The Incredibles 2

What I love about Pixar is its ability to bring animated films to the big screen that both kids and adults will like.

It’s been 14 years since the first Incredibles was released by Director Brad Bird to public acclaim and the sequel finds a way to build on the earlier momentum. Though it runs off the cinematic rails at times, the film does a far better job enhancing the progress of feminism than the recently released Ocean’s Eight.

In a nutshell, Mr. Incredible and his family are forced to live in a cheap motel after the government bans superheroes from fighting crime. In the process, a telecommunications billionaire enlists Elastigirl (voiced by Holly Hunter) to be filmed fighting crime in the hope of getting the government to change its mind.

Problems develop on two fronts that make the film so entertaining. The first deals with the role of Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) as a stay-at-home dad. He is completely unprepared to take care of his three strong-willed children, and you see him walking around desolate and unshaven as he tries to learn to be both mom and dad to the kids.

Dash, the young boy, lives by the motto that there is no rest for the wicked while a teenage Violet moans and groans about a boy in school who keeps her at a distance. On top of that, the baby Jack-Jack becomes a handful when he starts to develop super powers that are beyond his control.

While these family moments leave you constantly laughing, Elastigirl’s attempt to use fame to make progress is derailed by a villain known as Screenslaver. Screenslaver has a hidden trick that allows him (or should I say her) to control a bevy of well-meaning superheroes in a hypnotic fashion that threatens to ruin the reputation of superheroes forever.

Director Bird uses the special effects to great advantage, and Mr. Incredible is helped by his old buddy Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) in his attempt to save not only Elastigirl but the fate of civilization itself. Things look bleak at times which adds to the overall power of the film, and the roles the kids play in the ultimate expected victory had the many children in the theater audience applauding at the movie’s conclusion.