The Incredibles is one of Pixar's most popular films, and there's a good chance it is one of your favorites from the animation studio. Having said that, it's been 14 years since we last saw the Parr Family, so you'd be forgiven if you didn't remember every minor detail about what they went through in the first movie.
However, since we know that Incredibles 2 will pick up immediately from where the first movie left off, what happens in The Incredibles is actually quite important to the sequel. Here are all the key points to remember about the original hit before you sit down to watch the sequel this weekend.
Superheroes Are Real
When The Incredibles first opens, we get a look at the world as it used to be. Superheroes exist as a normal part of society. They leap into action when needed and assist the local police in catching bad guys and preventing accidents to the best of their ability. They are welcome and actually expected to help when possible, from stopping robbers to getting cats out of trees. Exactly how one comes to have superpowers isn't made clear, obviously, not everybody has them, but having them isn't unusual. The powers that these "supers" have are quite varied. We meet the super strong Mr.Incredible and Elastigirl, who has the ability to stretch herself, here.
Superheroes Are Also Illegal
While many love superheroes, eventually it is decided that they may do more harm than good. Mr. Incredible gets sued by a man who attempted suicide and was injured while being saved against his will. This is followed by a second suit by people injured due to Mr. Incredible's efforts to prevent a train from derailing. This results in the government putting superheroes in a sort of witness protection program where they are forced to live as normal people and keep their powers hidden. Mr. Incredible is now Bob Parr, and his family has had to move several times because Bob is having trouble staying hidden.
Mr. Incredible Wants To Be A Hero Again
Mr. Incredible, now Bob Parr, becomes an insurance adjuster, but he dreams of his glory days 15 years prior when he was a hero. He even listens to a police scanner in order to go after crimes in progress and foil them in secret. This leads to him catching the attention of Syndrome, the supervillain who is using supers to perfect his technology, which he is creating specifically to defeat them. Mr. Incredible thinks that he's working for the government, and jumps at the chance to use his powers again, though this eventually leads to him being captured by Syndrome, requiring his family to come to the rescue.
Edna Mode Is A Superhero Fashion Designer
There aren't a lot of characters introduced in the first film, outside of the Parr Family, that will be important in Incredibles 2, but one that we know will be is Edna Mode. Edna is a fashion designer who used to make the costumes worn by some of the best heroes in the world, but in the time since heroes have stopped working she's been reduced to designing clothing for supermodels instead. She's voiced by director Brad Bird and is one of the funniest parts of the first movie. How will the fact that Superheroes have come out of the shadows impact her career in the sequel?
Violet And Dash Learn To Use Their Powers
Violet and Robert "Dashell" Parr are in a unique place in The Incredibles as it doesn't appear many other superheroes have had children with superheroes, so they are two of the few, if not the only, child supers. As such, they've kept their powers so secret that the pair only have a basic understanding of what they can do and clearly they haven't been trained. However, the events of The Incredibles requires them to actively use their abilities for the first time. By the end, they've clearly begun to get comfortable with their powers. It's clear from the trailers for the new movie that going back to hiding is not the sort of thing they are interested in doing.
The Incredibles Aren't Alone
The Incredibles makes it clear that there are other heroes out there. However, most of the names we hear belong to characters who have died at the hands of Syndrome. Only Bob's friend Lucius Best, known as Frozone, is a real part of the story. However, we have every reason to believe that there are lots of other heroes out there. The Incredibles' very public display of their powers at the end of the first film may result in some of them making themselves known once again. We know some people want to see heroes operate in the open again, so perhaps we'll get to see some of who's left out there.
Jack-Jack Has Powers
The one x-factor in the Parr family is Jack-Jack. The Parr's youngest child has not manifested any abilities when The Incredibles begins and the family seems to believe that he was born without powers at all. However, at the end of the film, we discover that Jack-Jack actually has ALL THE POWERS. He catches fire, he turns to steel, he turns into a super strong beast. He's able to escape Syndrome in this way, leaving the villain to get sucked into a jet engine in the process. However, and this is key, Jack-Jack is too far up in the air for his family to see all this transpire. As such, they apparently don't realize their baby actually has powers.
The Underminer Has Attacked
Incredibles 2 will pick up at the same point where The Incredibles left off, which means we know exactly what will happen first. The Incredibles will battle The Underminer. Leaving a school track meet that Dash has competed in, and placed a strong second so as not to get too noticed, a large drill comes up from beneath the ground to reveal the Underminer, voiced by constant Pixar companion John Ratzenberger. He shows up out of the blue in the first film. Whether than there's anything more to his appearance beyond just being a villain is unclear, but we'll surely find out within the first few minutes of Incredibles 2.
