The Incredibles DVD Review (Pixar Animation Studios) Empire Movies

THE INCREDIBLES DVD REVIEW

The Incredibles
(Buena Vista Home Entertainment)

The Movie

The Extras

Reviewed by

9/10

Liam

Being a parent is difficult. At what point do you draw the line between what's entertaining and what's best for your child? That's why I so often find myself watching movies, particularly animated movies, with a fatherly eye first and a critical eye second. And while I personally loved everything about The Incredibles, it's another case where it's not the type of movie I'd allow my children to watch - at least not at their ages.

The movie tells the story of a family of superheroes who are forced into retirement by a litigious public. Really, I don't find the story that far-fetched. When you read stories in the papers about mothers suing their children, and children divorcing their parents, it's not difficult to believe a story about a person attempting suicide suing their rescuer. So the once all-powerful Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) is brought to his knees - by a lawyer. In hiding, however, Mr. Incredible can't give up his past. Much like a once-great athlete, he can't let go of the glory days and itches to get back into the game. Along with his old pal and fellow former superhero Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), Mr. Incredible secretly sneaks away at night, and huddles around a police scanner hoping for a little action. But when an opportunity to be a hero once more presents itself, and Mr. Incredible takes it, he jeopardizes everything he holds dear only to realize that he's not so incredible without the love and support of his wife and kids.

It's a great story with the eye-popping visuals that only a Pixar-animated movie could provide. But again, where do you draw the line? How do you explain suicide to a 5 year old? Or even a 10 year old for that matter? And I know it's a superhero flick, but are the sheer amount of guns, bombs and lasers really necessary? Sure Mr. Incredible learns a lesson about the value of family, but what lessons are we teaching our children by exposing them to such violence? And you can sit there and tell me that if parents don't want their kids to watch, they don't have to let them. But I personally know parents that think this type of movie is okay for a 4-5 year old - and I'm sorry to say that it isn't - and to try to defend it is inexcusable.

I guess I'm trying to say this. With a critical eye, I loved everything about this movie. But, with a fatherly eye, I blame irresponsible parents and advertisers who tell us that this type of movie, because it's a cartoon, is okay for young children.

Now that I've got that out of my system, I guess I should tell you a little about the DVD. The Incredibles comes as a 2-Disc Collector's Edition set. The first disc contains the feature plus two audio commentaries. The first, from director Brad Bird and producer John Walker is quite lively and provides a lot of information about the story, the characters and the movie-making process. The second commentary is provided by some of Pixar animators. This one is great in that the participants shed a lot of light on the making-of process and point out a lot of details that the untrained eye might've missed. Both commentaries are well worth a listen not only for fans of the movie, but also for anyone interested in animation in general. More disc-one features include some previews and a fun introduction by Brad Bird where he talks about using the THX optimizer to enhance the audio and video presentation of the DVD.

Switch to disc-two and you'll find the remaining special features. These too are introduced by Bird as he tells us that, although the movie is meant of the big screen, the movie as a home entertainment experience wouldn't be complete without checking out the extras. First, we get the animated short, "Jack-Jack Attack". In this one, the babysitter recounts her experiences sitting for Jack-Jack, the Incredibles' baby. Think of it as a little movie within the movie. Running just under 5 minutes, this one's good for a couple of laughs.

I'll take this time to point out an " Easter Egg ". If you wait long enough on the main menu, an icon appears in the upper right corner of the screen. Select the icon and you'll be treated to a montage of scenes from the movie involving people pressing buttons, doors opening and explosions.

Next, we get 6 deleted scenes. While the "play all" feature indicates that there are 34 minutes of deleted scenes, in reality a lot of that time is spent on introductions to the scenes by Brad Bird and story supervisor Mark Andrews. These two seem to have great fun here, and the scenes are worth checking out too. Similarly here, if you wait long enough, you'll get an icon leading to a hidden deleted scene.

After the deleted material, we get more than an hour of "Making of" featurettes. The first, titled "Making Of The Incredibles" gives us interviews and candid 'fly-on-the-wall' shots of the goings on behind-the-scenes at Pixar. Really, it just shows the fun (and challenges) these men and women had making this movie. On the main "Behind the Scenes" menu, wait long enough and you'll find an "Easter Egg" where Brad Bird pays tribute to two Disney legends, Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas.

Under "More Making Of The Incredibles", we get a more in-depth look at the making of the movie, focusing on different elements including the story, characters, the sound and music, lighting, etc. You name it, we look at it here. Again, wait a little and you'll find a hidden feature titled "He Scores" which shows a couple of different variations on one scene in the movie where one of the bad guys does a little victory dance before meeting his doom.

Incredi-blunders shows us some "animation goofs" with a built in laugh-track. Some are funny and some aren't.

Still "Behind The Scenes" we'll next find "Vowellett - An Essay by Sarah Vowell" which is a look at the voice of Violet, Mr. Incredible's daughter. She shows us a side of her that's really fun. She's a history buff and she's writing an essay about the assassination of some early US Presidents. This one's a bit odd in the context of the rest of the DVD, but still worth a watch.

Finally, we get an "Art Gallery" showing various art concepts from story to sets to characters (all of which could've used some audio track to make it less dry) and a "Publicity Gallery" featuring TV interviews with the characters from the movie, as well as the film's teaser and trailers. Here, you'll also find another "Easter Egg" where Dash plays keep away from Mr. Incredible with the TV remote.

After "Behind the Scenes" we get "Top Secret". Select this feature and you'll find a "long lost" episode of "The Adventures of Mr. Incredible". This is also available with commentary from Mr. Incredible and his buddy Frozone. Also here, you can find the "NSA Files" which provides some fun bios of a variety of different superheroes courtesy of our friends at the "National Supers Agency".

Finally, the disc contains the animated short "Boundin'" which played in theaters before The Incredibles. There's also the option of watching with commentary from writer/director Bud Luckey. Finally here, there's a feature titled "Who is Bud Luckey?" where we meet the man behind this short. Surprisingly, no "Easter Egg" here.

Overall, there's a lot of material here, and it is all well worth checking out. The kids will enjoy the shorts, and the adults will get a kick out of the featurettes, the best of which bring us inside Pixar. As with most animated movies, the only thing I could say I would've like to have seen would be more on the voices behind the characters. While we got a feature on the voice of Violet, to see the remaining characters would've been a nice addition.

All complaining aside about violence in movies and what kids should and shouldn't watch (and what parents should and shouldn't allow their children to watch) it really is a fun movie - with a lot of heart. It always amazes me that computer generated characters often times have more depth and emotion than some of the real-life characters we see in live-action movies. And that's a tribute to the hundreds of people behind-the-scenes whose hard work and dedication bring us movies like The Incredibles.

Features
Filmmakers' Audio Commentaries, "Jack-Jack Attack" Animated Short, "Boundin'" Animated Short, "Incredi-Blunders" Bloopers and Outtakes, Deleted Scenes and Alternate Opening, Top Secret Files On All The Supers, Behind-The-Scenes "Making Of" The Incredibles

Video
Widescreen (2.39:1)

Audio
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX, French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX,

Subtitles
English, French, Spanish, Closed-Captioned

Release Date
March 15, 2005

Rating
G

Length
115 mins.

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