Pixar‘s superhero family is suiting up again.
“Incredibles 3” is in development at Pixar Animation Studios, with writer-director Brad Bird — who helmed 2004’s “The Incredibles” and 2018’s “Incredibles 2” — returning for the threequel.
Pixar chief Pete Docter made the announcement on Friday during Disney’s epic presentation of its upcoming projects at the D23 Expo. Docter provided no further information about the project, but the announcement of a new “Incredibles” movie comes on the heels of the wild success of “Inside Out 2,” which recently passed “Incredibles 2” as Pixar’s highest grossing film ever (and Disney Animation’s “Frozen II” as the highest grossing animated film of all time). No release date has been set for the third film in the franchise.
I’m still disappointed that Brad Bird didn’t explore Helen’s fighter pilot background in the 2nd film.
That back story for Helen was created when Brad Bird axed a side character that appeared for the plane scene then was instantly killed off at the end of the missiles one scene later.
What resulted was one of the most intense scenes in animation to that date as you watch Helen switch back and forth between her ex-fighter pilot self dodging missiles in a passenger jet and her as a mother encouraging her daughter to have enough self-confidence to make a force field big enough to protect the plane.
I want to see what Helen was like behind the stick of a proper fighter aircraft, I want to see how she learnt those skills.
Yep, some of the best action Pixar ever created.
Helen: “I repeat, there are children on board!”
Mirage gasps
Bob: “NO!”
Yeah and you know what, it’s also character growth.
She looses, she fails to keep her mom home-life (where she’s the primary disciplinarian) and her past (fighter pilot and superhero) separate. They quite literally collide and her only option, facing down her fear of her kids coming into harm from this life of hero work she left behind, is to take a leap of faith in her explosion-proof super suit that both the suit AND her abilities are enough to protect her kids.
It’s the climax to this whole growth about her worry about her kids being outed as supers in a world that appears to not accept them, the grief from her husband (Bob) being unfaithful to their family life to relive his superhero life without her, Edna mode giving the tough-love pep-talk to “pull herself together” and that she can be not just super but a super-mom!
Oh and don’t get me started on the fact that Bob (Mr. Incredible) in that scene FINALLY fucking releases that it’s not just his life that he’s gotten into this mess it’s his wife AND KIDS. He thinks he got his family killed all because he indulged in illegal hero-work because it’s the only previous time in his life he felt personal achievement. He went chasing something he had in the past and in a few minutes lost everything he has now.
Mirage also realises that her boss (Syndrome) will go to ANY lengths to make Bob suffer and for the betterment of himself including gambling with her life.
And Syndrome is shown at his worst, utterly reveling in the thought of hurting Bob, who’s only ‘crime’ was pushing away and obsessive fan-boy, that he’ll murder a family in cold blood and grin ear-to-ear listening to them panic on the radio!
That scene has more character moments than some entire films have! It is a masterpiece of filmmaking.
Pilot, mom & superhero at once. She’s really flexible.
So flexible. Almost like it’s a superpower.