The Incredibles (2004)

Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) is one of several superheroes keeping evil at bay. Fighting crime at every turn, his super strength makes it almost effortless for him to stop just about anyone.

Two other heroes also fighting crime in the same city are Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), whose limbs and in fact entire body can stretch to ridiculous proportions as if she were made of rubber; and Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) who can freeze anything, and can essentially shoot ice from his hands.

And when we meet them, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl are getting married.

Soon after this, after a long line of lawsuits from people who were saved by Mr. Incredible against their will - including a suicide attempt - superheroes are driven deeper and deeper underground, until the government is forced to rehouse them in a process similar to witness protection: they assume new identities and new lives in a new place, and try to keep their superpowers a secret.

Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson).

Fifteen years later, Bob Parr - formerly Mr. Incredible - and his wife, Helen, have three children: Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dashiell (Spencer Fox) or 'Dash' and baby Jack-Jack. Given that their parents are both 'supers', the children too have powers: Violet has the power of invisibility and also the ability to generate a protective force field around herself, Dash has super speed and Jack-Jack, well, we don't know yet, he's still too young.

Bob now works in insurance, a job that is crushing his spirit. His boss, Gilbert Huph (Wallace Shawn), treats him like dirt. But once a week - when Helen thinks he is going bowling - he and friend Lucius Best (or Frozone) sit in his car listening to the police scanner, dreaming of the day when they can use their powers to fight crime again.

That day comes all too soon when Bob - as Mr. Incredible - is recruited by a woman named Mirage (Elizabeth Peña) to test the features of a super-strong robot, developed by an inventor named Buddy Pine (Jason Lee), who always wanted to be a superhero, but has now turned to super-villainy, going by the name Syndrome.

Elastigirl (Holly Hunter).

Unknown to Mr. Incredible, Syndrome is actually trying to rid the world of all other superheroes, so that in their absence, he can become the hero he always wanted to be; if there isn't anyone else with superpowers, then his abilities will seem greater.

But when Mr. Incredible can't get back home, the rest of the family - including the two eldest children, who until now have been told to repress their abilities - must come to his aid and stop Syndrome's evil plan.

The screenplay, written by Brad Bird, is absolutely brilliant. The story itself is simple enough, but the writing is executed in such a clever way that it makes for a wonderfully entertaining ride that will surely have you on the edge of your seat (unless you've fallen off from laughing too hard). The relationships between all the characters are very well defined, and there is plenty of underlying conflict, as well as serious external conflict, to keep the story moving.

Violet (Sarah Vowell) and Dash (Spencer Fox).

Michael Giacchino's score is equally brilliant, matching the on-screen action and emotion perfectly. This shouldn't be surprising, Giacchino is a compositional genius, as any of his previous work will show. I was quite surprised, however, at the significant portions of the film that featured no score whatsoever, something that is incredibly rare in animation, but something that here works to the film's advantage. It is only certain points within the film where music is used, thus heightening and highlighting these key moments even more.

The voice cast are all fantastic in their respective roles. I particularly enjoyed the chemistry between Nelson and Hunter as husband and wife, but also between Vowell and Fox as brother and sister. And Jason Lee is the absolute perfect choice to play the villain.

Director Brad Bird - yes, he wrote and directed this film - has done a fabulous job. I absolutely love this film, and watching it over and over does not diminish its brilliance.

8 out of 10.