Losing it[1]

The Incredibles is the latest computer-generated animated movie from Pixar, the people responsible for such gems as Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, and Finding Nemo. Now anything these guys produce is going to be worth a look if only to see just how their techniques are evolving, but they consistently deliver much more than just jaw-droppingly impressive animation…

This is the first Pixar production where the main characters are human[1] rather than toys, monsters or fish, or the like. And I have to say they’ve done it remarkably well.

The movie opens in a world filled with superheroes doing the usual wild superhero stuff - saving people from Certain Death, defeating Mad Villains and all that kind of thing. It all starts to go wrong when our hero, Mr Incredible is sued by someone he rescued[2]. Soon, all the superheroes are forced to withdraw into ordinary lives and are forbidden from using their powers……

Flash forward fifteen years, and Mr Incredible is living with his family and holding down a job he hates. Together with another ex-superhero, he sneaks out at night to listen to the police band on the radio and occasionally rescue people.

Everything changes when he gets an offer to perform a special job for a mysterious employer. Before the end, the whole family gets involved[3] in the fight against a Mad Villain[4] whose lair owes more than a little to a James Bond movie or two.

It’s an involving story, with a lot of laughs, more than a few thrills and seriously impressive animation.

I loved it

[1] Well, superheroes, mostly…..
[2] He didn’t want to have his life saved after he jumped off that building….
[3] Yes, there’s a fair old dose of sentimentality and such, but it’s all good fun
[4] “You had me monologuing!”