a super movie

Yesterday afternoon, Jeff and I went to see the new Disney/Pixar animated film The Incredibles. What a treat! The action is terrific, the story is heartwarming, and the animation--hair and clothing move so realistically--is amazing.

A special bonus, for us, was the retro mid-century modern setting; the homes, including the one in which our protagonists live, have the look of an Eichler subdivision, complete with Eames furniture, Nelson clocks, Calder-like mobiles, and I could have sworn I even saw some vases in the Parrs' home that had that idiosyncratic Eva Zeisel organic flair. Jeff and I turned to each other simultaneously mouthing "I want that house." And Edna Mode, the diminutive Edith Head-like fashion designer to the supers who nearly steals the movie, dahling, has a stunning modern mansion, and even the villain's lair has atomic and Tiki style, with its monorails and Easter Island heads. And the Michael Giacchino score skillfully evokes the same era, with the end credits (beautifully done, looking a bit like a 3-dimensional mobile themselves) sounding like something you'd hear from a 007 movie, The Avengers or The Saint.

And this movie not only is a big hit with the public, it even has pleased the critics, garnering an "incredible" 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with only 4 bad reviews out of 154 professional reviews tracked, and an average rating of 8.4/10.

Finally, the Pixar short played before the feature film, "Boundin'," was sweetly funny and, to my ear and eye at least, subtly queer-positive. (I should be careful saying such; Falwell's Tinky-Winky Brigade now will probably come out in force to denounce the piece.)