4. The Incredibles

This is slightly (okay, EXTREMELY) out of order, but the three-year-old is visiting and he's been on an Incredibles kick. As in, we're sitting down to watch it again for the seventh time in less than a week. I wish I was exaggerating. Since I originally really enjoyed this movie and am now getting to a point where I know all the words in my sleep, I'm breaking the blog order so that I don't have to watch it again towards the end of the list.

I saw this movie for the first time while I was a Freshmen at WVU. My dad was up for the weekend and he took my friend Cat and I to see it in the theaters. No better way to show how grown up you are than by having a parent take you and a friend to see the latest Disney flick. Right? Yeah....

My first thought when I first saw it, and my remaining thought now: What time period does this take place during? I'm not entirely sure it's current times.

I'm up in the air about the documentary style the movie opens with, but this is because I'm unable to suspend belief and truly think that this part is supposed to be unscripted. It's a cartoon. It's planned out. So what is the producer trying to accomplish with this segment? I remember not liking it when I was in the theaters either, and that was before all my film classes. That probably should have been my first hint that I would never be a normal movie watcher...

Supergirls must have a certain tolerance about their superdudes... if my fiance was willing to risk being late to our wedding because of a string of crime, I'd be pissed. You know, any other day would be okay... but on our wedding day? Oh hell no. But Elastagirl is also out fighting crime, so I think the tolerance thing might hold up.

What kind of city do they live in that there is THIS much crime in one night? I mean, it's like all of the villains with in a five mile radius decided to break the law all within five minutes of one another. And it's not very believable that Mr. Incredible just happens upon all these crimes. Does he have a super radar for that sort of thing?

I love the fact that Elstagirl and Mr. Incredible have a little verbal sparring match while taking out the pickpocketer. This is the first of many times during the movie where I admire the creators for being so true to life and real relationships. Cuz lets face it... women usually do swoop in to save the day and men are never appreciative. ;-)

I've always admired the creativity behind the idea of a superhero being sued for his actions. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember any one else doing this. I probably am wrong since pretty much all of the ideas in the world have been used and are just being recycled with a few added touches here and there to make them "original."

Anyone else get the distinct impression that Mr. Incredible's boss, Gilbert Huph, sounds really REALLY familiar? I've looked it up... and I'll give you a hint. INCONCEIVABLE!

Take a minute to think that one through.

"Everyone's special, Dash." "Which is just another way of saying that no one is..." I LOVE this. It's like when someone tells you you're one in a million... which means that in all reality there are thousands of people out there just like you... only Disney found a more creative way of saying it.

Seriously... when is this movie supposed to take place?? It has a vintage feel to it... the houses and cars feel almost retro.

Umm... bad parenting alert: When Mrs. Incredible goes into Dash's school to talk to the principal and teacher, she is solo. When they get back into the car, Jack-Jack is in the back seat. She left a baby alone in the car? Whoa, Disney. You've got some explaining to do...

"You make weird faces, honey." I'm guilty of this. With all of my friends' kids I've made faces and done the customary baby talk deal. I'm willing to admit it, but I think it's hilarious Helen doesn't. This whole dinner scene is also really nicely done, I think any American family can relate to it. You know, minus the super powers.

"We look like bad guys! Incompetent bad guys!"

I'll get yelled at for this later... but I could see T and one of his friends totally in a situation like this. Not that he's an undercover superhero (he's not sly enough to pull that off), but I could definitely see him and a friend in a situation that started off innocently enough and ended with them in over their heads. 

Okay, back to the Mr. Huph question. Still stumped?  

Crazy, right? I have an overwhelming desire to watch the Princess Bride now...

When Mr. Incredible gets the message from Mirage and then it self destructs... totally reminds me of Inspector Gadget. I was waiting for Mr. Incredible to throw it over his shoulder and have Chief Quimbly suddenly appear just in time for it to blow up in his face. 

Side note: Mirage has an incredibly large head for her tiny body. 

I'd like to see the interaction between Mr. and Mrs. Incredible after the sprinklers go off. Chances are he's still in trouble for not coming straight to dinner and now he's setting off fire sprinklers? Big trouble, mister. 

The sequence where Mr. Incredible first gets to the island and is running around out of breath never fails to make me laugh. And also to ponder what kind of material his suit is made out of... it still fits even though he's grossly out of shape and I don't see any sweat stains. I think we could all probably use a suit like that. 

The scene where the machine cracks Mr. Incredible's back also makes me laugh because it reminds me of T and his bad back. He has the back of an overaged superhero before it's been cracked... lol

Edna... Favorite. Character.

No capes! This caught me off guard when I first saw the movie. When you think about it... most of our significant super heros wear capes. Superman? Cape. Batman? Cape. But Edna makes a relevant point.

Watching this movie over the weekend with our roommate who is currently married, and T who was previous married, made me laugh cuz they were able to pick out Mr. Incredible's mistakes. Including when the phone rings and he yells at Helen not to answer it. I'd probably do the same thing she did... but I'm part stalker anyways.

The fact that Mr. Incredible carries a briefcase to his assignment makes me giggle.

Another question that surfaced: where are Buddy's parents through all of this? They just let him run off when he was younger to follow Mr. Incredible? Seems dangerous. And they should have probably also taught him let some things go... His gadgets are pretty cool though. I wouldn't mind having that freeze ray that he has. 

There's a fire theme that carries throughout the movie. The island getaway is an old volcano and Mirage walks through lava walls to meet up with Mr. Incredible. Edna has a ton of goldfish that look like a flickering flame behind her when she's on the phone with Mrs. Incredible. When Edna shows Mrs. Incredible the suits for the family, the first thing she does to Jack-Jack's suit is set it on fire. 

Did some research on the time period. There's no set date that I could find and people have guesstimated that the first part of the film takes place in mid to late-fifties, meaning the majority of the movie would take place in the late sixties or early seventies. The Pixar Wiki describes The Incredibles as a film that takes place in a 60's-esque era.

Fun fact: Kronos, the word Mr. Incredible sees in the cavern (possibly carved by Gazerbeam) and the password for the computer caught my attention. Kronos is a Titan, father of the Greek gods Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, etc. He was overthrown and held captive by Zeus. Not sure if this has any sort of relevance in the movie, although I suspect it does. Disney/Pixar isn't one to include things by accident. 

This movie is the first created by Pixar that followed humans (Monster's Inc did have humans in it, but they were not the main focus). I'm really impressed by how life-like the characters are, down to their hair frizzing. I like that it isn't perfect.

I'm not going to lie: the part where Mr. Incredible thinks that his wife and kids have been killed by Syndrome's missiles made me cry in theaters. Up to that point I had liked the movie, but this is what pushed me to actually love the movie. The human feel. These characters aren't just superheros. They have emotions. They lose their tempers, they aren't perfect, they're going through everyday experiences (albeit with a few 'super' things thrown in).

Another fun fact: The director of the movie wanted Dash to sound legitimately out of breath, so he would have the actor who voices Dash (Spencer Fox) run laps around the studio before recording segments where Dash needed to be out of breath. 

I love when Mrs. Incredible is wandering around the complex and she gets distracted by how big her butt looks in a reflection. Doesn't help that about thirty seconds later she gets trapped in a bunch of doors and gets even more stretched out. 

The part where Mrs. Incredible helps Mr. Incredible escape (although to be fair, Mirage was there first... I JUST got the parallel to the beginning of the movie... whoa) and they're arguing reminds me of T and I. Especially the whole "How could I ever betray the perfect woman?" "Oh, you're talking about me now?" exchange. Sarcasm is my second language. I could also see T making a comment like Mr. Incredible's "You're still trying to pick a fight but I'm just happy you're alive" outburst. 

When the guards find Violet and Dash and suddenly realize they're Supers... did the suits not tip you off?? Seriously? Do you often encounter strange children dressed alike wandering about the island? 

Disney is on a kick about no one being special in this movie... Syndrome comments "When everyone can be Super, no one will be." What a downer. 

"HONEY!? Where's my Supersuit??" Funniest exchange between a married couple in the entire movie. And also the most repeated by the three-year-old. 

I've also taken enough road trips with the family to know that that the scene where the Incredibles are driving on the highway is pretty much right on par with how road trips really go. Minus the whole crashing into a parking spot thing. 

Wouldn't someone have learned to make the machine's downfall something other than what it was originally? It's kind of like the Death Star conundrum. If one of your inventions has been defeated, but the force defeating it hasn't been, maybe make your next invention a little bit more difficult to destroy. 

I'm also really amused that Syndrome's downfall was caused by a cape. Edna. She knows what she's talking about. 

Even though I've seen this movie seven times in the last four days, I still love it. On the surface it's a movie about superheros. But sneaky Disney added the usual touches to make the movie so much more. 

Well, unless the three-year-old goes on another Cars kick and the family is forced to watch that numerous times in a row, I'll be back on track with the movies. Dumbo is up next.

Until next time =) 

3. Pinocchio

In Disney's reoccurring theme, Pinocchio was adapted from a children's novel. The Adventures of Pinocchio was published in Italy in the late 1800's. It actually did contain many of the same ideas as the movie, except that the original version ended with Pinocchio being hung for his actions. Carlo Collodi's editor encouraged him to change the ending and make it more kid friendly and voila, the Pinocchio we're familiar with was born.

The first couple lines of the opening jingle reminds me of 101 Dalmatians. That's before 'When You Wish Upon A Star' starts of course.

Jiminey Cricket singing 'Star' always makes me sleepy. First of all, it's a song about wishing on stars. When do stars come out? At night. Right before bed. Second of all, Cliff Edward's voice reminds me of something I used to listen to on my grandmother's Polka station and it always bored me. Unless she started dancing around to the Polkas and would drag me out of my chair. This happened frequently. But since there's no one pulling me out of my chair now, I'm sleepy.

I think it's hilarious when Geppetto names the wooden doll Pinocchio and then asks the cat and goldfish what they think and no one likes it. Made me wonder what Pinocchio actually means. There's some debate going on online, but it could possibly mean pine nut. Either that or pine eye. Quite a few people also think it's just a name and has no meaning.

I understand that clock makers are big in Italy, but being in a house with that many clocks would freak me out. Especially when they all went off at the same time. No thank you. Especially since so many of them are morbid. And why would anyone want a clock where each hour a mother spanks a child?

"Star light, star bright... first start I see tonight..." Am I the only one who sees more stars in that picture than just the one he's making a wish on?
T: He's old and wearing glasses. Maybe that's the only star he can see?

The scene where everyone is snoring in their sleep reminds me of my nights. Tyler sounds just like Geppetto.

Tyler has decided that Pinocchio looks like Elijah Wood. Then he giggled. "Elijah. Wood. Get it?" Yeah, I get it... I just don't find it as funny as you do.

hmm... Elijah does look rather block-like and wooden there. Maybe he's on to something.

I'm a little confused by Jiminey becoming Pinocchio's conscious. I mean, the cricket broke into Geppetto's house and has been spying on the family all night. But sure, he's conscious-worthy.
T: sure, we're going to make the breaking-and-entering hobo cricket the puppet's conscious. That's a great idea.

I'm impressed by how quickly Pinocchio could speak and walk and do basic things. Maybe that's why Geppetto decides he's ready for school the morning after the Blue Fairy brings him to life, equipped with the hobo conscious. And not even, Jiminey is late on Pinocchio's first day, which is one of the reasons Pinocchio falls victim to Honest John and his stray cat sidekick.

Any time I see:

 

I think:

I'm also wondering what rock Geppetto lives under that he didn't hear about the huge, successful show that involved a wooden puppet without strings...

For the record: I'm not at all surprised that Jiminy can pick locks... fits right in with the hobo image.

The rainy scenes are driving me nuts. I know it was 1940 and animation isn't what it is now... but the white "rain" looks more like the picture going bad, especially when it's "pouring."

"If boys aren't good, they might as well be made of wood." This made me giggle.

Pleasure Island is kind of creepy. Never mind all the boys running around destroying everything, but they're allowed to smoke cigars too? And if Pinocchio is made of wood and doesn't have lungs... how can he smoke?

The scene in the pool hall where Jiminey threatens Lampwick makes me chuckle too. Shouldn't consciouses not run around threatening other people?

It also makes me laugh that the boys are being turned into Donkeys. Or Jackasses as Lampwick says. Extended metaphor? I'd like to believe so.

I have a fear of being underwater. Not underwater in a pool or a shower where I can see, but under the ocean where it's dark and who knows what's crawling on the ocean floor. It's creeping me out just writing about it, so I'm having a hard time watching the scene where Pinocchio and Jiminey jump into the water and walk along the ocean floor to find the whale that swallowed Geppetto.

How exactly is Jiminey breathing underwater? I'm questioning that, but not the whole getting swallowed by a whale and surviving thing...

"I never thought it would end like this... starving to death in the belly of a whale..." I'm not sure many people do think it will end like this. Unless you're me and have envisioned every single possible death underwater scenario possible...

Side note: whenever I do a google search for Geppetto images, at least one stray image of Robert Downey Jr pops up. I'm enjoying it immensely..

Wouldn't tickling the whale's tongue be a better way of getting him to sneeze instead of starting a fire? At least you could pass off the tickle, whereas building a fire is pretty obvious. No wonder he was pissed.

This whale scares me...

Does anyone else think that Pinocchio is cuter as a wooden boy than as a human boy? I felt the same way in Beauty and the Beast when Beast changes back into a prince.

Maybe it's because he REALLY looks like Elijah Wood now...

Fun fact... Elijah Wood DID play Pinocchio in a couple of 80's short educational movies. The above picture is a still from one of those movies.

I couldn't be a fairy... I'm not entirely sure that Pinocchio and Jiminey were deserving of the awards they received from the Blue Fairy at the end of the movie. I'm all for second chances, but I think maybe making him into a real boy should have been delayed a bit longer. Maybe make sure he actually won't get sidetracked by Honest John again.

Anyways, there's Pinocchio. Maybe you were able to tell that it is not one of my favorite Disney movies. I watched it a lot as a kid, but I could never get into it (maybe it's that whole underwater scene...). It didn't hold the attention of the 3 year old either, he got very antsy towards the middle and started playing Batman.

Until next time =)