When I first saw The Incredibles I liked it, but didn’t love it. When I last ranked Pixar’s films I placed it at #7, but to say a film is in the bottom five when it comes to Pixar’s eleven feature films it’s such a fine line from one film to the next it’s still not an insult. My biggest issue with the film is a rather slow start compared to the excellent last half. Nevertheless, it’s always an enjoyable watch.
Being a superhero film, The Incredibles is the one film in the Pixar stable you would most think would be getting a sequel, but perhaps the fact that it’s so obvious is the reason one has never been made. After all, with so many superhero films hitting theaters nowadays would Pixar look like a front-runner or a follower if they added yet another superhero flick to the schedule? My guess is the only chance of us getting another Incredibles is much further down the road when there aren’t so many men in tights rushing the multiplex, which is fine with me. I’d much rather see what is arguably one of the best animated studios of all time stick to coming up with more original ideas as I hope their sequel quota is met after Monsters University in 2013.
As for watching The Incredibles on high definition Blu-ray, the one thing that stood out more than anything else was the DTS-HD Master Audio track. This release truly delivers in terms of clarity and surround sound as I was picking up things I previously don’t remember hearing. The film had a new life to it, accompanied by a pristine HD image.
Everything from the 2005 two-disc DVD release is here and then some. As I mentioned, the Dolby Digital audio track is now a DTS-HD master and on top of that you get five new special features previously not available.
On disc one is a new 22-minute “The Incredibles Revisited” feature as writer/director Brad Bird sits down to discuss the film seven years after its release with producer John Walker, story supervisor Mark Andrews, supervising technical director Rick Sayre, production designer Lou Romano, character designer Teddy Newton and supervising animator Tony Fucile to share stories concerning the film’s creation, plus a short bit concerning an unnamed studio exec that wasn’t interested in seeing the film made, determined it was a live-action feature if anything.
There’s also a new addition in the “Paths To Pixar” features found on several Pixar releases, this time focusing on the story artists in the house Lasseter built, sharing stories related to their work and what led them to work at Pixar. “Ending With a Bang” is a short, two-minute look at the creation of the end credits and “The New Nomanisan” is a feature looking at Syndrome’s island and how it has been turned into a resort following his demise. Of course, as with all four-disc releases, you also get a DVD copy of the film as well as a Digital Copy.
There isn’t a Pixar film out there I would not consider buying on Blu-ray. Just like classic Disney animated films, Pixar films are simply must owns and with the treatment Disney continues to give these films, they do their best to make it hard to say no. If you are a feature buff, this one includes everything the previous DVD had to offer as well as new features giving it a total of over eight hours of extras. Hard to say they haven’t done their best to give you your money’s worth.
NOTE: You can get a $10 coupon from Disney Movie Rewards if you already own the DVD edition of The Incredibles and upgrade to the Blu-ray, but if you want to take advantage though you have to click here and do it before April 17, 2011.
