Incredibles 2

Fourteen years after the original, director Brad Bird’s digitally animated superhero franchise has a super sequel revolving around the Parr family. Bob, Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson), is the traditional strong and protective patriarch, while Helen (Holly Hunter) is his flexible wife—aka Elastigirl. Violet (Sarah Vowell) is their angst-laden teenage daughter, Dash (Huck Milner) is a rowdy, impulsive younger brother, and Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile) is the baby. The family’s best friend is Lucius Best—aka Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson). This story begins where the last movie left off, with superheroes being forbidden from saving lives. So after they dispense with destructive, drill-riding Underminer (John Ratzenberger), the family is unceremoniously banished from suburbia and forced to live in a cheap motel. To their rescue comes savvy telecommunications entrepreneur Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk) and his cynical sister Evelyn (Catherine Keener), who convince Elastigirl to kick off a campaign to reinstate superheroes. Feeling empowered, Elastigirl’s first crime-fighting target is a mysterious, masked villain known as Screenslaver, who uses TV to hypnotize and brainwash the masses, turning them into mindless zombies. Meanwhile, Bob is predictably uncomfortable playing Mr. Mom: he finds Dash’s “new math” homework baffling and is exhausted trying to wrangle three rambunctious kids. A male chauvinist, Bob is jealous that his wife is getting all the action and attention. During Mom’s absence, Jack-Jack suddenly exhibits his own unique superpowers, and more complications arise when unmasked Violet is spied in her superhero costume by a boy at school. Imaginative, inventive, and featuring a terrific retro-futuristic design, this fun family film is recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the short film “Bao” (7 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is audio commentary by Alan Barillaro (supervising animator), Tony Fucile (supervising animator, story artist, and character designer), Dave Mullins (supervising animator) and Bret Parker (animation second unit and crowds supervisor), deleted scenes (40 min.), “Heroes & Villains” character profiles (26 min.), “Strong Coffee: A Lesson in Animation with Brad Bird” with the director (19 min.), the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Paths to Pixar: Everyday Heroes” (12 min.), “Super Stuff” (7 min.), “Superbaby” (5 min.), and “Ralph Eggleston: Production Designer” (2 min.), the making-of featurette “Making Bao” (6 min.), an “Auntie Edna” short film (5 min.), vintage toy commercials and theme songs (3 min.), and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package (on the Blu-ray edition) for this winning sequel.] (S. Granger)