“She’d Eat If We Were Having Tony Loaf”: Slightly Silly Thoughts On The Incredibles 2
- Alec Plumley
- Jul 12, 2018
- 6 min read
Pixar has done it again.
The Incredibles 2 is a smart movie. A really smart movie. Dare I say it, a SUPER smart movie.
Wow, I can’t believe I made that joke.
My brother absolutely loved the first Incredibles movie when he was a baby. Loved it. I don’t want to overestimate how many times I watched it with him growing up, but I’m gonna say I’ve seen it about 300 times. So when I tell you I was excited for this movie, understand it was because I had memorized entire scenes from sheer repetition and was desperate for more from the Parr family.
I was expecting the humor, the insane displays of superpower, and the epic battles. However, I was not expecting the extremely heady commentary on the state of the modern superhero movie, the deep philosophical approach to perception in the media, and the almost overwhelmingly mature subject matter that this film handles with sincerity and grace.
On a slightly unrelated note, the animated short that came before Incredibles, Bao, was absolutely adorable and made me cry actual tears in the theater.
My family has been teasing me about it all month. I regret nothing.
First off, some observations:
No wait, first off: Spoilers! Spoilers for Incredibles 2. I don't want to spoil the film for you, Oh dear lord don't put that on my conscience, please go see it and give Pixar your money!!
Okay. Second, first observation:
(Thats confusing)
None of the villains in the Incredibles universe have any powers. None of them. All of them have some kind of tech that they use to attempt to do dastardly deeds. Syndrome made his own tech, Screenslaver developed her own tech to hypnotize people, the Underminer builds his drill vehicles and robotic punchy-fists. Even Bomb Voyage from the flashback in the first film exclusively uses explosives to rob banks. Even in Frozone's speech when he and Mr. Incredible are sitting in the car, Baron Von Ruthless (great name btw) fights Frozone with a "death ray"
With the number of supers that exist in both films, it goes to show just how surprising it is that apparently no super would use their powers to get rich or hurt people, but that doesn't happen either. You'd think at least one of these people would go bad over the years, but no super criminals are ever mentioned.
Bottom line, it's weird and definitely an aspect of the world worth expanding on.
I loved the unabashed realism that the characters bring to this world. It seems so hokey and non-threatening at first glance with names like Metroville and Municiberg settled neatly in a sightly modernized version of 1960's America. However, as was true in the first movie you can get straight up murdered in this world just as easily as the one we live in. Guys are driving down the street firing automatic weapons at cops in broad daylight, giant robots fire energy beams at cars, giant yachts are nearly wrecked into the city, and people just go about their days!
There is a genuine United Nations and a strict policy force that is not afraid to use lethal force when provoked. Heroes are unceremoniously killed because they use capes in their costume designs, a skeleton of a dead Super is on Syndrome's island! And Mr. Incredible uses it to hide!
The tone stays true in this film, with the new benefactor of the Supers, Winston Deavor pulling out cost/benefit analyses to prove why Elasti-girl (Mrs. Incredible) is the safest bet to gather support for superheroes again. Mr. Incredible has a one liner about the important of insurance in reference to how many buildings they knock down, it's genuinely hysterical.
Second Observation:
Mr. Incredible is a bit of a punk.
Hold on, hear me out!
I've always loved Mr. Incredible, he's smart and super genuine, he's like a kid himself and he's so great! He's a great husband and legitimately becomes a super-dad.
But...
Elasti-girl is the star of the show. In both movies. Don't @ me.
In the last movie we see that Elasti-girl was just snatchin' criminals out from under Mr. Incredible. Even the random purse snatchers know it, Elasti-girl is prime. In Incredibles 2, we get a fight I didn't even know I wanted, Mr. Incredible vs. hypnotized Elasti-girl. And just in case you think Mr. Incredible would hold back on his wife, the roles are later reversed. And she wins again, oh and Frozone is there too. She beats them both.
They're both super powerful, but in different ways. They're a perfect team, as superheroes and as parents, they love each other so much that it makes every fight they have a joy. Mr. Incredible is the hammer, but Elasti-girl is the scalpel. She is damn effective with less collateral damage, and I feel like they gave her the credit she was due in Incredibles 2 (That rhymed).
The philosophy in this movie.
Hot damn.
There is a point in this movie where two characters sit down over a glass of brown liquid (I'm gonna say it's whiskey) and have a debate over what is more valuable, a genuinely impactful discovery or the ability to sell that discovery. basically a very high brow and metaphysical debate over truth and perception happens in an animated film marketed for children.
Holy shit.
The character s actually approach the topic from the positions of cynic and optimist. Maybe I'm not giving kids movies these days enough credit, but the inclusion of this debate was a real risk, and one I appreciated. As a philosophy geek, watching this happen in the theater was a real treat and I give kudos to Brad Bird and anyone who wrote this movie.
Third observation:
Frozone is really really really cool.
That is all.
The level of maturity of this film is out of this world. Many real world issues were approached in this film in a way that little kids could either grasp the basics off, or in ways that went totally over the kids heads and instead just connected to the older viewers who had loved the first Incredibles. Funny how we probably missed all the mature subject matter in that film when we were young too.
The role of women in a male dominated field, men adjusting to becoming a stay at home parent, our genuine experience of reality and meaning in a world filled with screens, these were just some of the very real problem that we suffer with everyday, all handled with maturity and tact.
Specifically, there is a point where Winston Deavor is talking to the Supers about the public's perception of them, saying that the public is persuaded by lawmakers and talking heads who show them the aftermath of their battles, not the decisions in the moment that would be easier to understand on a human level and empathize with. He suggests that the heroes should wear body cameras to show the situations from their points of view in order to help the public understand and perceive what such a stressful situation can be like, as well as how quickly they can go wrong. As this was happening I couldn't help but connect the Super's situation to the issues of police accountability today, and the call for officers to wear body cameras for almost the exact same reason.
Maybe this wasn't an intended connection on the writer's part, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was.
The Incredibles was a big part of my childhood, and I'm glad it's back. The hype train was surprisingly not fast enough on this one, and the result was similar to the train at the end of Back to the Future III. Except the train was my mind. It was blown. It exploded. It...it goes off... off the track into the ravine and blows u....
Please go watch Back to the Future III if you haven't, for no other reason than to get that joke. I'm begging you.
Anyway I would highly recommend you go to the theater and give Pixar your money.
Hopefully Incredibles 3 will be out before I have a small child my own, another 14-year old break would mean I would have to watch Incredibles 1 & 2 just as many times with my own child as I did with my brother...
On second thought never mind, I'm fine with that.
TL;DR
The Incredibles 2 was dope as shit and made me real giddy. Lots of stuff in this movie made for little babies made me think real deep thoughts about superhero movies and movies in general and life and shit. This movie makes babies smart. Maybe too smart. maybe Incredibles 2 was made to spark the baby revolution where all the babies get super smart and overthrow us all and make us wear diapers, OH GOD IT'S BABY STALIN!
Or Pixar just made another great movie.
Probably that.
Also I cried real tears at a short film about a dumpling becoming sentient and being loved unconditionally by his mother until he wants to be independent and leaves home.
oh God...
Don't judge me.
Hell's Bells,
Alec
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