In The Incredibles 1, mom, dad, sister and little brothers have dinner peacefully. Suddenly, the children begin to fight. And Mom, very overcome with grief, extends her elastic arms under the table to separate them.
On the outside, the Parr family is like any other suburban clan in the American Union. Bob, the father, is a tired insurance adjuster looking for a way to help his clients, which angers his short, short-tempered boss. Helen is a worried housewife who juggles keeping order and caring for her three children, one of them, Jack-Jack, just a baby. Violeta is a dark teenager who hides behind her black hair and, like everyone at that confusing age, she feels out of place and is unsure of herself. Dash is a typical ten-year-old boy: hyperactive, mischievous and always in trouble with his sister.
Sounds familiar? Well, only in appearance, because each one keeps a power that makes it unrepeatable. Bob is actually Mr. Incredible, a champion of justice who has already seen his best years pass and, after a wave of lawsuits against superheroes, assumes a secret identity along with his wife Elastigirl, better known as Helen. His children, Violeta and Dash, know that they have qualities that make them unique—she can become invisible and he can run faster than lightning—but they are forced by their parents to hide them. To a greater or lesser extent, haven’t we all felt that we have a repressed gift?
“When people ask me what the influences of my film are, it’s difficult for me to answer, because they range from the classic Superman series to things that happened in my house when I was a kid,” says director Brad Bird, who in person seems like a character. taken out of The wonderful years. “I think everyone will be able to relate: what I did was add fantastical powers to the mundane existence of an ordinary family.”
Everything stays in the family
The Parrs, however, try to live a normal life, until Bob, much more paunchy and with less hair than in his glory days, receives a mysterious message that invites him to put on Mr. Incredible’s tight suit once again. and fight Syndrome, a deranged villain.
Suddenly, in the middle of a mid-life crisis, Bob has the opportunity to relive his younger years. Unknowingly, this will force the entire Parr family to use his wonderful abilities to protect each other.
Then begins an adventure that combines action in the best style of James Bond in the time of Sean Connery, hooded comics and some classic comedies; a fantastic 3D journey that takes us from an ordinary house to an island with killer robots and rivers of lava.
Two memorable characters join this “common” family. Edna Moda is a fashion designer who, despite her short stature and huge glasses, has a vital force and confidence that makes her prevail even over a big guy like Mr. Incredible. And of course, in the golden age of superheroes she was the most fashion, who best manipulated latex to make the paladins look majestic. In the English version, Brad Bird himself provides the voice of Edna, who with her European elegance steals all the scenes in which she appears.
The other character is Lucio Best, aka Frozone, a hero who can freeze everything in his path but who, like Mr. Incredible, his inseparable friend, has to assume a hidden identity and live in anonymity. According to Tony Fucile, who designed the characters, the Pixar team wanted Lucius to be “like an NBA player, like Michael Jordan, but it wasn’t until we found out that Samuel L. Jackson would do the voice that we realized he looked similar.” “a lot to the actor.”
The amazing world of Pixar
The Incredibles It is the first Pixar animation that features human beings as protagonists, which was a challenge both technically and in the design of the characters. In other hits like Finding Nemo, toy story either Monsters Inc., humans are secondary characters. The heroes are insects, closet monsters, fish, dolls and plastic dinosaurs. But with The Incredibles 1Pixar changed course.
“Bringing human characters to life is the biggest challenge for an animator,” says Rick Sayre, technical director, who sports a darker style than Violeta’s, with dozens of rings adorning his white fingers. “In Finding NemoFor example, although we achieve a good level of realism, people do not pay attention to whether the movement of a fish is precise. On the other hand, when you animate a human, even if he is stylized, any error in the movements jumps out immediately. “To that we must add the difficulty of modeling clothes and, above all, hair.”
Through creativity and technical innovation, Pixar studios have established themselves as the absolute leader in animation, even affecting their creative partners at Disney. But if Pixar continues making films like The Incrediblessalable products that do not leave aside the artistic search, will surely have the means to remain independent.
Furthermore, they have been copied ad nauseum by other Hollywood forces such as DreamWorks; the most recent example is The shark scaresan underwater film that sought to emulate the charm and originality of Finding Nemobut that ended up being a collage of cinematographic references
and trite jokes that to the rhythm of hip hop They seem to be made more for an MTV-educated audience than for the intelligent audience of movies. Shrek.
For John Lasseter, executive producer of The Incredibles 1 and the genius behind classic films like toy storywhat differentiates Pixar from other studios is that the stories and the particular vision of each director remain the most important thing.
“Contrary to what happens in other places, at Pixar the voice that is heard most is that of the filmmakers, because the company is run by creatives who respect the original spirit of the projects. It’s as if crazy people ran a madhouse,” Lasseter reflects. “Unlike other companies, the strength of our films lies not in who does the voices, but in complete characters and the vision of the directors. That’s why we brought in Brad Bird, who I studied with at the California School of the Arts: I trust him completely as an artist.”
Between giants and superheroes
What made Pixar executives hire someone “from outside” to direct one of their films for the first time? Brad Bird, screenwriter and director of The Incredibles 1, was not part of the Pixar family when he started this project. But a good reputation preceded him: he had been a creative consultant for The Simpson and creator of The iron Gianta beautiful fable set in the 1950s that captured, through the story of a boy and his enormous mechanized friend, the spirit of the North American suburbs, a spirit that permeates The Incredibles. It was Bird’s passion for his story that convinced Lasseter and his team to produce the film.
First of all, The Incredibles It is a highly personal film, in which Bird and his creative and technical teams set no limits. It is also the riskiest film made by Pixar to date, considering the violence shown on screen. The explosions and machine guns earned it a PG rating in the United States. That is, it is recommended that younger children, three or four years old, be accompanied by their parents.
But it is those risks that allow cinema to continue to exist, and it is because of passionate people like Pixar—more concerned with telling valuable stories than how much they will make at the box office—that animation has a promising and incredible future.
Character Gallery The Incredibles 1
Bob Parr / Mr. Incredible
The once hero of children and adults, champion of justice and protector of the innocent. His charisma and simplicity were never in conflict, he became known as the greatest superhero of all time. Don: Super strength.
Helen Parr / Elastigirl
She became one of the most famous heroines, but decided to settle down. Now, she wants to keep her family together, even if that means stretching her arms to the limit to achieve the goal.
Don: Elastic body.
Violeta Parr
This girl must maintain a line of sanity between her powers and her teenage concerns… thing
somewhat difficult when uncomfortable situations arise.
Don: Invisibility and ability to create force fields.
Dash Parr
Unlike his sister, Dash shows no fear in using his super powers. He even has the nerve to use them to fool the teachers with his antics.
Don: Super speed like the Roadrunner.
Jack-Jack
As the smallest member of a family with great super powers, it is his parents’ task to guide him in controlling his fantastic abilities.
Don: It’s a SECRET.
Lucio Best / Frozone
The one and only original man cool. His friendship with Mr. Incredible makes them both the best superheroes. The spokesman for the Incredible family gives the duo a touch of strength and justice. Frozone, on the other hand, gives it the cache and style they need.
Don: It can make ice and create an atmosphere cool.
Edna Fashion
Ranked among the most visionary designers in the world, this little woman uses all her knowledge on the costumes and image of our superheroes.
Don: Imagination and skill to dress the gods of the modern era.
Buddy Pine/Syndrome
He was previously a boy with dreams of becoming Mr. Incredible’s henchman. Now, this villain wants at all costs to be the only superhero on the face of the earth. For that he must annihilate all the others.
Don: None, although there are many artifacts that help you.
A version of this article was first published in Cine PREMIERE #123 in December 2004.
César Albarrán Torres He is a researcher at the Digital Cultures Program at the University of Sydney. He is the founding editor of cinepremiere.com.mx and writes about film, television and technology in various national and international media.