The voices of the talented actors only enhance the snappy script, which sings with insights like Helen’s comment to Bob during their wedding.  “To make this marriage work,” she says, “you’re going to have to be much more than Mr. Incredible.”  That’s a fact, as any married person will tell you, but framed in a newlywed context, the words take on added depth, pointing to the high expectations which often plague young couples.  Another character says, “Valuing life is not weakness, and disregarding it is not strength,” taking aim at a culture that does both in alarmingly high numbers.  Additional targets include greedy insurance companies that extort the weak, lawsuit-happy lawyers who persuade the uninjured to sue, simply because they can, and the cult of mediocrity.  For, even though the Parrs have gifts that can change the world, they must blend in, creating the illusion that everyone in the world is the same.  Why?  Because no one should feel, quelle horreur, inferior to anyone else.

The film is also very funny, with highly original personality traits (not the least of which is Hunter’s Southern accent) and characters, like the superhero fashionista and the whiny babysitter.  A brief but comical plot point about why superheroes should not wear capes will amuse many, and the argument between Helen and Bob about which freeway exit to take, as they careen toward town, had me howling.

Not content to rest on these laurels, however, “The Incredibles” also promotes marriage and family life.  Like many husbands, Bob fights traffic every day to arrive a job he hates and a boss he cannot respect.  His wife stays home, doing what she has to do to fulfill her less-than-thrilling responsibilities.  Like every couple, the Parrs spar, but they also put up a unified front for the children and do what they can to resolve their differences.  That they stay together, despite the lure of other women (for Bob) and the disappointment of duplicity (for Helen) is a testament to the blessing that marriage can and should be, despite its difficulties.

The film deserves its PG rating.  With lots of heavy violence and multiple deaths, it will not be appropriate for younger audiences.  The superheroes and their children narrowly escape death on several occasions, while other characters die what adults know to be violent deaths, although no blood or gore is ever shown.  Further, while the plot is sound, it nevertheless revolves around the traditional superhero scenario, although the aside – with the superheroes returning to ordinary existences – injects life into the tried-but-true model.

All in all, “The Incredibles” is a great ride which will merely serve to bolster the already-sterling reputation of a studio that has produced many excellent animated hits.  Pixar’s competitors, we can only hope, will take note and follow suit.

AUDIENCE:  Adults, older children

OBJECTIONABLE CONTENT

• Drugs/Alcohol Content:     A character sips on a flute of champagne in one scene.
• Language/Profanity:    Three mild obscenities (“Oh my God!”).
• Sexual Content/Nudity:    Married adults kiss romantically in several scenes; sexy female character crosses and uncrosses her legs and sashays across room; teenage girl has crush on teenage boy, who eventually asks her out on a date.
• Violence:     Lots of action/cartoon violence with death threats and life-threatening situations and dangers; mother warns children that people will try and kill them; some characters die violent deaths, such as being sucked into a plane engine and crashing against a wall, creating a fiery blaze.