CAST: Craig T. Nelson (Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible), Holly Hunter (Helen Parr/Elastigirl), Samuel L. Jackson (Lucius Best/Frozone), Jason Lee (Buddy Pine/Syndrome), Wallace Shawn (Gilbert Huph), Spencer Fox (Dashiel "Dash" Parr), Sarah Vowell (Violet Parr), Elizabeth Pena SCR: Brad Bird DIR: Brad Bird STUDIO: Pixar; distributed by Disney MPAA: PG for action violence RUNNING TIME: 115 minutes OFFICIAL SITE: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/incredibles/index.html In•cred•i•ble (in•kred'•i•bel) adj. 1. Seemingly too far-fetched or extraordinary to be possible. 2. Beyond or difficult of belief. From Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary, 1978. Not only are the Incredibles incredibly powerful, but their movie, The Incredibles, is incredibly funny. Anyone who has ever been a fan of any super-hero, be it Superman, Spider-man, X-Men, or any of the hundreds of others created to feed our need to be rescued (and our desire to come to the rescue), will love The Incredibles. Bob Parr, whose secret identity is "Mr. Incredible" (and all super-heroes have secret identities, by the way), has had to leave the life of super-hero-ness behind after lawsuits against him forced him to retire his blue spandex. He is reduced to working in a claims cubicle for an insurance company. But he is called back into action by a mysterious benefactor who needs his help. A couple of problems along the way. First, Mr. Incredible can no longer fit into his suit, having fallen victim to sitting at a desk when he would normally be out arresting bad guys. Second, his wife, Helen, who is the former Elastigirl, can't know that Bob is back in action. After all, they are trying to lead a normal, suburban life, all the time keeping their children's super powers in check. If all of this sounds like it's borrowed almost directly from X-Men, it is, but there are no apologies for it. In fact, references to super-heroes abound, albeit obliquely, and homage is paid to each in turn. Writer/director Brad Bird previously brought us the animated feature The Iron Giant. While that film was fun, it had some problems. In the mean time, Bird has continued directing animation, most notably The Simpsons. (Rats! I actually had to mention that show in a review!) The Incredibles is more than just a feather in the cap for Brad Bird. This is a first rate film that rivals Pixar's Toy Story for fun, excitement, and adventure. But he's really gone a step beyond the previous Pixar phenomenon; The Incredibles is a thrill ride, a comic romp, and an action story about saving the world all rolled up into one. Many of the jokes are designed to spoof legendary super heroes and their costumes, and they succeed brilliantly. Craig T. Nelson (from TV's The District) voices Bob Parr, and has an obviously fun time doing it. Nelson is no stranger to comedy, as in Coach, but he's probably better know for his dramatic roles. His vocals lend something special to the comedy in the film. More importantly, you can't really tell it's his voice, which is a benefit not enjoyed by Wallace Shawn, who takes a small role in The Incredibles as well. Shawn is best known for his role as Vizzini in The Princess Bride, and his voice is always a dead giveaway. The rest of the voice cast also gave tremendous performances. This included Brad Bird himself as the seamstress who makes all of the super-hero uniforms. It was a very funny part. The movie ends with some really fun surprises, but the one thing that wasn't a surprise was the set-up for the sequel. Of course, it's no surprise that they want to do a sequel, and I have no doubt it's already in the works. If the film is as successful as it should be, we should be delighted with that sequel in the not too distant future. In the mean time, save the day. --reviewed by DALE JAY DENNIS