First movie i've liked this well in a long time - The Incredibles Reviews

In Pixar's headquarters is carved the inscription, "No amount of technology can turn a bad story into a good one," and they have not forgotten that with The Incredibles. Writer/Director Brad Bird, a relatively new addition to Pixar, although his son Nicholas voiced Squirt in Finding Nemo, brings us another quality story with a strong central theme. It reminds us that whatever else happens, what really counts is family and being true to yourself. The story starts sometime after all the "supers" have been forced underground by a string of lawsuits. The government bails the superheroes out in return for them going into the Superhero Relocation Program. The only problem is that it doesn't work for some people. Bob Parr (the former Mr. Incredible) longs to be super again, and the result of his repressing his desires is an ever-expanding gut and receding hairline. He despises the way he has to suppress his abilities to fit in ("When everyone is special, no one is"). He does some clandestine moonlighting with pal Lucious (Frozone) as his only real escape from enslavement in a cubicle. That is, it is his only real escape until a mysterious woman named Mirage offers him an opportunity to travel to an island (which, incidentally, looks like something straight out of Bond). There he gets captured by Syndrome, a misguided guy who is bent on unleashing a robot so that he can go defeat it and become a superhero. Bob's wife, Helen (aka Elastigirl), flies off to save him, unknowingly with stowaways. Everything about the movie is superb. The themes of the movie (strength of character, strength of family) are not made subtly, but it works in the context of the film. Brad Bird's direction of his script (as well as his voicing of Edna Mode, former costumer of all the supers -- no capes!!) is spot-on. The comedy in the movie is humorous and often witty, with a touch of slapstick. The action sequences are frenetic. And then there are the visuals. Pixar have once again outdone themselves. Each movie has raised the technical bar. After Monsters Inc (particularly Sulley's fur blowing in the wind after he falls off his sled) and Finding Nemo (the murky quality to the ocean and vibrant colors), they had their work cut out for them, and they delivered. The hair and clothing effects are spectacular (particularly Violet's hair coming over her face, and the wet hair in the ocean), but what really caught my attention was the use of light and shadow. The shadows, particularly in the jungle sequences, really gave the objects in those scenes a depth and beaty that only Shrek 2 has come close to. My whole family loved this movie. I though the action sequences might be a bit much for them. There are guns and images of death, but my family didn't really seem to mind. My five year-old said it's the "Best Best Best Movie" she's ever seen. I have to say that at 33 years old, it's one of the better movies, let alone animated movies, I've ever seen. I wouldn't mind paying again to go see it, and I haven't been able to say that in a very long time.