Many PIXAR movie spoilers ahead.
I've been watching some of the recent PIXAR films again, specifically a bunch of sequels and prequels that have quickly been forgotten by the mainstream. Honestly, I like some of these films better than the originals - "Monsters U," "Cars 3" and the last two "Toy Story" films. Even though they're considered second tier PIXAR movies, they're still leaps and bounds ahead of most other animated films. And then we come to "Incredibles 2," which I've come to regard as the most disappointing film that PIXAR ever made. Yes, even moreso than "Cars 2," because who seriously had any expectations for "Cars 2"?
This is not to say that "Incredibles 2" is not a good film. It is a perfectly entertaining two hours of action and comedy and superhero hijinks. However, aside from the improved animation, there's nothing in it that's up to par with the original "The Incredibles" from 2004. I originally wrote a very brief, perfunctory review of "Incredibles" 2 when it was released in 2018, not quite being able to articulate at the time why I felt so dissatisfied with the film. It wasn't until I went back and revisited the other films PIXAR was making from around this time that I realized why "Incredibles 2" bothered me so much. To put it bluntly, nobody learns much and nothing changes.
Let's look at some of the other PIXAR franchise films. What really struck me about "Toy Story 3," "Toy Story 4," and "Cars 3" was that they poignantly acknowledge the passage of time. Andy grows up and passes his toys along to Bonnie. Lightning McQueen retires and becomes a trainer. Others, like "Finding Dory" and "Monsters U," shift their focus to different characters, putting the previous stars in smaller supporting roles. Even "Cars 2" is more of a Mater movie than a Lightning McQueen movie. PIXAR movies are so good at delivering big, emotional moments, in part because they don't hesitate to tackle those big, emotional times in people's lives, when things change and there's the opportunity for growth.
And this is what's missing in "Incredibles 2." Fourteen years after "The Incredibles," the sequel picks up seconds after the first movie ended with the fight with the Underminer. The only character who has to deal with a major life change is Mr. Incredible, who has to be Mr. Mom when Mrs. Incredible gets a new job. The new job could have been an interesting hurdle for Mrs. Incredible, but it's not treated that way by the narrative. She has no trouble adjusting whatsoever. Violet's got the same teenage love troubles from the first film, while Dash doesn't get an arc at all, and Jack Jack is comic relief. There's no emotional stakes here for the family remotely on the same level as what we saw in "The Incredibles," no real shaking up of the status quo. The whole film feels like it's treading water, not a retread of the first film, but showing no interest in really progressing.
There are a lot of reasons I can think of for why there was no time jump. Maybe they wanted to keep Jack Jack a baby, as his material is easily the best part of "Incredibles 2." Maybe they wanted to keep the '60s aesthetics that were such a big part of the first film's charm. However, there's no good reason for why the family dynamics remain so static. Even if you consider that everyone's in the same place they were in after "The Incredibles," enough big changes have recently happened that they should have more of an effect on all the characters. Violet and Dash got to let loose with powers! Their parents just dodged a major marital crisis! They should still be dealing with the fallout of all this, right? Even the Mr. Mom plot is less about Mr. Incredible coming to terms with being a primary caregiver than just having a rough transition and some burnout.
Then there's the villain, the Screenslaver, who has such convoluted motivations that I couldn't really follow what was going on thematically. They hate Supers, so they go to the trouble of almost bringing them back into the public eye, with the intention of painting them as all baddies. And they hate them because a Super failed to save someone in their past, and it's somehow all the Supers' fault for giving everyone a false sense of security. And all the Screenslaver monologuing about everybody being addicted to their screens and simulacra of reality was a red herring. Unless superheroes equate to watching too much TV? There are also personal stakes missing here - I feel like Helen and Evelyn's bantery relationship could have lead to more interesting places, but I don't see anything on the level of Bob and Buddy's failed hero worship link from "The Incredibles."
The production of "Incredibles 2" was rushed, and it shows. "Incredibles 2" and "Toy Story 4" swapped release dates at one point, which meant "Incredibles 2" lost an entire year of development time. We know that Brad Bird's initial idea for the film had to do with AI instead of brainwashing screens, and the villain was swapped out at least twice, but there have been persistent rumors that there were other, bigger changes that negatively impacted the finished product. Now, this kind of major rejiggering happens with animated films all the time, but it's pretty obvious that "Incredibles 2" needed that extra year. "Toy Story 4" is about Woody having a major shift in worldview and deciding to change his life completely. The biggest development in "Incredibles 2"? Mr. Incredible learns to be a better father. And that makes for a nice movie, but also a very underwhelming one.
I try to resist wondering what an "Incredibles 2" made in the same spirit as "Toy Story 3" or "Cars 3" would have looked like. Would Violet and Dash be struggling to escape their parents' shadows? What would Jack Jack be like as a teenager in the 70s? Or Bob and Helen as grandparents? Well, maybe we'll find out if they ever make "Incredibles 3."
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