Incredibles 2

Release Date: November 6, 2018
Cast: Holly Hunter, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Vowell, Huckleberry Milner, Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Kener, Samuel L. Jackson
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures & Pixar Animation Studios
Extra Feature Rating:  ★★★★☆
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Spoilers: Low
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Picking up where the first film left off, Incredibles 2 throws us right back into the action alongside Disney’s beloved super-family! Cody Eastlick described the film as ‘family friendly fun with familiar faces‘ and he pretty much hit the nail on the head. It’s a fun film that’s great for the whole family — especially younger families with parents who grew up with the original film. And it’s coming out just in time for the holidays!

Incredibles 2 has been a long time coming and I was very pleased with the movie as a whole. It can be hard for a sequel to follow such an iconic first film and the long years between the films can’t make it any easier. But I really enjoyed seeing the superheroic Parr family back in action. Incredibles introduced us to a realistic, suburban family whose potential was only beginning to be explored. The last film’s story was very contained as the family dealt with their own conflicts.

But in Incredibles 2 the stakes are higher and the story becomes more expansive. We get to see more of the world in which these characters live and the place superheroes have (and once had) in it. Helen gets to play the more traditional hero while Bob and the kids deal with their more ordinary day to day lives. Considering the narrower scope of the last film this is all pretty awesome. The characters get to really show their personalities and we see them tackling a wide variety of challenges – some of them far from expected. Bob’s tenure as the primary caregiver to the kids and Jack-Jack’s numerous, eclectic, and often destructive powers give us some wonderfully fun moments. And the villain in this film is far more devious than any we’ve seen thus far.

But, honestly, the reason I really loved Incredibles 2 was because – as a new, working foster parent – I can see a lot of myself in Helen Parr. While the whole family gets a chance to shine throughout the movie it is Helen’s story shows her struggling to be the hero she knows she can be while juggling her obligations to her family. It’s a very real, very relatable story being shown through this superheroic framework. And I’m sure it’s something that a lot of parents watching the film have been through themselves in one way or another.

Incredibles 2 is a great film for everyone in the family whether they see themselves in Helen and Bob or they just want to laugh at Jack-Jack’s epic rivalry with a raccoon of all things!

Special Features

If you love special features then buckle up because the Incredibles 2 blu-ray release is full of them. Not only are there special features on the main disc but there’s a second disc full of nothing but bonus featurettes, deleted scenes, and more. You’ll spend hours watching them and that’s a good thing!

Now, don’t worry. The best of the best are on the main disc. So if you’re looking for Bao or the additional short, Auntie Edna (which is a fun five minutes mini-movie featuring Edna and Jack-Jack) you don’t need to worry about swapping out the discs. There’s even a fun little featurette focusing on a short history of Disney animation included on the main disc as well.

But, really, you need to check out the bonus features disc for the really fun stuff.

There’s some really fun behind the scenes ‘stuff’ in Super Stuff. You’ll see the folks behind the series talking about the different settings, vehicles, and other things that make the movie so super. In a similar vein, there’s a menu option called Heroes and Villains which opens up a series of shorts focusing on each of the main heroes (and villains) of the film. If you’re a Jack-Jack fan then there’s actually two different featurettes about him with SuperBaby catering, perhaps, to the younger viewers as it’s led by a pair of Disney Channel stars. Throw in an added bonus featurette entitled Ralph Eggleston: Production Designer and you’ve got some solid extras.

My favorite, though, is probably Paths to Pixar. Lately Disney has been doing a lot of special features that focus on the people behind the film not as they work on the film but as they experience the making of the film. In this one, they channel Helen Parr’s challenges as a working mother by detailing how they balance their own working lives and their families. There are a lot of working couples who worked on the film together and that was a very interesting dynamic to see. Super cool featurette – and as a working parent I think it really helped emphasize some of the themes of the film. Great addition, Disney!

If you think that’s a lot then you’re in for a treat because there are even more little added bonuses on the special features disc. You’ll find everything from theme songs to outtakes to a slew of awesome deleted scenes. It’s kind of incredible what they’ve managed to put together here. (See what I did there?)

All jokes aside, I was very impressed with this release and all the special features!

Final Thoughts

Incredibles 2 comes out today and it’s ready to for you to take home at the perfect time of year. Thanksgiving is on the way and it would make the perfect film to watch after gorging yourself on turkey and stuffing. And if you think you can hold out that long it’d also be a great Christmas present. There’s nothing like curling up for a movie marathon over the holidays — and the Parr family can be right there with you!