Let’s rewind the clock a bit, all the way back to November 5, 2004. The Marvel Cinematic Universe wasn’t a thing yet, and Batman hadn’t yet been reinvented and refreshed by Christopher Nolan. Still, the idea of a superhero movie was already growing in popularity. And one film not only capitalized on an audience’s thirst for more comic-book-like films but also completely reinvented the genre in the process. Yes, I’m talking about the 2004 Pixar film, The Incredibles.
The Incredibles is about a family of superheroes forced to live ordinary lives after the government bans superheroes from being, well, super. Of course, the father in the film, Mr. Incredible, secretly returns to superhero action, but gets captured by the bad guy, Syndrome, in the process. His wife, Elastigirl, along with their three kids, Violet, Dash, and baby Jack-Jack, have to come to his rescue, discovering how to work together as a family in the process.
Remembering ‘The Incredibles’ 21 Years Later
Written and directed by Brad Bird, The Incredibles is what happens when you let the geniuses at Pixar create a superhero film.
This wasn’t just some kiddie film, though. Bird and his team managed to blend action with a spy thriller perfectly, all wrapped up in a stylish package and a jazz score that is one of Pixar’s best. It’s jam-packed with style, fun, and memorable moments and characters. I mean, who doesn’t quote Samuel L. Jackson’s “Where’s my supersuit?” line at least once every few months?
The film wasn’t just about heroes versus villains, either. It was about career burnout, troubled family dynamics, and how to navigate the most difficult parts of life that everyone deals with, even those without superpowers. That extremely relatable story, combined with Pixar’s traditional flair, made it one of the most memorable films of the decade.
Remember, at the time, superhero movies were a thing, but they were about to become the thing in Hollywood. Spider-Man was off the ground with the first two Tobey Maguire films, but the MCU was still four years away from taking off.
What this meant was that there wasn’t really a standard superhero formula you had to follow for studios to agree to make your movie. And because it was Pixar, you had the added benefit of knowing that, whatever you made, families were going to come to see it. Still, Bird had to make a good movie, and thankfully, he made a great one.
The numbers back this up. The Incredibles opened to $70.5 million domestically and went on to gross over $631 million worldwide. It earned four Oscar nominations, winning two (Best Animated Feature and Best Sound Editing). It also played a massive role in making superhero films mainstream, as little kids who saw The Incredibles in theaters in 2004 would be teenagers during the massive Avengers run from 2012 to 2019.
Over two decades later, The Incredibles is still an absolute blast to watch. It manages to combine the traditional family dynamic that anyone can relate to and understand with the world of superheroes and comic book characters—a reality we all wish we could experience for ourselves. It set the stage for the family dynamics we would see in future superhero films, like Guardians of the Galaxy, and made the genre something the whole family can enjoy.
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