The Incredibles
Encyclopedia
The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film
about a family of superhero
es who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird
, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons
, and was produced by Pixar
and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
. The starring voices are Craig T. Nelson
as Bob Parr, Holly Hunter
as his wife Helen Parr; Sarah Vowell
as their teenage daughter Violet; Spencer Fox
as their young son Dash; Jason Lee as the supervillain Syndrome; Samuel L. Jackson
as Frozone; and Elizabeth Peña
as Syndrome's beautiful assistant, Mirage. Bob's yearning to help people draws the entire Parr family into a battle with the villain and his killer robot.
The film won the 2004 Annie Award for Best Animated Feature
, along with two 2004 Academy Award
s, Best Animated Feature
and Best Sound Editing. It also received nominations for two other Academy Awards, won the Saturn Award for Best Animated Film
, and became the first entirely animated film to won the prestigious Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
. It was also nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the 2004 Golden Globes
. The Incredibles also marked Pixar's first film to be rated PG, due to its action violence.
One day, Bob loses his temper with his boss, revealing his super strength and losing him his job. While trying to figure out what to tell Helen, he finds a message from a woman named Mirage, who asks for Mr. Incredible's help to stop a rogue robot on a distant island for a lucrative reward. Bob, claiming that he is going on a business trip to Helen, takes up Mirage's offer, and successfully defeats the powerful Omnidroid. On his return to Metroville, Bob spends his days working out and getting back into shape. He takes his super suit, torn in the battle with Omnidroid, to Edna Mode, the fashion designer to the Supers, and asks her to repair it. She does so, and also insists on creating a new, better super suit for him. She refuses his request to add a cape, though, highlighting how the accessory doomed several other Supers before him by getting caught on things.
Mirage soon contacts Bob with another job on the island. On arriving, he finds the Omnidroid, rebuilt and reprogrammed to be stronger than before. While trapped by the robot, he meets its creator, the technology-savvy villain Syndrome. Bob recognizes him as a young fan, Buddy, who wanted to be Mr. Incredible's sidekick but got in the way. Syndrome vows revenge for this shunning, and sets the Omnidroid to kill Bob. Bob manages to fake his death and hide from the robot, discovering the body of a former Super. His curiosity piqued, he breaks into Syndrome's base and finds a computer, outlining Syndrome's past work to identify the civilian identities of former Supers and luring them to fight Omnidroid, and using the results of those fatal battles to improve each iteration of the machine. Bob is relieved to discover that Helen and his children are not yet identified in Syndrome's database.
Meanwhile, Helen has become suspicious of Bob having an affair. After discovering Bob's repaired suit, she talks to Edna and learns she created suits for the entire Parr family, each outfitted with a tracking device. Helen triggers Bob's, identifying the remote island but inadvertently revealing Bob's presence to Syndrome and causing him to be captured. Helen borrows a private jet from an old friend and travels to the island, disappointed to learn that Violet and Dash have stowed away while leaving Jack-Jack at home with a babysitter. As they near the island, Syndrome shoots down the jet, but Helen and the children safely make it ashore. Though Helen rescues Bob and regroups with Violet and Dash as they outrun Syndrome's guards, they are soon captured by Syndrome, identifying all the Parrs as Supers. With the Parrs contained, Syndrome explains that he will launch the perfected Omnidroid to Metroville, sending the city into chaos, upon which he will appear and using a control band, "subdue" the robot and become the city's hero. Syndrome launches the Omnidroid on a rocket and follows in his aircraft. After his departure, Violet helps to free the rest of the family, and with Mirage's help, they board a second rocket bound for the city.
In Metroville, the Omnidroid starts a path of destruction, and Syndrome enacts his plan, stopping the robot to the people's cheers. The Omnidroid observes the control band and fires it off Syndrome's arm, sending the villain scurrying away while the robot continues to wreck the city. The combined abilities of the Parrs and Lucius are able to best and destroy the robot, and the city welcomes them as heroes. As they are driven back to their home, Helen anxiously calls the babysitter and learns that Syndrome has abducted Jack-Jack. Arriving at home, Syndrome is taking the toddler to his ship, planning to raise the boy to fight against the Supers in the future. As Bob and Helen launch a rescue attempt, Jack-Jack reveals his powers of transformation, forcing Syndrome to drop him into Helen's waiting arms. Syndrome tries to escape but his cape is caught in the suction of his aircraft's engine, killing him. The ruined plane crashes into the Parr's home, but Violet is able to protect the family from harm. Some time later, the Parrs have re-adjusted to normal life, but when a new villain, the Underminer, appears, the Parrs all don their masks, ready to battle the new foe.
for Warner Bros.
.
Brad Bird was not sure where the idea for a superhero family came from, but he stated that it came from drawings he did back in 1993. He was also inspired by his own life while writing the film. His situation during that time was similar to that of Bob Parr after the superhero ban: Bird wanted to follow his love of making films, but each film would fall by the wayside at some point during its development. While this was happening, Bird was also trying to focus on his new family, which demanded more of his time. He felt that he would completely fail at one if he focused too much on the other. He stated, "Consciously, this was just a funny movie about superheroes. But I think that what was going on in my life definitely filtered into the movie."
However, due to the financial disaster of Looney Tunes Back in Action in 2003, Warner Bros shut down its division for fully animated theatrical features, and The Incredibles was put on hold. Then Bird spoke to his old college friend John Lasseter
about the story. Lasseter liked it and convinced Brad to come to Pixar, where the movie would be done in computer animation
. It is the first full-length Pixar film whose main protagonists are human.
. Because of this, many 2D artists had to make the shift to 3D, including Bird himself. Bird wrote the script without knowing the limitations or concerns that went hand-in-hand with the medium of computer animation
. As a result, this was to be the most complex film for Pixar yet. It was planned to be 15 minutes longer than anything else Pixar had created.
Bird's story was filled with elements that were difficult to animate with CGI
at the time. Creating an all-human cast required creating new technology to animate detailed human anatomy, clothing and realistic skin and hair. Although the technical team had some experience with hair and cloth in Monsters Inc, the amount of hair and cloth required for The Incredibles had never been done by Pixar until this point. Also Violet's long hair was extremely difficult to achieve and for the longest time during production, it was not possible. Disney was initially reluctant to make the film because of these issues, feeling a live-action film would be preferable, though Pixar executive John Lasseter
vetoed this. Bird recalled, "Basically, I came into a wonderful studio, frightened a lot of people with how many presents I wanted for Christmas, and then got almost everything I asked for."
In a 2009 interview, Up
producer Jonas Rivera discussed how Bird's approach to filmmaking differed from the process previously used by Pixar:
"We almost treat it like a live action movie, we build a set – say, Andy's room in Toy Story – and we get a camera, we actually 'location-scout' it, check out all the angles with the characters on the bed, or whatever, and we take that back and start building a layout based on that, and shots come and go. Whereas Bird is like, 'This is the exact shot I want, then I want this shot, and then this shot, and I don't want to see one pixel over to the right.' … There was a reason for it. The scope of The Incredibles was so big: for example, Monsters Inc had 31 sets, The Incredibles had 89, that's a lot of work. Brad was willing to sacrifice flexibility for scope."
John Barry
was the first choice to do the film's score, with a trailer
of the film given a rerecording of Barry's theme to On Her Majesty's Secret Service
. However Barry did not wish to duplicate the sound of some of his earlier soundtracks; the assignment was instead given to Michael Giacchino
.
, with music orchestrated and conducted by Tim Simonec. Gordon Goodwin
won a Grammy Award for arranging The Incredits. The entire score was recorded with analogue audio tapes.
Music used for the film's trailers but not available on the soundtrack album includes "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", from the Propellerheads
album Decksandrumsandrockandroll
, as well as excerpts from the David Arnold
project Shaken and Stirred. The animated short Jack-Jack Attack
, which accompanied the film's DVD release also features the "Alla Turca" movement from Mozart
's Piano Sonata No. 11
.
which made the movie the fifteenth greatest action film of all time and the only one of Top 20 with more than 100 reviews. Metacritic
indicates The Incredibles "universal acclaim" with a 90 out of 100 rating. Critic Roger Ebert
awarded the film stars out of four, writing that the film "alternates breakneck action with satire of suburban sitcom life" and is "another example of Pixar's mastery of popular animation." Rolling Stone
gave the movie stars and called the movie "one of the year's best" and said that it "doesn't ring cartoonish, it rings true." Also giving the film stars, People
magazine found that The Incredibles "boasts a strong, entertaining story and a truckload of savvy comic touches."
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was bored by the film's recurring pastiches of earlier action films, concluding, "the Pixar whizzes do what they do excellently; you just wish they were doing something else." Similarly, Jessica Winter of the Village Voice criticized the film for playing as a standard summer action film, despite being released in early November. Her review, titled as "Full Metal Racket," noted that "The Incredibles announces the studio's arrival in the vast yet overcrowded Hollywood lot of eardrum-bashing, metal-crunching action sludge."
Makers of the 2005 film Fantastic Four
were forced to make significant script changes and add more special effects because of similarities to the storyline of The Incredibles.
Peter Travers
of Rolling Stone named The Incredibles No.6 on his list of the best films of the decade, writing "Of all the Pixar miracles studded through the decade, The Incredibles still delights me the most. It's not every toon that deals with midlife crisis, marital dysfunction, child neglect, impotence fears, fashion faux pas and existential angst."
with $110,307,189), the highest opening weekend for a non sequel animated feature (the record was broken in 2007 by The Simpsons Movie
with $74 million), and the highest opening weekend for a non-franchise-based film for just over five years when Avatar opened with $77 million. The film was also No.1 in its second weekend, grossing another $50,251,359, dropping just 29 percent, and easily outgrossing new animated opener The Polar Express
. The film ultimately grossed $261,441,092, the fourth-highest gross for a Pixar film behind Toy Story 3
($415,040,342), Finding Nemo
($339,714,978) and Up
($293,004,164) and the fifth-highest grossing film of 2004. Worldwide, the film grossed $631,442,092, also the fourth-highest gross for a Pixar film behind Toy Story 3
($1,063,440,342), Finding Nemo ($867,893,978) and Up ($731,342,744), and ranked fourth for the year. The film was also the second-highest grossing animated film that year behind Shrek 2
.
It had its network television premiere on Thanksgiving Day 2007 on NBC
sponsored by Target
and its basic cable premiere on ABC Family
as part of The 25 Days of Christmas
in December 2007, and its second cable showing on Disney Channel
as part of the No Ordinary Friday on February 1, 2008.
This was also the first Pixar film to be given a PG rating.
in 2004 for Best Animated Feature
, beating two DreamWorks
films, Shrek 2
and Shark Tale
as well as Best Sound Editing
. It also received nominations for Best Original Screenplay (for writer/director Brad Bird
) and Best Achievement in Sound (Randy Thom, Gary Rizzo
and Doc Kane
). It was Pixar's first feature film to win multiple Oscars, followed in 2010 by Up
.
The film also received the 2004 Annie Award
for Best Animated Feature
and the 2005 Hugo Award
for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form, and it was nominated for the 2004 Golden Globe Award
for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
The American Film Institute
nominated The Incredibles for its Top 10 Animated Films list.
, it was the highest-selling DVD of 2005, with 17.18 million copies sold. The film was released on Blu-ray
in North America on April 12, 2011.
There are also several Easter egg
s in the menu
s; the one on the main menu shows every door
, button
and explosion
in the movie. Some of the other menus have two Easter eggs from the same menu button, alternating between them. One of the eggs on the first Index menu is a short sockpuppet version of the movie.
The film was also released on UMD
for the Sony PSP and in a limited edition VHS version, and was the last Disney·Pixar film to be issued in the VHS format. All future Disney·Pixar titles beginning with Cars
would only be released on DVD and Blu-ray.
and The Lion King
, Disney and Pixar
announced that The Incredibles will have a 3D re-release in 2014.
released a limited series of comic book
s based on the movie. Kellogg's released an Incredibles-themed cereal, as well as promotional Pop Tarts and fruit snacks, all proclaiming an "Incrediberry Blast" of flavor. Furthermore, in the weeks before the movie's opening, there were also promotional tie-ins with SBC Communications (using Dash to promote the "blazing-fast speed" of its SBC Yahoo! DSL service) and McDonald's
.
Toy maker Hasbro
produced a series of action figures and toys based on the film, although the line was not as successful as the film itself.
In Europe, Kinder chocolate eggs contained small plastic toy characters from the film.
In Belgium, car manufacturer Opel
sold special The Incredibles editions of their cars.
In the United Kingdom, Telewest
promoted blueyonder internet services with branding from the film, including television adverts starring characters from the film.
In all merchandising outside of the film itself, Elastigirl is referred to as Mrs. Incredible. This is due to a licensing agreement between Disney·Pixar and DC Comics, who has a character named Elasti-Girl
(a member of the Doom Patrol
). The DC Comics character is able to grow and shrink at will from microscopic size to thousands of feet tall.
in collaboration with Disney Publishing by the end of the year.
The first miniseries by BOOM! was The Incredibles: Family Matters by Mark Waid
and Marcio Takara, which was published from March to June 2009, and collected into a trade paperback published in July of that year. An ongoing series written by both Mark Waid and Landry Walker
, with art by Marcio Takara and Ramanda Kamarga, began later that same year, running for sixteen issues before being cancelled in October 2010. Marvel has begun a reprint of the series starting in August 2011 and possibly finish the storyline, which was abruptly cancelled despite scripts and art having been produced for a finale.
, Xbox
, Nintendo GameCube
, Game Boy Advance
, PC, Apple Macintosh, and mobiles
. Though based on the movie, several key scenes are altered from the original script.
A second game, The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
, was released for PlayStation 2
, GameCube
, Xbox
, Mac OS X
, Game Boy Advance
, Nintendo DS
, and Windows
. Taking place immediately after the movie, the sequel focuses on Mr. Incredible and Frozone as they do battle with the megalomaniacal mole, The Underminer.
A third game, The Incredibles: When Danger Calls
, was released for Windows
and Mac OS X
. It is a collection of 10 games and activities for the playable characters to perform.
without Pixar involvement. Those plans were subsequently scrapped.
When Disney acquired Pixar in 2006, the expectation of Disney was that Pixar would create more sequels and bankable franchises. Director Brad Bird stated in 2007 that he was open to the idea of an Incredibles 2 if he could come up with an idea superior to the original film. "I have pieces that I think are good, but I don't have them all together," Bird said.
Superhero film
A superhero film, superhero movie, or superhero motion picture is: action, fantasy and science fiction film; that is focused on the actions of one or more superheroes, individuals who usually possess superhuman abilities relative to a normal person and are dedicated to protecting the public...
about a family of superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
es who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird
Brad Bird
Phillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is an Academy Award-winning American director, voice actor, animator and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles and Ratatouille . He also adapted and directed the critically acclaimed 2D animated 1999 Warner Brothers...
, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, and was produced by Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
. The starring voices are Craig T. Nelson
Craig T. Nelson
Craig Theodore Nelson is an American actor. He is probably best known for his Emmy-winning roles as Hayden Fox on the TV series Coach, and as Steve Freeling in the 1982 film Poltergeist. He also starred in The Incredibles in 2004 as Mr...
as Bob Parr, Holly Hunter
Holly Hunter
Holly Hunter is an American actress. Hunter starred in The Piano for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She has also been nominated for Oscars for her roles in Broadcast News, The Firm, and Thirteen...
as his wife Helen Parr; Sarah Vowell
Sarah Vowell
Sarah Jane Vowell is an American author, journalist, essayist and social commentator. Often referred to as a "social observer," Vowell has written five nonfiction books on American history and culture, and was a contributing editor for the radio program This American Life on Public Radio...
as their teenage daughter Violet; Spencer Fox
Spencer Fox
Spencer Fox is an American actor. He provided the voice of Dashiell Robert Parr in Disney and Pixar's film The Incredibles, and again in the Disney on Ice show Disney Presents Pixar's The Incredibles in a Magic Kingdom Adventure...
as their young son Dash; Jason Lee as the supervillain Syndrome; Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
as Frozone; and Elizabeth Peña
Elizabeth Peña
Elizabeth Peña is an American actress and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right.-Early life:...
as Syndrome's beautiful assistant, Mirage. Bob's yearning to help people draws the entire Parr family into a battle with the villain and his killer robot.
The film won the 2004 Annie Award for Best Animated Feature
Annie Award for Best Animated Feature
The Annie Award for Best Animated Feature is an Annie Award, awarded annually to the best animated feature film and introduced in 1992. In 1998 the award was renamed Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Theatrical Feature, only to be reverted back to its original title again in 2001...
, along with two 2004 Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
s, Best Animated Feature
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles-based professional organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
and Best Sound Editing. It also received nominations for two other Academy Awards, won the Saturn Award for Best Animated Film
Saturn Award for Best Animated Film
The following are a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Animated Film:-Winners:...
, and became the first entirely animated film to won the prestigious Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
. It was also nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the 2004 Golden Globes
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
. The Incredibles also marked Pixar's first film to be rated PG, due to its action violence.
Plot
"Supers", humans gifted with superpowers, were once seen as heroes, but collateral damage from their various good deeds led the government to create a Supers Relocation Program, forcing the Supers to fit in among the civilians and not use their superpowers. Bob and Helen Parr, who are supers, have married and raised three children, Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack, in the suburbs of Metroville; Violet and Dash have innate superpowers, but the toddler Jack-Jack has yet to show any. Bob, stuck in a white-collar job at an insurance agency, reminisces of his former days as Mr. Incredible, and sneaks out on Wednesday nights with his Super friend, Lucius Best aka Frozone, to fight street crime.One day, Bob loses his temper with his boss, revealing his super strength and losing him his job. While trying to figure out what to tell Helen, he finds a message from a woman named Mirage, who asks for Mr. Incredible's help to stop a rogue robot on a distant island for a lucrative reward. Bob, claiming that he is going on a business trip to Helen, takes up Mirage's offer, and successfully defeats the powerful Omnidroid. On his return to Metroville, Bob spends his days working out and getting back into shape. He takes his super suit, torn in the battle with Omnidroid, to Edna Mode, the fashion designer to the Supers, and asks her to repair it. She does so, and also insists on creating a new, better super suit for him. She refuses his request to add a cape, though, highlighting how the accessory doomed several other Supers before him by getting caught on things.
Mirage soon contacts Bob with another job on the island. On arriving, he finds the Omnidroid, rebuilt and reprogrammed to be stronger than before. While trapped by the robot, he meets its creator, the technology-savvy villain Syndrome. Bob recognizes him as a young fan, Buddy, who wanted to be Mr. Incredible's sidekick but got in the way. Syndrome vows revenge for this shunning, and sets the Omnidroid to kill Bob. Bob manages to fake his death and hide from the robot, discovering the body of a former Super. His curiosity piqued, he breaks into Syndrome's base and finds a computer, outlining Syndrome's past work to identify the civilian identities of former Supers and luring them to fight Omnidroid, and using the results of those fatal battles to improve each iteration of the machine. Bob is relieved to discover that Helen and his children are not yet identified in Syndrome's database.
Meanwhile, Helen has become suspicious of Bob having an affair. After discovering Bob's repaired suit, she talks to Edna and learns she created suits for the entire Parr family, each outfitted with a tracking device. Helen triggers Bob's, identifying the remote island but inadvertently revealing Bob's presence to Syndrome and causing him to be captured. Helen borrows a private jet from an old friend and travels to the island, disappointed to learn that Violet and Dash have stowed away while leaving Jack-Jack at home with a babysitter. As they near the island, Syndrome shoots down the jet, but Helen and the children safely make it ashore. Though Helen rescues Bob and regroups with Violet and Dash as they outrun Syndrome's guards, they are soon captured by Syndrome, identifying all the Parrs as Supers. With the Parrs contained, Syndrome explains that he will launch the perfected Omnidroid to Metroville, sending the city into chaos, upon which he will appear and using a control band, "subdue" the robot and become the city's hero. Syndrome launches the Omnidroid on a rocket and follows in his aircraft. After his departure, Violet helps to free the rest of the family, and with Mirage's help, they board a second rocket bound for the city.
In Metroville, the Omnidroid starts a path of destruction, and Syndrome enacts his plan, stopping the robot to the people's cheers. The Omnidroid observes the control band and fires it off Syndrome's arm, sending the villain scurrying away while the robot continues to wreck the city. The combined abilities of the Parrs and Lucius are able to best and destroy the robot, and the city welcomes them as heroes. As they are driven back to their home, Helen anxiously calls the babysitter and learns that Syndrome has abducted Jack-Jack. Arriving at home, Syndrome is taking the toddler to his ship, planning to raise the boy to fight against the Supers in the future. As Bob and Helen launch a rescue attempt, Jack-Jack reveals his powers of transformation, forcing Syndrome to drop him into Helen's waiting arms. Syndrome tries to escape but his cape is caught in the suction of his aircraft's engine, killing him. The ruined plane crashes into the Parr's home, but Violet is able to protect the family from harm. Some time later, the Parrs have re-adjusted to normal life, but when a new villain, the Underminer, appears, the Parrs all don their masks, ready to battle the new foe.
Voice cast
- Craig T. NelsonCraig T. NelsonCraig Theodore Nelson is an American actor. He is probably best known for his Emmy-winning roles as Hayden Fox on the TV series Coach, and as Steve Freeling in the 1982 film Poltergeist. He also starred in The Incredibles in 2004 as Mr...
as Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible, possessing super-strength - Holly HunterHolly HunterHolly Hunter is an American actress. Hunter starred in The Piano for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She has also been nominated for Oscars for her roles in Broadcast News, The Firm, and Thirteen...
as Helen Parr/Elastigirl/Mrs. Incredible, able to stretch her body like rubber - Spencer FoxSpencer FoxSpencer Fox is an American actor. He provided the voice of Dashiell Robert Parr in Disney and Pixar's film The Incredibles, and again in the Disney on Ice show Disney Presents Pixar's The Incredibles in a Magic Kingdom Adventure...
as Dashiell Robert "Dash" Parr, gifted with incredible speed - Sarah VowellSarah VowellSarah Jane Vowell is an American author, journalist, essayist and social commentator. Often referred to as a "social observer," Vowell has written five nonfiction books on American history and culture, and was a contributing editor for the radio program This American Life on Public Radio...
as Violet Parr, who possesses the ability to turn invisible and create a force fieldForce fieldA force field, sometimes known as an energy shield, force shield, or deflector shield is a concept of a field tightly bounded and of significant magnitude so that objects affected by the particular force relating to the field are unable to pass through the central axis of the field and reach the...
around herself - Eli Fucile and Maeve Andrews as Jack-Jack Parr, later shows to have various shape shifting abilities including turning into a demon, fire, steel, shoot lasers out of his eyes etc.
- Jason LeeJason Lee (actor)Jason Michael Lee is an American actor and skateboarder known for his role as the title character on the NBC television series My Name is Earl, his portrayal of Syndrome in the film The Incredibles, his role as Dave Seville in the Alvin and the Chipmunks films, and his work with director Kevin...
as Buddy Pine/Incrediboy/Syndrome, who has no super powers of his own but uses advanced technology to give himself equivalent abilities. - Samuel L. JacksonSamuel L. JacksonSamuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
as Lucius Best/Frozone, Bob's close friend, who has the ability to form ice from water - Elizabeth PeñaElizabeth PeñaElizabeth Peña is an American actress and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right.-Early life:...
as Mirage, Syndrome's agent that lures Supers to the island - Brad BirdBrad BirdPhillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is an Academy Award-winning American director, voice actor, animator and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles and Ratatouille . He also adapted and directed the critically acclaimed 2D animated 1999 Warner Brothers...
as Edna Mode, fashion designer for the Supers - Bud LuckeyBud LuckeyWilliam "Bud" Luckey is an American cartoonist, animator, singer, musician, composer and voice actor. He is best known for his work at Pixar as a character designer for Toy Story, Boundin, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Cars, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille...
as Rick Dicker, the government agent overseeing the Relocation Program - Wallace ShawnWallace ShawnWallace Michael Shawn , sometimes credited as Wally Shawn, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, author, voice artist, and intellectual. His best-known film roles include Wally Shawn in My Dinner with Andre , Vizzini in The Princess Bride , and debate teacher Mr...
as Gilbert Huph, Bob's boss at his white collar job - John RatzenbergerJohn RatzenbergerJohn Deszo Ratzenberger is an American actor, voice actor, and entrepreneur. He is best known for his role as Cliff Clavin in Cheers.-Early life:...
as The Underminer, a new villain that appears at the end of the film - Dominique Louis as Bomb Voyage, a villain from the past that used Buddy's interference in Mr. Incredible's heroism to escape
- Bret Parker as Kari McKeen, the babysitter
Writing and development
The film was originally developed as a traditionally animated filmTraditional animation
Traditional animation, is an animation technique where each frame is drawn by hand...
for Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
.
Brad Bird was not sure where the idea for a superhero family came from, but he stated that it came from drawings he did back in 1993. He was also inspired by his own life while writing the film. His situation during that time was similar to that of Bob Parr after the superhero ban: Bird wanted to follow his love of making films, but each film would fall by the wayside at some point during its development. While this was happening, Bird was also trying to focus on his new family, which demanded more of his time. He felt that he would completely fail at one if he focused too much on the other. He stated, "Consciously, this was just a funny movie about superheroes. But I think that what was going on in my life definitely filtered into the movie."
However, due to the financial disaster of Looney Tunes Back in Action in 2003, Warner Bros shut down its division for fully animated theatrical features, and The Incredibles was put on hold. Then Bird spoke to his old college friend John Lasseter
John Lasseter
John Alan Lasseter is an American animator, director and the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is also currently the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering....
about the story. Lasseter liked it and convinced Brad to come to Pixar, where the movie would be done in computer animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
. It is the first full-length Pixar film whose main protagonists are human.
Animation
Upon Disney's acceptance of the project, Brad Bird was asked to bring in his own team for the production. He brought up a core group of people he worked with on The Iron GiantThe Iron Giant
The Iron Giant is a 1999 animated film produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on the 1968 novel The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. Brad Bird directed the film, which stars a voice cast of Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick, Jr., Vin Diesel, Eli Marienthal, Christopher McDonald and John Mahoney...
. Because of this, many 2D artists had to make the shift to 3D, including Bird himself. Bird wrote the script without knowing the limitations or concerns that went hand-in-hand with the medium of computer animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
. As a result, this was to be the most complex film for Pixar yet. It was planned to be 15 minutes longer than anything else Pixar had created.
Bird's story was filled with elements that were difficult to animate with CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
at the time. Creating an all-human cast required creating new technology to animate detailed human anatomy, clothing and realistic skin and hair. Although the technical team had some experience with hair and cloth in Monsters Inc, the amount of hair and cloth required for The Incredibles had never been done by Pixar until this point. Also Violet's long hair was extremely difficult to achieve and for the longest time during production, it was not possible. Disney was initially reluctant to make the film because of these issues, feeling a live-action film would be preferable, though Pixar executive John Lasseter
John Lasseter
John Alan Lasseter is an American animator, director and the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is also currently the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering....
vetoed this. Bird recalled, "Basically, I came into a wonderful studio, frightened a lot of people with how many presents I wanted for Christmas, and then got almost everything I asked for."
In a 2009 interview, Up
Up (2009 film)
Up is a 2009 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and presented in Disney Digital 3-D. The film premiered on May 29, 2009 in North America and opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first animated and 3D film...
producer Jonas Rivera discussed how Bird's approach to filmmaking differed from the process previously used by Pixar:
"We almost treat it like a live action movie, we build a set – say, Andy's room in Toy Story – and we get a camera, we actually 'location-scout' it, check out all the angles with the characters on the bed, or whatever, and we take that back and start building a layout based on that, and shots come and go. Whereas Bird is like, 'This is the exact shot I want, then I want this shot, and then this shot, and I don't want to see one pixel over to the right.' … There was a reason for it. The scope of The Incredibles was so big: for example, Monsters Inc had 31 sets, The Incredibles had 89, that's a lot of work. Brad was willing to sacrifice flexibility for scope."
John Barry
John Barry (composer)
John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...
was the first choice to do the film's score, with a trailer
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
of the film given a rerecording of Barry's theme to On Her Majesty's Secret Service
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (soundtrack)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the soundtrack for the 6th James Bond film of the same name.Once again, the soundtrack to this James Bond adventure was composed, arranged, and conducted by John Barry; it was his fifth successive Bond film....
. However Barry did not wish to duplicate the sound of some of his earlier soundtracks; the assignment was instead given to Michael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino is an American composer who has composed scores for movies, television series and video games. Some of his most notable works include the scores to television series such as Lost, Alias and Fringe, games such as the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty series, and films such as...
.
Music
The soundtrack album of The Incredibles is completely orchestral and was composed by Michael GiacchinoMichael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino is an American composer who has composed scores for movies, television series and video games. Some of his most notable works include the scores to television series such as Lost, Alias and Fringe, games such as the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty series, and films such as...
, with music orchestrated and conducted by Tim Simonec. Gordon Goodwin
Gordon Goodwin
Gordon L. Goodwin is a Grammy award-winning American studio pianist, saxophonist, composer, arranger and conductor. He now lives in Southern California with his wife Lisa, daughter Madison and two sons, Trevor and Garrison.- Early years :...
won a Grammy Award for arranging The Incredits. The entire score was recorded with analogue audio tapes.
Music used for the film's trailers but not available on the soundtrack album includes "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", from the Propellerheads
Propellerheads
Propellerheads were a British big beat musical ensemble, formed in 1995 and made up of electronic producers Will White and Alex Gifford. The term propellerhead is slang for a nerd, and when Gifford and White heard a friend from California use this in a conversation, they thought it the perfect name...
album Decksandrumsandrockandroll
Decksandrumsandrockandroll
Decksandrumsandrockandroll is the first album by the British band Propellerheads, released on 26 January 1998 by Wall of Sound and DreamWorks .-Wall of Sound:...
, as well as excerpts from the David Arnold
David Arnold
David Arnold is an English film composer best known for scoring five James Bond films, the 1994 film Stargate, the 1996 film Independence Day, and the television series Little Britain.-Film and television career:...
project Shaken and Stirred. The animated short Jack-Jack Attack
Jack-Jack Attack
Jack-Jack Attack is a 2005 short film produced by Pixar based upon their film The Incredibles. Unlike many of their previous shorts, it was not given a theatrical release, but was included on the DVD release of the film...
, which accompanied the film's DVD release also features the "Alla Turca" movement from Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's Piano Sonata No. 11
Piano Sonata No. 11 (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K 331 is a sonata in three movements:#Andante grazioso — a theme with six variations#Menuetto — a minuet and trio#Alla Turca: Allegretto in A minor and major....
.
Critics
The Incredibles received near universal critical acclaim, receiving a 97% "Certified Fresh" rating at Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
which made the movie the fifteenth greatest action film of all time and the only one of Top 20 with more than 100 reviews. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
indicates The Incredibles "universal acclaim" with a 90 out of 100 rating. Critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
awarded the film stars out of four, writing that the film "alternates breakneck action with satire of suburban sitcom life" and is "another example of Pixar's mastery of popular animation." Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
gave the movie stars and called the movie "one of the year's best" and said that it "doesn't ring cartoonish, it rings true." Also giving the film stars, People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine found that The Incredibles "boasts a strong, entertaining story and a truckload of savvy comic touches."
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was bored by the film's recurring pastiches of earlier action films, concluding, "the Pixar whizzes do what they do excellently; you just wish they were doing something else." Similarly, Jessica Winter of the Village Voice criticized the film for playing as a standard summer action film, despite being released in early November. Her review, titled as "Full Metal Racket," noted that "The Incredibles announces the studio's arrival in the vast yet overcrowded Hollywood lot of eardrum-bashing, metal-crunching action sludge."
Makers of the 2005 film Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four (film)
Fantastic Four is a 2005 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics comic Fantastic Four. It was directed by Tim Story, and released by 20th Century Fox. It is the second live-action Fantastic Four film to be filmed. The previous attempt, a B-movie produced by Roger Corman only for the...
were forced to make significant script changes and add more special effects because of similarities to the storyline of The Incredibles.
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of Rolling Stone named The Incredibles No.6 on his list of the best films of the decade, writing "Of all the Pixar miracles studded through the decade, The Incredibles still delights me the most. It's not every toon that deals with midlife crisis, marital dysfunction, child neglect, impotence fears, fashion faux pas and existential angst."
Box office performance
Despite concerns that the film would receive underwhelming results, the film grossed $70,467,623 in its opening weekend from 7,600 screens at 3,933 theaters, averaging $17,917 per theater or $9,272 per screen, the highest opening weekend gross for a Pixar film (the record was later broken in 2010 by Toy Story 3Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
with $110,307,189), the highest opening weekend for a non sequel animated feature (the record was broken in 2007 by The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
with $74 million), and the highest opening weekend for a non-franchise-based film for just over five years when Avatar opened with $77 million. The film was also No.1 in its second weekend, grossing another $50,251,359, dropping just 29 percent, and easily outgrossing new animated opener The Polar Express
The Polar Express (film)
The Polar Express is a 2004 motion capture computer-animated film based on the children's book of the same title by Chris Van Allsburg. Written, produced, and directed by Robert Zemeckis, the human characters in the film were animated using live action performance capture technique, with the...
. The film ultimately grossed $261,441,092, the fourth-highest gross for a Pixar film behind Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
($415,040,342), Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo is a 2003 American comi-drama animated film written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar. It tells the story of the overly protective clownfish Marlin who, along with a regal tang called Dory , searches for his abducted son Nemo...
($339,714,978) and Up
Up (2009 film)
Up is a 2009 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and presented in Disney Digital 3-D. The film premiered on May 29, 2009 in North America and opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first animated and 3D film...
($293,004,164) and the fifth-highest grossing film of 2004. Worldwide, the film grossed $631,442,092, also the fourth-highest gross for a Pixar film behind Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
($1,063,440,342), Finding Nemo ($867,893,978) and Up ($731,342,744), and ranked fourth for the year. The film was also the second-highest grossing animated film that year behind Shrek 2
Shrek 2
Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the second installment in the Shrek film series and the sequel to 2001's Shrek...
.
It had its network television premiere on Thanksgiving Day 2007 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sponsored by Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
and its basic cable premiere on ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
as part of The 25 Days of Christmas
The 25 Days of Christmas
25 Days of Christmas is an annual programming block that has been shown on ABC Family and its predecessors since 1996...
in December 2007, and its second cable showing on Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
as part of the No Ordinary Friday on February 1, 2008.
This was also the first Pixar film to be given a PG rating.
Awards
The film won the Academy AwardAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
in 2004 for Best Animated Feature
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles-based professional organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, beating two DreamWorks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
films, Shrek 2
Shrek 2
Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the second installment in the Shrek film series and the sequel to 2001's Shrek...
and Shark Tale
Shark Tale
Shark Tale is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation. In the story, a young fish named Oscar falsely claims to have killed the son of a shark mob boss to win favour with the mob boss' enemies and advance his own community standing...
as well as Best Sound Editing
Academy Award for Sound Editing
The Academy Award of Merit for Best Sound Editing is an Academy Award granted yearly to a film exhibiting the finest or most aesthetic sound editing or sound design...
. It also received nominations for Best Original Screenplay (for writer/director Brad Bird
Brad Bird
Phillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is an Academy Award-winning American director, voice actor, animator and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles and Ratatouille . He also adapted and directed the critically acclaimed 2D animated 1999 Warner Brothers...
) and Best Achievement in Sound (Randy Thom, Gary Rizzo
Gary Rizzo
Gary Rizzo is an American sound engineer. He has won an Academy Award for Best Sound and has been nominated for another two in the same category...
and Doc Kane
Doc Kane
Doc Kane is an American sound engineer. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards in the category Best Sound. He has worked on nearly 300 films since 1984.-Selected filmography:* Beauty and the Beast * Aladdin...
). It was Pixar's first feature film to win multiple Oscars, followed in 2010 by Up
Up (2009 film)
Up is a 2009 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and presented in Disney Digital 3-D. The film premiered on May 29, 2009 in North America and opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first animated and 3D film...
.
The film also received the 2004 Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
for Best Animated Feature
Annie Award for Best Animated Feature
The Annie Award for Best Animated Feature is an Annie Award, awarded annually to the best animated feature film and introduced in 1992. In 1998 the award was renamed Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Theatrical Feature, only to be reverted back to its original title again in 2001...
and the 2005 Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form, and it was nominated for the 2004 Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
The American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
nominated The Incredibles for its Top 10 Animated Films list.
Top ten lists
The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2004.- 1st – Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
- 2nd – John J. Miller, "((National Review Online-The Best Conservative Movies))
- 2nd – Chris Kaltenbach, Baltimore Sun
- 2nd – Kenneth TuranKenneth TuranKenneth Turan is an American film critic and Lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California.-Background:...
, Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country.... - 2nd – Ken Tucker, New York Magazine
- 2nd – Desson Thomson, Washington Post
- 3rd – Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
- 3rd – Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
- 3rd – All critics, Film ThreatFilm ThreatFilm Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
- 3rd – Jack Mathews, New York Daily NewsNew York Daily NewsThe Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
- 4th – Lou Lumenick, New York PostNew York PostThe New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
- 4th – Glenn Kenny, PremierePremiere (magazine)Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.-History:The magazine originally...
- 5th – Peter Travers, Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
- 5th – David Edelstein, SlateSlate (magazine)Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
- 5th – Mike Clark, USA TodayUSA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
- 5th – Kimberley Jones, Austin ChronicleAustin ChronicleThe Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly, tabloid-style newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic...
- 5th – Marc Savlov, Austin ChronicleAustin ChronicleThe Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly, tabloid-style newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic...
- 7th – Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
- 7th – Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
(tied with The SpongeBob SquarePants MovieThe SpongeBob SquarePants MovieThe SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is a 2004 American animated film based on the popular Nickelodeon television series SpongeBob SquarePants. The film stars the voices of Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Doug Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson, Alec Baldwin, Jeffrey Tambor, and...
) - 8th – Michael WIlmington, Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
- 9th – A.O. Scott, New York Times
- 10th – James Berardinelli, ReelViews (tied with The Polar ExpressThe Polar ExpressThe Polar Express is a 1985 children's book written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, a former professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. It was adapted as an Oscar-nominated motion-capture film in 2004....
) - top 10 – Ella Taylor, LA WeeklyLA WeeklyLA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
- top 10 – Ron Stringer, LA WeeklyLA WeeklyLA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
- top 10 – Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
- top 10 – Shawn Levy, The OregonianThe OregonianThe Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
- top 10 – William Arnold, Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle Post-IntelligencerThe Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
Home video
The Incredibles two-disc Collector's Edition DVD set was released on March 15, 2005. According to the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
, it was the highest-selling DVD of 2005, with 17.18 million copies sold. The film was released on Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
in North America on April 12, 2011.
DVD extras and Easter eggs
Like many other DVD releases, there are various extra features available on the two discs including:- Introduction, an introduction for the extras featuring Brad BirdBrad BirdPhillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is an Academy Award-winning American director, voice actor, animator and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles and Ratatouille . He also adapted and directed the critically acclaimed 2D animated 1999 Warner Brothers...
. - Deleted Scenes, the film's deleted scenes plus an intro for all but one of them. The other one is only accessible as an Easter eggEaster egg (media)Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...
. - Jack-Jack AttackJack-Jack AttackJack-Jack Attack is a 2005 short film produced by Pixar based upon their film The Incredibles. Unlike many of their previous shorts, it was not given a theatrical release, but was included on the DVD release of the film...
, a Pixar short film made especially for the release of The Incredibles about what happened while Kari was babysitting Jack-Jack. - The Making of The Incredibles, a documentary about making The Incredibles featuring about 30 of the crew members.
- More Making of The Incredibles, another longer documentary also about making The Incredibles.
- Incredi-Blunders. The Incredibles outtakes due to glitches in animation programming, or scenes included for intentional humor.
- Vowellet: An Essay by Sarah Vowell, a documentary about the life of Sarah VowellSarah VowellSarah Jane Vowell is an American author, journalist, essayist and social commentator. Often referred to as a "social observer," Vowell has written five nonfiction books on American history and culture, and was a contributing editor for the radio program This American Life on Public Radio...
, a writer who did the voice of Violet Parr - Character Interviews, actor and actresses interview the characters
- Theatrical Trailers, The Incredibles film trailers.
- Mr. Incredible and PalsMr. Incredible and PalsMr. Incredible and Pals is an animated short film produced by Pixar, and included as a bonus on the DVD edition of its 2004 feature film The Incredibles....
, a Mr. Incredible cartoon spoofing cheesy superhero cartoons from the 1960s, as well as Synchro-Vox cartoons like Clutch CargoClutch CargoClutch Cargo is an animated television series produced by Cambria Productions and syndicated beginning on March 9, 1959. Notable for its very limited animation, yet imaginative stories, the series was a surprise hit at the time, and could be seen on 65 stations nationwide in 1960.- Plot :The...
.- Mr. Incredible and Pals With Commentary, the cartoon with the characters' commentary.
- NSA Files, info about the supers.
- Boundin'Boundin'Boundin' is a 2003 Pixar short film, shown at the start of the film The Incredibles. The film was written, directed, narrated and featured the musical composition and performance of PIXAR animator Bud Luckey.-Plot:...
, a Pixar short film written, directed, composed, production designed and narrated by Bud LuckeyBud LuckeyWilliam "Bud" Luckey is an American cartoonist, animator, singer, musician, composer and voice actor. He is best known for his work at Pixar as a character designer for Toy Story, Boundin, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Cars, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille...
.- Boundin With Commentary, Boundin with commentary by Bud Luckey.
- Who Is Bud Luckey? a four-minute documentary about the making of Boundin.
There are also several Easter egg
Easter egg (media)
Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...
s in the menu
Menu (computing)
In computing and telecommunications, a menu is a list of commands presented to an operator by a computer or communications system. A menu is used in contrast to a command-line interface, where instructions to the computer are given in the form of commands .Choices given from a menu may be selected...
s; the one on the main menu shows every door
Door
A door is a movable structure used to open and close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates inside of a space....
, button
Button (control)
A push-button or simply button is a simple switch mechanism for controlling some aspect of a machine or a process. Buttons are typically made out of hard material, usually plastic or metal. The surface is usually flat or shaped to accommodate the human finger or hand, so as to be easily depressed...
and explosion
Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
in the movie. Some of the other menus have two Easter eggs from the same menu button, alternating between them. One of the eggs on the first Index menu is a short sockpuppet version of the movie.
The film was also released on UMD
Universal Media Disc
The Universal Media Disc is an optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on their PlayStation Portable handheld gaming and multimedia platform...
for the Sony PSP and in a limited edition VHS version, and was the last Disney·Pixar film to be issued in the VHS format. All future Disney·Pixar titles beginning with Cars
Cars (film)
Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney...
would only be released on DVD and Blu-ray.
Release
The film was originally released on November 5, 2004. After the success of the 3D re-releases of Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
and The Lion King
The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
, Disney and Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
announced that The Incredibles will have a 3D re-release in 2014.
Merchandising
Several companies released promotional products related to the movie. Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
released a limited series of comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s based on the movie. Kellogg's released an Incredibles-themed cereal, as well as promotional Pop Tarts and fruit snacks, all proclaiming an "Incrediberry Blast" of flavor. Furthermore, in the weeks before the movie's opening, there were also promotional tie-ins with SBC Communications (using Dash to promote the "blazing-fast speed" of its SBC Yahoo! DSL service) and McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
.
Toy maker Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
produced a series of action figures and toys based on the film, although the line was not as successful as the film itself.
In Europe, Kinder chocolate eggs contained small plastic toy characters from the film.
In Belgium, car manufacturer Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
sold special The Incredibles editions of their cars.
In the United Kingdom, Telewest
Telewest
Telewest, formerly Telewest Broadband and Telewest Communications was a cable Internet, broadband internet, telephone supplier and cable television provider in the United Kingdom...
promoted blueyonder internet services with branding from the film, including television adverts starring characters from the film.
In all merchandising outside of the film itself, Elastigirl is referred to as Mrs. Incredible. This is due to a licensing agreement between Disney·Pixar and DC Comics, who has a character named Elasti-Girl
Elasti-Girl
Elasti-Girl is a fictional character, a superhero of the DC Comics universe and a member of the Doom Patrol.-Fictional character biography:...
(a member of the Doom Patrol
Doom Patrol
The Doom Patrol is a superhero team appearing in publications from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80...
). The DC Comics character is able to grow and shrink at will from microscopic size to thousands of feet tall.
Comics
In July 2008, it was announced that a series of comic books based on The Incredibles would be published by BOOM! StudiosBoom! Studios
BOOM! Studios is an American comic book company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. The "BOOM!" in BOOM! Studios is always capitalized by the company.-History:BOOM! was founded June 22, 2005 with Zombie Tales #1....
in collaboration with Disney Publishing by the end of the year.
The first miniseries by BOOM! was The Incredibles: Family Matters by Mark Waid
Mark Waid
Mark Waid is an American comic book writer. He is well known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America...
and Marcio Takara, which was published from March to June 2009, and collected into a trade paperback published in July of that year. An ongoing series written by both Mark Waid and Landry Walker
Landry Walker
Landry Q. Walker , is an American comic book writer living in El Sobrante, California.-Biography:Landry Walker is the co-creator of a number of alternative comics published by Slave Labor Graphics and was a regular contributor to Disney Adventures Magazine during the last several years of its run...
, with art by Marcio Takara and Ramanda Kamarga, began later that same year, running for sixteen issues before being cancelled in October 2010. Marvel has begun a reprint of the series starting in August 2011 and possibly finish the storyline, which was abruptly cancelled despite scripts and art having been produced for a finale.
Video game
A video game based on the film was released for the PlayStation 2PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, PC, Apple Macintosh, and mobiles
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
. Though based on the movie, several key scenes are altered from the original script.
A second game, The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer is a video game and sequel to the animated film The Incredibles. It features Mr. Incredible and Frozone fighting The Underminer's legion of robot minions...
, was released for PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, and Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. Taking place immediately after the movie, the sequel focuses on Mr. Incredible and Frozone as they do battle with the megalomaniacal mole, The Underminer.
A third game, The Incredibles: When Danger Calls
The Incredibles: When Danger Calls
The Incredibles: When Danger Calls is a 2004 action-adventure game developed by ImaginEngine and released by THQ. When Danger Calls is a collection of 10 different games and activities based on the eponymous movie.-List of Mini-Games:...
, was released for Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
. It is a collection of 10 games and activities for the playable characters to perform.
Sequels
In 2004, when Disney owned sequel rights, Disney announced plans to make sequels for The Incredibles and Finding NemoFinding Nemo
Finding Nemo is a 2003 American comi-drama animated film written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar. It tells the story of the overly protective clownfish Marlin who, along with a regal tang called Dory , searches for his abducted son Nemo...
without Pixar involvement. Those plans were subsequently scrapped.
When Disney acquired Pixar in 2006, the expectation of Disney was that Pixar would create more sequels and bankable franchises. Director Brad Bird stated in 2007 that he was open to the idea of an Incredibles 2 if he could come up with an idea superior to the original film. "I have pieces that I think are good, but I don't have them all together," Bird said.