Fans have been waiting for 14 long years for Pixar’s superhero family to return to the big screen in “Incredibles 2” ever since “The Incredibles” came out in 2004.
A lot has changed both in the superhero genre and in 3D animation since. This month, movie-goers will finally get to see Bob, Helen, Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack flex their superpowers once again.
Directed by Brad Bird, the synopsis for “Incredibles 2” reads:
“Helen is called on to lead a campaign to bring Supers back, while Bob navigates the day-to-day heroics of “normal” life at home with Violet, Dash and baby Jack-Jack – whose superpowers are about to be discovered. Their mission is derailed, however, when a new villain emerges with a brilliant and dangerous plot that threatens everything. But the Parrs don’t shy away from a challenge, especially with Frozone by their side. That’s what makes this family so Incredible.”
“Incredibles 2” will pick up right where the first movie left off. Here are a few things you can expect about the highly-anticipated superhero animation and its characters:
1. Why it took Pixar’s superhero family so long to return to the big screen
Due to the success of “The Incredibles”, it seemed like an obvious choice for the Pixar film to receive a sequel treatment – given the cliffhanger at the end of the first outing. “Well, it wasn’t an intentional thing. I mean, people almost act affronted if you don’t immediately follow up a successful film with a sequel,” explained Bird.
He continued, “From the point of view of the filmmaker, it’s just as hard to make a sequel as it is to make an original. It’s got its own set of problems. You want to honour the spirit of the one people are responding to, but you don’t want to be predictable. That’s a tough blend to pull off.”
Take for example…
2. The logic behind The Incredibles’ abilities
“What interests me is the idea of having a family. Having there be a reason to hide the powers. And once I had that insight into what I wanted to do, I picked the powers based on who they were in the family,” the filmmaker was quoted as saying.
Bird continued, “And so men are always expected to be strong, so I had Bob have super strength. Women, mothers are always pulled in a million different directions, so I had her be elastic. Teenagers are insecure and defensive, so I had Violet have force fields and invisibility. Ten-year-olds are energy balls that can’t be stopped“.
“And babies are unknown, maybe they have no powers, maybe they have all powers, we don’t know. So, that’s what Jack-Jack was, he was seemingly the first normal one in the family and then at the end of ‘Incredibles’ you find out that he’s the wild card, and that he’s sort of the Swiss army knife of powers. And that to me reminds me of the way babies can grasp languages really easily and adopt them easily,” he added.
3. The reason for not featuring grown-up versions of the Parr children
Bird’s reasoning? It would lose some of the magic. “So, that idea changes if you age the characters up – the insight into those periods of your life and those particular perspectives disappears once you age them up. I’m not interested in a college-aged Jack-Jack. I’m just not. I’m interested in my sons, you know growing up. But in terms of the interest for me in this movie, it stays more iconic if everyone kind of situates themselves,” Bird explained.
4. Role-Reversal
As a nod to modern times, the storyline to “Incredibles 2” have been updated too. While Bob was the breadwinner in the first instalment, he is now taking a step back so Helen can take the driver seat while Bob stays home to care for the children. Female empowerment and family role-reversal are major themes in the sequel.
In addition, there are plenty of story arcs in “Incredibles 2”. For example, Violet isn’t as shy as she used to be. In fact, she’s ready to date already. Dash now has more responsibilities on his shoulders. A huge part of the new animated movie will focus on the Parr family adjusting to Jack-Jack’s new powers – which are emotionally driven.
5. The allies
- Brad Bird as Edna Mode – With her impeccable taste in fashion, and her outstanding ability to design the world’s best supersuits, Edna Mode is fierce, intelligent, and downright scary at times. She’s a force to be reckoned with even though she’s short. She’s close to the Parr family, and will do all she can to help them…. except for putting capes on their suits. No capes, dahling.
- Jonathan Banks as Rick Dicker – Rick heads up the Supers Relocation Program, helping the Parr family and other Supers to stay well hidden, and integrated in normal society. However, when his division is shut down, the Parrs are on their own.
- Samuel L. Jackson as Lucius Best/ Frozone – Bob’s best friend and lover of the supersuit, Frozone has the power to make ice from humidity, which has caused the bad guys to slip up on many an occasion. He’s more than ready and willing to come out of hiding and is most likely just waiting for the word.
6. Will Frozone’s wife be revealed?
“We wanted to show Honey in this movie. We didn’t end up doing it because it’s funnier as a voice. So we actually went through all the trouble of designing a character, and the design appears in the movie, but not as Frozone’s wife. We have used her design and she is a hero (but) there’s not a lot of screen time for it though. The problem is that we have a lot of different things that we want the movie to be about, and the 2 Incredibles movies are already the longest movies at Pixar, and they are never happy about that,” Bird pointed out.
7. Who are the Wannabes?
We are just as curious as you. With The Incredibles making an impact, more people are showing interest in becoming heroes – like these Wannabes here. Not much has been revealed other than the fact that Sophia Bush voices Voyd. Like those beside her, the Wannabes are described as “second-rate supers” that work with DevTech.
Details are as follows:
- Voyd is a young, overeager mega-fan of Elastigirl. Her super power is the ability to divert and manipulate objects around her by creating void that allow the objects to appear and disappear. She’s voiced by Sophia Bush.
- Brick is super tough with mega muscles and a fearless spirit that showcases her strong name.
- Reflux is a senior who has the unsettling super power of heaving hot lava, which helps him break into some of the most secure locales.
- Krushauer has the power of telekinesis. He can crush a car without even laying a hand on it.
- Screech sports big owl-like eyes and a head that rotates 360 degrees. He can fly, thanks to a pair of wings he made to complete his look, but his real power is a high-pitched screech that can break glass.
- He-Lectrix can shoot lightning bolts from his fingertips. He’s high voltage, so it’s best to steer clear.
8. The Flexible Elasticycle
One of the action scenes we’re really excited about is Elastigirl and her brand new Elasticycle. “It needed to be an extension of her abilities, flexible and nimble,” said animator Kureha Yokoo, a former motorcyclist. “We went with a conventional motorcycle design but with special features. Brad said, ‘Just make it cool, man!’” The bike can not only stretch acrobatically with Elastigirl, but it can also jump from rooftop to rooftop.
9. Superhero movie renaissance
The first Incredibles movie came out before the Marvel Cinematic Universe exploded at the box office. As aforementioned, the superhero movie landscape has since progressed a great deal. “It’s easy to freak out and go, ‘Why even try?’ But then I return to what makes us unique and it’s the idea of the family and that superheroes have to hide their abilities, and there’s plenty left to explore,” Bird expressed.
Psst, to pump up the excitement, we’re also giving out some pretty cool “Incredibles 2” merchandise to our awesome readers. Click here to find out what prizes are in store for you.
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Sources: Indie Wire, /Film, Screen Rant, Nerdist.
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