I'll freely admit it, I'm a bit of a lump (ok, a lot of a lump). That's the story of my life. I don't get out a great deal, various reasons for that. So, one thing I don't do very often is go to movies. I joke around that I'll go to one movie a year, whether I need to or not. Now, sometimes I may end up being a couple of movies, but seriously, I just don't go to many movies.
Yet, when the Incredibles came out, I went to the theater to see it, either three or four times, I forget. Not because I was going with new groups of friends either, I went alone each time. What was it about that movie that resonated with me so strongly at the time?
I'm not a huge person for literary analysis. I read books and go to movies largely out of a "sit back and enjoy the ride" perspective. When I look at what some people can get out of things, I'm always like "whoa... never would have even thought of that." Yet, there are some things that get my attention and get me thinking in those terms. The Incredibles is one of those things.
It's not just my love of Superheroes that made the movie for me, but the far more profound stories of each of those characters. They each have an "arc" of their own, and each arc is interwoven and fascinating.
The opening of the movie, with the "candid" interviews with Mr. I and Elasti-Girl are in so many ways the key to the movie. In many ways, it's easy to argue that in those "shorts" the characters are either lying, or more likely, self-decieved. Mr. I wants a chance to settle down. His rant about the maid is one of the classic moments from the movie. On the other hand, EG, she's blunt and outspoken about rejecting "settling down".
Yet, as the movie progresses, at first blush, it seems that the truth is the opposite for both of them. Mr. I, when finally given a chance to "settle down," finds himself to be frankly miserable. On the other hand, EG? Of all the characters, she seems to take to domesticity the most readily. However, I have questions about that (see below).
In a way, you can divide the "Incredible Family" by the male and female. The males (Mr. I and Dash), are straining at the bit, wishing for the chance to reveal who they are. Mr. I wants to go and be a hero again. Dash? He knows he's special, and he just wants nothing more than a chance to strut his stuff.
The females are more complex (and frankly, more interesting). Violet is the easy one. Her transformation through the movie is at the same time well done, yet overdone. It's too fast, too profound, but that's Hollywood and looking for a happy ending. The thing though, is that through most of the movie, Violet is pretty obviously ashamed of who and what she is. I suspect that if you'd given her Rogue's choice from X-Men 3, she'd have taken it in a heartbeat. "Normal! What does anyone in this family know about normal?"
That's what brings us to Mrs. I. The family early on is disfunctional at all levels, but I begin to wonder if she's not the most disfunctional of them all. When it comes to the kids' powers, she's the most openly repressive. Mr. I can't help but feel (and express) a bit of pride over Dash's escapades (and speed), while Mrs. I seems to want to shove all of it away into some deep, dark family closet, hidden from all. I've got a sneaking suspicion that Violet's emotional problems have been helped along more than a fair bit by her mother. (By the way, have you ever noticed, that Violet speaks "shrink talk" really well? I take it she's seen a therapist...)
With Mrs. I, I'm starting to wonder if her own "life of quiet desperation" is the most dishonest of them all. She calls her husband to brag that she's finally unpacked (after however many years). Is that really forced? Is there a piece of her that doesn't fully accept the life that they have?
So, the males seem to be accepting of their powers, but frustrated and beaten down by their inability to actually use them. The females seem to be far less accepting of who they are.
Now, as you follow each of them though their arcs, it remains just as interesting. I don't think any of them become "perfect" or even especially healthy, but they certainly grow and mature.
Mr. I: As the central character, he grows in a few different ways. Aside from his frustration at being forced into a dead end life, I think you can also argue that he doesn't fully understand being a hero. The most telling scene in that respect isn't how much self-confidence he gains when he's given that "false chance" to become a hero, but something small and subtle. When his boss at the insurance company is telling him off, he sees the poor guy getting mugged. His "heroic instincts" cry out for him to go out, but his boss won't let him. Up to this point, there's no problem. But, did you catch what he said, "he got away." For Mr. I, heroism wasn't about helping the weak. It was about the glory, the fun and the rush. It was about the "game." Once the game was over, and all that was left was a poor victim, Mr. I's interest waned.
It's obvious that he grows as he realizes the place of his family, where's he's willing to go into the final fight alone, not for glory or the "rush," but because he'd rather fall alone than risk those he loves. However, does he begin to understand the higher purpose still, that he's there for those who are helpless? The movie is unclear. I'd like to think he does, but you can't really say one way or the other.
Mrs. I: She's probably the most confusing of them all. She clearly is willing to "step back" into the fray, but aside from "don't mess with mommabear's mate or cubs," it's unclear why. I guess, it's because she's the most mysterious to begin with, so her arc is the hardest to see. Yet, the final moment of Violet's epiphany is the moment that Mrs. I says she's proud of Violet. (at the plane crash).
Violet: I love Violet, she's my favorite character in the whole movie. I think that her epiphany is a bit "hollywood" in that it is very fast and very profound, where she goes from a scared, neurotic kid to a self confident young woman who dictates the terms of her date with Tony. Still though, her story is really a story of acceptance. Acceptance of herself, who she is, and what she is. It may be a coincidence, but as the movie goes along, her powers shift. While both her invisibility and force fields are established early on, we generally see her invisibility early. (Hiding from Tony, hiding on the plane, hiding from the guards), but later on, we mostly see her force fields (the first time the four fight as a team, breaking out of the prison, when Syndrome's jet crashes, though she did use her invisibility once in the big fight to get the controller). It's almost as if the invisibility is a sign of her self-loathing, while the force fields come along as she accepts herself. Maybe that's reading too much in.
Dash: Dash is easily the one who matures the least, which shouldn't be surprising. He is a pre-teen boy after all, they can only handle so much maturation. Even in the end, his "goodie" is getting to race and get the accolades of the victor.
As you can tell, I just love this movie, and the characters who make it up. There's a side of me that hopes that Pixar makes another one, because this one is so wonderful. Yet, I always have to wonder, how could they follow it up? The character arcs are so deep and profound, that another movie would be very difficult to make and do it justice.
