TroytlePower

We finally got around to see Incredibles 2 this past weekend, and it was fantastic! Incredibles is probably my favorite Pixar movie, thanks to being a blend of a great Superhero story (which I always love) and a great family story (which is extremely my jam). I feel like the second one did a little bit better at both, and would wholeheartedly recommend it!

Spoilers ahead:

The one complaint I’ve heard levied against Incredibles 2 is that there are major story elements that feel like a retelling of the first movie. I think that is valid, but there were enough differences for me to be happy with the sequel. I did want to get thoughts down on what particular parallel I noticed, and how it’s different and so much better in the sequel.

In both movies, Bob lies to his wife.

The first movie has Mr. Incredible recruited secretly – specifically without his wife’s knowledge – to go back to professional superheroing. He lies to his wife about what he’s up to, claiming he got a new job that is sending him on work retreats. As his mental and physical health both improve thanks to his new, not-soul-crushing job, Helen gets suspicious and pretty clearly suspects that Bob is having an affair. It’s a dark part of the story, and the deceit really makes me dislike Bob for that part of the film. He selfishly lies to his wife because she knows she’ll tell him to stop, for the good of their family.

In the sequel, Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, and Frozone are all three recruited to return to their superhero lives, although with Elastigirl as the initial face of change and Mr. Incredible and Frozone planned to join her later. Bob decides to stay home and take care of the kids, even though he’s clearly jealous, and would rather be out in the spotlight with (or in place) of her. After she completes her first adventure as a hero, Helen calls Bob – who has been having an awful time trying to manage the kids – and is ecstatic about her adventure. Bob, meanwhile, is flipping through channels while she screams with excitement, and is clearly on the verge of snapping over how jealous he is that she’s out living the dream while he is failing at keeping the family going. And he lies. He tells her that everything is going well. Partially because he wants her return to superheroing to work so he can join her, but I think also because he doesn’t want her to have to give up the happiness that she achieved.

It’s not totally selfless, but the lie that Bob tells in Incredibles 2 benefits his family and his wife, instead of exclusively benefiting him and hurting those around him. It’s not a huge amount of growth, but it’s just enough to say “yeah, that’s better”. Just like Bob, Incredibles 2 isn’t massively better than the first, but I do think that it’s better. I’m hoping that if they decide to do Incredibles 3, Bob can learn not lie to his wife, and then it will be great!

This is my first post for Blaugust Reborn! My hope is to have a blog post to put up each day of August, but my goal (what I’ll consider a success) is a post every week-day. I’m planning to write about my normal, random stuff, but I might also dive into some of the suggested topics if I’m coming up blank. Please keep checking back, I’m really hoping I can make it through!