The Incredibles Superhero-Sized 2-Disc Collector's Edition
The Incredibles:
Ultimate Pixar Collection:
Cert:
Cat.no: D881558
Running time: 115 minutes
Year: 2004
Pressing: 2005
Region(s): 2, PAL
Chapters: 20 plus extras
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
Languages: English
Subtitles: English, English for the hearing impaired, Hindi
Widescreen: 2.39:1
16:9-Enhanced: Yes
Macrovision: Yes
Disc Format: DVD 9
Price: £22.99
Extras:
Making-Of, Commentaries, Featurettes and Shorts, Jack-Jack
Attack exclusive short film, deleted scenes, alternate opening, character
interviews, Incredi-blunders outtakes, Top Secret files on Superheroes.
Director:
Brad Bird
(The Incredibles, Iron Giant, TV: Amazing Stories, The Simpsons)
Cast:
Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible: Craig T. Nelson
Helen Parr/Elastigirl: Holly Hunter
Lucius Best/Frozone: Samuel L. Jackson
Buddy Pine/Syndrome: Jason Lee
Violet Parr: Sarah Vowell
Dashiell 'Dash' Parr: Spencer Fox
Jack Jack Parr: Eli Fucile, Maeve Andrews
Mirage: Elizabeth Pena
Gilbert Huph: Wallace Shawn
Edna Mode: Brad Bird
Underminer: John Ratzenberger
When you take a director like Brad Bird,
whose CV includes The Iron Giant and The Simpsons, you know that
The Incredibles is going to be a bit different from most of its Pixar predecessors.
You can, however, relax in the knowledge that the visuals are as gorgeous as
ever and the quality of animation unsurpassed. These are givens - it even won
the Oscar for Best Animated Film. But Bird's quirky, dark worldview also brings
something new to the franchise, a touch of Cold War paranoia, breathtaking action
set-pieces, genuine jeopardy and of course, he makes this Pixaršs first
computer-generated animation with all human characters.
Viewers and critics
no longer dismiss these animated features as mere cartoons, but this truly
is a dramatic and comic treat from prologue and "Marvel"-ous first act to
final, destructive denouement.
Okay, so what's the story? Basically, it's
the rise and fall and rise - and potential end of a crime-fighting superhero
and his family. Mr Incredible (Craig T Nelson) and his unfeasibly-longlimbed
fiance Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), along with the likes of Frozone (Samuel L
Jackson) once ruled the roost and were feted as superheroes in their
post-war urban environment. But when the people they save turn against them,
they are forced into permanent hiding in a witness protection programme. In
other words, they must act normally and become known as Mr and Mrs Bob and
Helen Parr, and they throw themselves into family life, bringing up three
children, Violet, Dash and baby Jack Jack in suburbia.
Meanwhile Bob
clock-watches and feels morally compromised in his deadly dull job as an
insurance salesman until he's (wait for it!) lured out of his enforced
retirement one last time and - with the help of his family - ends up facing
his nemesis, the fantastically vengeful villain Syndrome. And this is where
the bulk of the incredible action occurs, taking in his foešs futuristic
island hideaway, some peril in the jungle and underwater, ending up in a
terrorised cityscape.
The only cautionary note for families is that tiny
tots might find the tone a tad grown-up and occasionally scary but
everyone else will have a ball.
And the extras on this two-disc set are also
extraordinarily good - throwing more light on the feature itself, adding
insight into the characters' back stories and presenting exclusive shorts.
Incredibly highly recommended.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
The Incredibles:
