DVD Reviews

The Incredibles (Four-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) – Blu-ray Review

By Jeff Swindoll Apr 13, 2011, 14:18 GMT

$Known to the world as superheroes, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, Bob Parr and his wife Helen were among the world\'s greatest crime fighters, saving lives and battling evil on a daily basis. Fifteen years later, they have been forced to adopt civilian identities and retreat to the suburbs to live$

Known to the world as superheroes, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, Bob Parr and his wife Helen were among the world\'s greatest crime fighters, saving lives and battling evil on a daily basis. Fifteen years later, they have been forced to adopt civilian identities and retreat to the suburbs to live "normal" lives with their three kids, Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack. Itching to get back into action, Bob gets his chance ...more

The release in a single word? Incredible. Disney does it again with one of its more modern animated masterpieces.

Brad Bird’s loving homage to both family and superheroes is given a beautiful transfer and a lair full of special features.

Superheroes were a normal part of life until a series of lawsuits caused them to be outlawed by the government and made to make their secret identities their only identities.

The government began a placement program that returned these heroes to normal lives. Bob Parr (Craig T. Nelson) is now an insurance adjuster, but he used to be known as Mr. Incredible. He’s depressed by his ho-hum existence and even moonlights incognito along with his pal Lucius (Samuel L. Jackson) aka Frozone trying to recapture their golden days of heroics.

Bob wed Helen aka Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) and they’ve got three kids, Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Spencer Fox), and infant Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile and Maeve Andrews). Violet and Dash have inherited superpowers, Violet can become invisible and Dash has super speed, but they’re forced to keep them hidden to their frustration. Jack-Jack has yet to show any signs of super-dom.

Bob is approached by the mysterious Mirage (Elizabeth Pena) who wants him to use his superpowers for some covert operation. Eventually he will discover that a technologically enhanced faux superhero named Syndrome (Jason Lee) has other nefarious plans for him that tie in with his past.

The Incredibles straddles many genres in depicting its land of incognito supers. The design of the island lair certainly borrows much from Ken Adams’ work on the Bond films and the soundtrack also draws inspiration from John Barry’s work from the same.

However, the core of the film is really a focus on family relations as our hero Bob, who immensely misses his hero days, discovers that the best things in life might be found at home and not in derring-do.

The film was formed out of a natural development for director Brad Bird who was experiencing similar thoughts about filmmaking and family. I don’t think he was sneaking out at night to save the helpless but he’s certainly a cinematic superhero.

The film ultimately takes a different path than you might think. Add in an excellent voice cast and where it ends up is in classic territory. It’s a fantastic film that certainly turns out to be superhuman.

The Incredibles is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.39:1). Special features are in high definition unless noted.

Disc one contains the fantastic print of the film as well as two commentaries (one with director Brad Bird and producer John Walker, the second with a bevy of animators), the 22 minute roundtable discussion “Incredibles Revisited,” the 5 minute short “Boundin’” with optional commentary from creator Bud Luckey, the 5 minute short “Jack-Jack Attack with optional commentary from Bird, designer Teddy Newton, and animator Bret Parker.

Disc two has 35 minutes of deleted scenes, an interactive tour of “the New Nomanisan” to see what the government did with Syndrome’s secret lair, the 6 minute “Paths to Pixar” focusing on story artists, a 2 minute “Studio Story” about Gary’s birthday, the 2 minute “Ending with a Bang” about making the end credits, the 27 minute (standard definition) “Making of the Incredibles,” 70 minutes of standard definition content from the old DVD, 14 minutes of Easter Eggs (SD), 14 minutes of publicity, the 2 minute teaser trailer, and an interactive art gallery. The case also contains a voucher for Cars 2. There’s also a DVD and a digital copy.

The Incredibles has something to please everyone, even the superhuman amongst us. Disney has also gone the extra mile in providing a smashing transfer and oodles of goodies on the supplemental side. Definitely a film that should be in collection.