After the superhero family The Incredibles are unsuccessful
in their attempt to stop a villain, the community sees the damage caused by
their attempt, and the government moves to ban superheroes. The program that
had overseen superheroes is shut down, and superheroes are obligated to stay in
their secret identities; the Incredibles temporarily move into a motel and assume
their given names – Bob, Helen, Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack Parr – and try to figure
out how to avoid homelessness.
Out of the blue, Helen and Bob are called to a secret
meeting, and there, Helen is invited to take part in a secret mission to
rehabilitate the image of superheroes everywhere. To support her, Bob begrudgingly
stays home, and discovers how hard it is to be a stay-at-home parent – and how “Incredible”
his baby boy is. In the meantime, Helen works in the service of the two
siblings who run DEVTECH – Winston, a devoted fan of superheroes, and Evelyn, a
crafty inventor.
** MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD THE REST OF THE WAY **
The Adoption
Connection
Adoption is not part of the film. Kids who have been adopted
may relate to the Incredibles being known under alternate names. Kids who have experienced
insecurity of resources may find it uncomfortable to see the Incredibles living
on the border of homelessness.
Evelyn and Winston’s life changed when their father was murdered
by home intruders. Their father tried to call his superhero friends instead of
hiding, but they did not answer their phones. When the intruders saw him on the
phone, they shot him – we do see the barrel of the gun on screen. Winston and
Evelyn share that their mother died a few months later. Winston continues to believe
in superheroes; Evelyn rejects superheroes, blaming her father’s death on peoples’
tendency to allow themselves to be dependent on superheroes.
Strong Points
The Incredibles is accompanied by a nearly wordless, very
touching animated short that captures a parent’s struggle allowing her child to
transition into adulthood.
Mr. Incredible learns how hard it is to be an at-home
parent, but with the help of a family friend, he begins to develop his infant
son’s newly-discovered gifts.
Mr. and Mrs. Incredible genuinely care about doing good, and
about their kids; Mrs. Incredible is often obviously aware of her family even
when she’s in the midst of a high-stakes mission.
Even the villain demonstrates a lasting concern for her
sibling.
Challenges
Certain scenes involving flashing lights could trigger epileptic seizures.
There are some surprisingly frightening scenes; Mr. and Mrs.
Incredible are temporarily brainwashed, and attempt to attack their children.
When Winston and Evelyn’s father is killed, we do see the barrel of the gun on-screen;
this could be too frightening for some of the young children to whom this film
is likely to appeal – especially if they’ve previously experienced or feared
in-home violence. It falls to the children to rescue their unsafe parents, trying
without adult assistance to free them from Evelyn’s control while avoiding
their attacks; for most viewers, this will be fun heroism, but it could be
difficult or confusing for children who, prior to entering foster care, felt responsible
for their parents’ unpredictable, unsafe, or abusive behaviors.
Mrs. Incredible fights hand-to-hand against a frighteningly-masked,
ax-wielding foe.
Violet’s would-be boyfriend forgets her when his memory is erased
in an effort to preserve the s
superheroes’ anonymity.
Evelyn is upset that her father died waiting for heroes; she
accuses her brother of conflating superheroes with his parents, implying that
he believes he’ll reclaim his parents if he successfully restores legal status
to superheroes. She mockingly frames his perspective as, “Mommy and Daddy left
when superheroes did.” It might be rather insightful, but it’s also cruel.
Recommendations
Incredibles 2 is a fun film that will likely be regarded
as a classic; it successfully blends humor and action while creating characters
and relationships that are easy to care about. It’s also scarier than I was expecting;
a nightmarish villain, and some surprising realism in the description of the
murder of a father could be very troubling for young or sensitive viewers. I’d
feel most comfortable recommending this to most kids ages 12 and up. Parents of
sensitive kids, or of younger kids, should probably screen it before their kids
do. 
Questions for
Discussion
Why didn’t the Incredibles want to hide their super powers? Did
each character have a different reason?
Evelyn and Winston had the same loss; why do you think it
impacted them differently?
Mr. Incredible depended on Edna to help him with Jack-Jack.
Who are some people that your family depends on?
Which Incredible has the coolest super power? If you could
pick a power, what would it be?
Other Ideas
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