderful transformation… its like it took that much trouble for them to realize that normal was there the whole time, just ‘special’ in moderation.
