I cannot believe it has been 14 years since The Incredibles came out. The gap between sequels seems to be getting longer, but the director, Brad Bird, said he wanted to wait until he had the perfect story. There's even a clip before the film starts where actors, Craig T. Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Holly Hunter tell us it will be "well worth the wait"--and they were right!
Though 14 years later, the film takes place minutes later. The first film ends with the Parr family having to fight the Miner who pops up out of the school parking lot, just after Violet gets a date with Tony. The sequel starts with that fight and we see how it backfires as the Parr family get arrested for destroying part of the city and because superheroes are still illegal. Enter our new characters, siblings Winston and Evelyn Deaver, who both want to help superheroes step back into the light, but they believe the way to do that is with Elastigirl. Therefore, our sequel twist is that Mr. Incredible becomes a stay-at-home dad having to babysit Jack-Jack and learning of his dozens of powers, teaching Dash "new math", and inserting his foot into his mouth when he tries to help Violet with her crush--all while Elastigirl is improving superhero relations.
Personally, I thought the movie was predictable but perfect. I loved it for its simplistic plot that was not hard to figure out. I knew right away who the "villain" was and what their motivation was; however, I did not know exactly how the climax would occur, so I was still very much engaged. Not to mention there was enough character development and funny scenes to space out the predictable plot arch.
Often times animated films are more for the adults who are taking the kids, then for the kids themselves. Most kids will not understand half the references, but will still enjoy the overall concept. At the same time, this film comes out when the kids who saw the first are now adults, possibly with kids of their own. Therefore, this film is a great blend of adult and child humor. I found it hilarious, and as a teacher, I particularly loved when Mr. Incredible stays up all night reading Dash's "new math" textbook so he can teach him new math, which was what it was called in the 60s (the time period this film alludes to) and is a shout out to our modern common core confusion.
What I really love about this film is that there is even more Frozone and Jack-Jack, which brings me to my all-time favorite scenes--learning of Jack-Jack's powers, particularly when Violet and Dash call Uncle Frozone over because their dad is going insane from sleep-deprivation and trying to keep up with Jack-Jack. I lost track of how many powers he has and all I will say on the matter is that the best scene in the whole film is when Jack-Jack fights the raccoon.
If you want a light-hearted comedy with some fun action sequences then this film is for you. If you loved the first one then you will love the second one. If you have not seen the first one, what's wrong with you?
