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

7.7

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.

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 Kids2001no page yet

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.