Film

The Incredibles

Name: The Incredibles
Genre: Action, Adventure, Animation, Family
Released: 2004
Cast: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer Fox, Jason Lee

Brad Bird's superhero movie about a superhero family stuck in civilian life, secretly aching for the old days. It's a spy thriller, a marriage story and an action showcase for kids, all moving at real velocity with mid-century design flair. Funny, sincere, gorgeously staged — for families, animation nerds and anyone who likes their capes with a side of domestic exhaustion.

TMDb rating

3.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a sharp, witty script where a marriage's strains and a big action set piece get equal attention, and you like superhero stories that poke fun at their own costumes.

Skip it if you want relentless spectacle, since the home life takes up as much room as the capes do and the pace is gentle between set pieces.

What it asks of you: Under two hours, and it lingers on dinner-table frustration before the action arrives, so settle in for a gradual build rather than a sprint.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Incredibles 22018

Picks up the family dynamic and just keeps running with it — Elastigirl gets the spotlight this time, and the action set-pieces are even more inventive than the first film's.

But Doesn't have quite the same freshness or emotional surprise; feels more like a very good victory lap.

The Iron Giant1999

Brad Bird's earlier film, before Pixar — a boy-and-his-robot story with the same gift for staging huge action with real feeling underneath it. Gorgeous hand-drawn animation.

But Slower and quieter than Incredibles, with a Cold War melancholy that's a different mood entirely.

Big Hero 62014

Superhero team-up energy with a warmer, softer centre — grief processed through gadget-building and a squishy robot nurse. Great action, great heart.

But Leans younger and gentler; less of the marital-crisis subtext that gives Incredibles its edge.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Incredibles

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

North by Northwest1959

Bird has said this film's spy-thriller design language shaped the look and plotting of Incredibles directly — same genre engine, sixty years earlier and dead serious.

Hitchcock's ordinary-man-swept-into-espionage thriller is the mid-century DNA running through Incredibles' whole visual and plot vocabulary — mistaken identity, sleek villains, a train and a monument for a finale.

But No animation, no capes, no kids — this is pure adult suspense, and it moves at a stagier, more deliberate pace.

Sky High2005

A superhero family comedy that plays the same what-do-you-do-with-powers-in-suburbia joke from the kid's side, at high school. Genuinely funny and sweet.

But Live-action and much cheaper looking — charming rather than dazzling, closer to a Disney Channel movie.

Spy Kids2001

Retired superspy parents, kids who inherit the family business — the blueprint Incredibles borrows its whole setup from, told with gleeful low-budget invention.

But Rougher edges, sillier tone, and effects that have aged considerably since 2001.

Despicable Me2010

Another animated film about a costumed operator whose real crisis is family — plus gadget-heavy action and a villain who's more fun than menacing.

But Broader, jokier, and more merchandise-friendly; less interested in the emotional stakes Incredibles takes seriously.

Megamind2010

A gleeful genre riff on superhero tropes from the villain's side, with the same love of retro-futurist design and comic-book pacing.

But More concerned with jokes than character; doesn't aim for the same depth.

Kingsman: The Secret Service2015

If it's the spy-craft and gadget glamour of Incredibles you loved, this delivers that in live action with tailored suits instead of super-suits.

But Considerably more violent and profane — very much not for the kids who loved the Parr family.

Up2009

Pixar's other great film about a person mourning a life they thought was behind them, told with the same mix of slapstick and genuine ache.

But No superheroes, no action spectacle — a much quieter, more purely emotional film.

Superheroes2011

Takes Bob Parr's exact itch — the desperate need to matter, to be special again — and shows you what it looks like without the powers, the money, or the happy ending.

A documentary following real people who dress up and patrol American streets as costumed vigilantes — funny, sad, and unexpectedly moving about why ordinary people want to be extraordinary.

But No spectacle, no fights that work — just real, often lonely people, which can be uncomfortable rather than fun.

Chronicle2012

Same premise — powers as coming-of-age metaphor, family dysfunction fuelling the fallout — pushed into found-footage horror territory instead of Pixar's reassurance.

Found-footage teens gain powers and it goes wrong fast — the same question Incredibles asks about superpowers as a stand-in for adolescence and family strain, but curdled into something genuinely unsettling.

But Dark, bleak, and violent where Incredibles is warm — this is what happens when the superhero-family metaphor is played for tragedy instead of triumph.