"The Incredibles"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ***** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ***** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Craig T. Nelson as BOB PARR/MR. INCREDIBLE Holly Hunter as HELEN PARR/ELASTIGIRL Samuel L. Jackson as LUCIUS BEST/FROZONE Jason Lee as SYNDROME Elizabeth Peña as MIRAGE Wallace Shawn as GILBERT HUPH Rated PG Studio: Disney/Pixar Directed by: Brad Bird Back to DVD Review Home |
 |
If you were like me, you fell in love with “The Incredibles” when it hit the theaters last November. Forget the Academy’s lame “Best Animated Film” category. “The Incredibles” is easily in the top five films of the year - hands down. Forget about “The Aviator” and “Ray.” The story of the little super-family-that-could was pure genius.
I don’t mean to be sounding like I’m pandering to Pixar, Disney or even Brad Bird. Believe me, I thought “Iron Giant” was pretty decent, just not the future of animation. But when I see genius, I call it out.
So, I didn’t think that “The Incredibles” could get any better. That was, until I looked at the DVD.
Like the other Pixar releases, “The Incredibles” comes in a 2-disc set and is packed with extra features. When “Finding Nemo” came out, I praised the DVD because it really seemed to come from DVD lovers rather than the Disney marketing machine. It is as if the folks at Pixar sat in a room and said, “What would we love to see on a DVD that you don’t normally get?”
Case in point, there are two commentary tracks on the first disc - one with writer/director Brad Bird and producer John Walker, and the other featuring a slate of animators who worked on the film. What makes these commentaries so great, aside from the tons of clever and insightful information they present? They’re both available as subtitles in the film. This is the first time I’ve seen this, and it’s great.
Now, I know you’re thinking, “Why do you need subtitles? Aren’t they speaking in English?” Well, for people like me who have little kids, the volume on the television is rather touchy. If the kids are sleeping, you can’t play the movie too loud, and you usually have to crank up a commentary quite a bit to hear it. But if the kids are awake, it’s even worse. Kids under five carry a decibel level beyond any other animal. Sometimes subittles are your only option to “hear” a film.
Everything you’d expect from a DVD is here, and much more. And if you think the film itself is brilliant, you just keep running into more and more brilliance from the folks at Pixar. Through the commentaries and behind-the-scenes features, you learn about the problems emulating long hair on Violet. You learn about how they cast all the extras in the film from a single model known as “Universal Man.” You learn when this film takes place - in an alternate future as envisioned from the 1960s. Like I said... brilliant.
The deleted scenes are better than most you’ll see in animation simply because they put the storyboards into animatics. There’s also the expected “outtakes” reel of the “cast” of the film.
Not only is the short film “Boundin’,” which lead into the movie in the theaters, presented in full digital glory, but there’s a cluster of behind-the-scenes info on this rather unique short. Also included as an extra short film is “Jack-Jack Attack,” which shows the crazy day that babysitter Kari had with little Jack-Jack before Syndrome came over to “relieve” her.
On the second disc, there’s some really clever tidbits, including the “Supers Files,” which are audio clips of all the different superheroes on file with the NSA. These are great bits of what seems to be improv with some keen insight into what it would be like to really be a superhero.
But the most hilarious thing you’ll find on this two-disc set is the lost “Mr. Incredible & Pals” animated special. This fake cartoon features Mr. Incredible, Frozone and their sidekick, a rabbit with glasses named Mr. Skipperdoo. It’s an incredible emulation of crappy 1960s pseudo animation. And while the short itself is a hoot, the best part is a commentary on this episode by Mr. Incredible and Frozone themselves. Find out why Frozone is irked at Mr. Incredible for talking him into selling his likeness to this show. And find out what they think about Mr. Skipperdoo, who ranks below Gleek the Monkey as one of the most ridiculous superhero sidekicks.
Of course, what Pixar DVD would be complete without a whole carton of Easter Eggs found throughout the discs. They have neat little bonus features, including an abridged version of the film performed entirely with sock puppets.
Like I said, brilliant all around.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX. Theatrical widescreen (2.39:1) - Enhanced for 16x9 televisions. THX-certified, including optimizer. French and Spanish language tracks. French and Spanish subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.
