Dubby Bhagat

Kathmandu:

In the Fifties there was the famous Esther Williams who was called ‘The Million Dollar Mermaid’ because she insured her legs for a horrifying amount of money. Today it is tonsils that are going to find their way to insurers. Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro and Renee Zellweger are the voices in ‘Shark Tale’ while Eddie Murphy, Cameron Daiz, Julie Andrews, Antonio Banderas give voices to the characters in ‘Shrek 2’. Both are Animated Feature Films, once called cartoons, that have been nominated for Oscars. Whereas ‘Shrek 2’ with its story of a feline assassin hired to kill Shrek in order that the lovable green ogre’s wife, the Princess Fiona, can marry a wicked fairy godmother’s son is as serious Oscar contender, ‘Shark Tale’ is a dark horse that one critic says “never reaches the giddy heights of Pixar’s output like ‘The Incredibles’”.

With record breaking box office receipts and critical raves ‘The Incredibles’ is the odds on favourite for the Oscars is the animation category this year. The first copy whizzed into Jenish in Kupandole where the ever obliging Bal Gopal and his movie — knowlegable boss Rajendra Kayastha zoomed it to me. And the ‘Incredibles’ takes the whole genre to new dimensions by creating humans rather than animals, ogres or traditional cartoon fare. ‘The Incredibles’ is surprisingly rated as Parental Guidance because of the violence in the story of a family of superheroes forced into restless retirement and then given a chance to battle evil again.

‘The Incredibles’ has sly references to pop culture, so you get snatches of the James Bond theme in the sound track and the villain looks like a cross between Jim Carrey and Elton John and the titles are straight out of the old Pink Panther pictures. The movie dates back to a coffee shop meeting five years ago between producer John Walker and Director, Screenwriter Brad Bird who had a cult favourite in ‘Iron Giant’ in 1999 that went largely unseen. Bird’s career was on hold and he had to provide for his family. That sort of angst found its way into this idea, where a guy, ‘Mr Incredible’ is wanting to do what he loves and is prevented from that and threatened with losing the focus of his family.

Mr Incredible who is voiced by Craig T Nelson hangs out in search of adventure with another retired hero Frozone (Samual L Jackson) in the evenings when Mr Incredible is not Bob Parr. His secret identity is insurance salesman and suburban family man with a wife, actually Elastigirl who can stretch forever and is vocalised by Holly Hunter. They have three children a girl who can disappear, a son who is lighting fast and an infant who bears an uncanny resemblance to Pee Wee in Popeye, but is transformed into a Gremlin straight out of Spielberg. The plot line has a megalomaniac trying to become a hero by destroying heroes which is a thought provoking idea. The villian is my favourite character and reminds me of an animated Joker from the Batman film. He struts, he preens, he prances and he is unforgettable. The movie moves with the speed of a video game and the one liners, the gags are fabulously funny for example Brad Bird is the voice of Edna Mode designer of superhuman wardrobes who “darlings” away as she creates twenty first century capeless costumes because capes get caught in missiles, elevators and other contemporary gizmos.

Says Brad Bird, “I think this is the first animated film that has really tried to amp up the action in the way that a good live action film does, and gets the adrenaline pumping. It’s the first time that Pixar has created wholly human characters as opposed to fish or toy creatures. The humans are stylised and intricately wrought, but we didn’t want the technological wizardry to detract from the story.’’ If reviews won Oscars then ‘The Incredibles’ would not have to wait for Oscar night. Here are a sampling; Boston Globe, “an emotionally resonant, inventively hilarious movie” Chicago Sun Times, “The Pixar Studios”, which cannot seem to take a wrong step, steps right again with “The Incredibles” Chicago Tribune, “The Incredible isn’t just a title, it’s also the perfect description for Bird’s animated triumph”.