And Pixar continues it’s magical streak with one of my favorite films of all time. Not just animated,in general. The Incredibles is an astonishing piece of work that it’s cue from the superhero lore (one obvious inspiration being the mighty Watchmen).

One truly amazing thing is the film’s action sequences which are executed than most live action films. The one that stands out to me is the missile sequence. Here’s the thing: You know damn well they’re gonna make it. That didn’t stop me from having my heart in my throat from the tension that was built. Brad Bird just cut it so close. Later on when Helen tells her children that these are not the bad guys from cartoons, that they will not hesitate to kill them, it gives a ground in reality, and for this type of film that’s amazing.

My favorite thing about the film is they gave us one hell of a villain:

Chasing Amy’s Jason Lee (who gets a small nod to his Mallrats role) delivered us one hell of a performance. The sheer joy Syndrome took when he believes he murdered Mr. Incredible’s wife and children is chilling to say the least. I honestly hold him up there in the list of great villains alongside The Joker & Norman Bates. Simply put, The Incredibles delivered and lives up to its name.

Now the next film Pixar put out is the only one that has a divided reaction. Cars, in short,is a great movie. It is still better than most of the animated bile that comes out nowadays, but by Pixar standards, it is the studios only weak link. But given what they have done, they are allowed it. Cars does not have the charm of the other Pixar films, but it is not without a charm of its own. If anything, the film accomplished one very seemingly impossible task: making Larry the Cable Guy tolerable and even likable.