Needless to say, that's been way too long.
I went through this phase in middle school and most of high school when I decided that animated films weren't "cool." They were for little kids, I thought, not big strong men like me! Of course, that was completely ridiculous. Unfortunately, I only realized it this past summer. As a camp counselor, there were several rainy days where the only thing to do to pass large chunks of time was watch movies. However, we were only allowed to show the kids movies that were rated "G." As a result, I was reintroduced to movies that I hadn't watched in ages; Toy Story, Aladdin, and The Emperor's New Groove, just to name a few. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed these movies, much more so than I had recent blockbusters such as Elysium and Man of Steel.
So, when I was scrolling through my DVR earlier today, and I saw that The Incredibles was on it, I made the excellent decision to watch it. I'm not going to summarize it here, because I assume you've all seen it. But there were a few things that jumped out to me.
First, I was a little startled at the violence in this children's movie. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with violence in film and television at all. But still, the amount of it in this movie was surprising. What was most surprising was how the two kids, Violet and Dash, seem to have no problem whatsoever killing, or watching their parents kill, the enemy soldiers. I get that they're just acting in self defense, but you'd think that a middle schooler and elementary schooler would have some sort of emotional response to killing.
Another thing I noticed: Mr. Incredible is a real jerk! I mean, come on. The dude was born with super strength, which while cliche, is one of the coolest powers out there. He also has a hot wife, three kids, and a best friend who sounds just like Samuel L. Jackson. On top of that, he's got the government watching his back, picking up the pieces every time he screws up. He doesn't even get arrested for throwing his annoying boss through several office cubicles! Yet despite all of this, Mr. Incredible is incredibly ungrateful. He lives his whole life not caring about his family or his wife, just reminiscing about his days as a super hero. I get it, man. You had an awesome job and everyone loved you! But you have it pretty damn good anyways. Yeah, your job sucks. But you're not stuck there, go apply for a new one. Alas, all Mr. Incredible does is search for adventure, for an opportunity to return to the glory days. And he finds it all right. But in the end, he almost gets his entirely family killed for it. Don't worry though! At some point during the move, he'll offer a half assed apology.
One final thing I noticed; the voice actor for Mr. Incredible's boss was also the voice actor for Rex in Toy Story. And he was also the actor who played Vizzini in The Princess Bride! I love that guy.
Anyway, despite the fact that the main character is kind of unlikable, The Incredibles is still a fantastic movie, and has deservedly gone down as one of the best animated films of all time.
Verdict: 8 out of 10
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