casualotter21 said:I’d probably word it like this: The Incredibles are totally sincere, but they aren't cynical or completely depressing about it.
Something along those lines.
For the longest time, I actually had this idea that
'realism' and
'seriousness' in superhero movies meant everything had to take place at night, usually while it was raining or snowing, with superheroes constantly staring gloomily into the camera under dramatic lighting that throws long shadows across their faces.
Then, suddenly, we got Raimi's Spider-Man
which was as colorful as a carnival, earnest (without being cheesy), and yet actually took a crack at dealing with some pretty heavy ideas—and did so with total sincerity.
It was such a breath of fresh air. I remember sitting in the theater watching the first one, and I just couldn't stop smiling.
To be honest, this whole 'back to basics' approach isn't exactly groundbreaking when you look at the history of American comic books.
A lot of it traces back to the brilliance of Alan Moore. Back in the eighties, he completely flipped the superhero mythology on its head with
Watchmen. After that, everyone in the industry started mindlessly copying him, which is just how things go in Hollywood (I mean, how many people tried to imitate Gaiman's way of humanizing myth after
Sandman, or the macho pulp vibes of Ennis and Dillon following
Preacher?).
Moore eventually grew tired of that cynical trend, remembered that his own childhood hero was Superman, and decided to focus on making "fun and educational comics for young people."
And that’s how ABC was born.
The Incredibles essentially distill that entire creative journey of Moore's into a single feature film.
First, you have the subverted mythology: superheroes become ordinary people who have to struggle with mundane, everyday problems. Some can't handle the transition (like Mr. Incredible), while others adapt to it more naturally (like Elastigirl)—only to eventually realize what their true nature and purpose really are.