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  • Acceptable Professional Targets: Gilbert Huph, Bob's mean boss.
  • Accidental Aesop: Huph's painful fate seems to be a warning against bosses and other higher-ups needlessly antagonizing their employees.
  • Alternate Aesop Interpretation: Behind the friendly family action film, some fans are suspicious of phrases like "celebrating mediocrity" and "everyone is special (so no one is)", as well as the general idea of superhumans being forced to hide their incredible talents for the sake of government regulation and the selfish, (mediocre) masses. Yes, they are indeed suggesting that The Incredibles is Atlas Shrugged.
  • Alternative Character Interpretation:
    • Did Mirage genuinely turn good due to seeing what Syndrome was doing or did she do it to save face?
    • Did Honey, Frozone's wife know what was happening outside when he wanted his supersuit? Or was she just oblivious to it, thinking he was ruining their dinner plans by going on some 'derring-do'?
  • Applicability: Some have argued that the movie is an argument for Objectivism, with its theme of the characters being discouraged from living up to their full potential by society. Others counter that the message is "be true to yourself", and point out that if the movie were Objectivist, the Parrs wouldn't be using their powers for altruism. Not to mention that Syndrome the self-made engineering genius and millionaire capitalist is pretty much the sort of person Rand most admired. Word of God says that no higher philosophical meaning was intended.
  • Awesome Ego: Syndrome knows he's really good at developing high-end futuristic tech, and has had this ego since he was making rocket boots as a kid.
  • Awesome Music: Michael Giacchino's score is highly acclaimed.
  • Base Breaker: Mirage. She is liked by some for her Heel Face Turn, but is hated by others for not being punished for being an accomplice to Syndrome's atrocities.
  • Best Known for the Fanservice: Elastigirl, for her curvaceous figure, accentuated by her supersuit.
  • Big Lipped Alligator Moment: The "no school like the old school" scene is this for anyone not aware of that they are Frank and Ollie of the Nine Old Men. Even after that, the cameo's still pretty out of nowhere.
  • Catharsis Factor:
    • Bob throwing Mr. Huph through several walls, particularly for viewers that were in Bob's shoes.
    • Bob causing Syndrome's death after trying to kidnap Jack-Jack.
  • Complete Monster: Syndrome, for taking revenge on Mr. Incredible and Supers in general by making robots designed to kill Supers. He also tries to kill Mr. Incredible's family without remorse, and tries to kidnap Jack-Jack out of spite just before Mr. Incredible kills him. While Mr. Incredible wasn't as nice to him as he should have been (Buddy had wished to help Mr. Incredible by being his sidekick, but he coldly rejected him), Syndrome later decided that he had outgrown Mr. Incredible.
  • Crosses the Line Twice: Supers being killed by their capes, then Syndrome suffering the same fate.
  • Crowning Music of Awesome: See here.
  • Darker and Edgier: With gun violence, Electric Torture, suicide attempts, large-scale destruction, bad guys who Would Hurt a Child, and "good guys" who run from the police and lie to their own families, all in the same film, The Incredibles may very well be the darkest Pixar movie yet. Brad's history of working on The Simpsons really comes through here.
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 "Really, really little kids should not see this movie. They should wait till they get older. We're getting some reactions from people who were disappointed that their four-year-old was a little freaked out by it. Well, I don't want to compromise the intensity in order to please a four-year-old."

Cquote2
  • Draco in Leather Pants: Syndrome. Some fans downplay his negative traits and justify them, trying to paint him in a better light.
  • Ensemble Darkhorse:
    • Edna Mode. ("And guest.") Also Kari. Syndrome became one to the Pixar staff; he was originally only supposed to be a one-shot villain for the introduction, but they ended up loving his characterization so much that he was upgraded to Big Bad status.
    • Rusty Mcallister, the kid on the tricylce.
    • Rick Dicker, Honey, the Underminer, Kari and Bomb Voyage are all well-liked despite being supporting or minor characters.
  • Family-Unfriendly Aesop: As seen in the page quote for the "main" section. Not that it isn't true, but this is a film made in Hollywood and aimed at kids. Unusual, to say the least.
    • Well, it was written and directed by someone who's worked on The Simpsons. That alone was plenty of warning that Family Unfriendly Aesops were to be expected.
    • Also the idea that Elastigirl, who said in the opening that saving the world should not be left to the men ended up as a housewife until the Syndrome situation brought the whole family in.
      • That particular setting is not a Family-Unfriendly Aesop, but the set up of an Irony. Mr. Incredible was the one who wanted to settle down, and Elastigirl rejected the idea because she was "at the top of [her] game." When the Superhero Relocation program kicks in, guess which one of them has adjusted more easily to civilian life?
      • It should be noted that the second movie goes too far in "correcting" this particular Family-Unfriendly Aesop, by having Elastigirl fight crime while Mr. Incredible (who was never comfortable with housework and whose true passion was crimefighting) gives up crimefighting in order to become a stay-at-home dad. 
  • Foe Yay: Syndrome is beyond way obsessed with Mr. Incredible.
  • He Really Can Act: Before this film, Jason Lee was mostly known for roles in comedic productions, but his voice performance as Syndrome shows he can portray more serious characters as well.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • Disney owns Marvel Comics now.
    • The Incredibles films are often compared to Team Fortress 2, and Frozone being compared to Demoman. 13 years later, Frozone's super suit headpiece was added to the game as a Demoman cosmetic item.
    • The teacher who calls Dash "a little rat" is played by the same actor who later played Linguini in Ratatouille.
    • The device that played Mirage's message looks like an iPad, keeping in mind that the iPhone wasn't even released at the film's release.
    • Violet is worried that their parents' lives — or worse, their parents' marriage — were in trouble. Dash, incredulous, looks at her and snarks that the villains are out to dissolve their parents' marriage. Three years later, One More Day happens in Spider-Man.
    • One of the final scenes features Mr. Incredible throwing a car at Syndrome's head.
    • The Underminer's hamminess was all for a bank robbery.
  • Late Arrival Spoiler: You know the plot twist at the end of the movie? When Syndrome kidnaps Jack-Jack? Yeah, it overlaps with the Jack-Jack attack short, and it seems everyone is perfectly willing to discuss it openly.
    • Several people called the Kari phone calls and subsequent Jack-Jack and Syndrome scene a Bonus Materials deleted scene for the DVD on first viewing of the film. Lo and behold ...
  • Macekre: The Latin American Spanish dub of the second movie is atrocious, especially compared to the far superior Argentinian Spanish dub of the first movie.
  • Magnificent Bitch: Mirage. She has a level of charm and allure, despite her villainous status. She helps Syndrome with her plans until the safety of children is compromised, at which point she no longer wants to assist Syndrome, who doesn't mind killing kids. She turns on him, and helps the Parrs defeat Syndrome. 
  • Memetic Mutation:
    • "NO CAPES!!!" - Edna
    • "WHERE'S MY SUPER SUIT?!" - Frozone
    • "Coincidence? I THINK NOT!" - Bernie Kropp, Dash's teacher
    • "And when everyone/everything is X... nothing/no one will be!" - Syndrome.
  • Moe: The three Parr children. Violet for being a shy, awkward but cute teen girl, Dash for being energetic and goofy, who loves pranks and competing in sports, and Jack-Jack because he is a cheerful baby.
  • Moral Event Horizon: Syndrome doesn't know at first that Bob's family is on the jet he launches missiles at. But when it's revealed that there are people Bob cares about — and that there are children on board — he still refuses to call off the missiles, mocking Bob and laughing at his anguish.
    • Mr. Huph smiling and saying "Well I hope we don't cover him" when seeing a man getting beaten and mugged outside his window, then threatening to fire Bob if he ran out to help. Needless to say, his getting thrown through a wall and several cubicles was extremely satisfying.
  • Most Wonderful Sound: Dash's laugh when he first ran on water. He was just so excited to be able to do something very few or no one else can.
  • One-Scene Wonder:
    • One of the Mooks when fighting Violet, particularly for how he found her while invisible.
    • Frozone wife Honey, for the sheer sass displayed despite only being The Voice.
  • Sacred Cow: The Incredibles is in the group of Pixar films that are considered their best works. Criticisms of it are generally unwarranted.
  • Seinfeld Is Unfunny: The film was a breakthrough for CGI, in regards to animating humans. However, it looks quite dated when compared with the fresh animation of its 14-year-newer sequel.
  • Signature Scene:
    • Edna's 'no capes' rant.
    • Mr. Incredible on the computer, due to the music, the deaths of Supers at the hands of Syndrome and his Omnidroids, and the reveal of Syndrome's final plan. It is regarded as very dark for a Pixar film.
    • Elastigirl getting stuck in several doors, for how she uses her powers to escape and the Fanservice.
    • Dash and Violet escaping from Syndrome's mooks, being the first time they have had to use their powers in a combat situation.
    • Jack-Jack's powers manifesting.
  • Spiritual Licensee: To Team Fortress 2 (music and animation style), Fantastic Four (the main group of Supers) and James Bond (music).
  • Suspiciously Similar Song: The soundtrack is done in the style of James Bond scores. The opening fanfare closely resembles the theme for On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
  • Truer to the Spiritual Text: provides (part of) the trope image. The movie is a far more faithful adaptation of the Fantastic Four comics than either the Roger Corman movie or the Fox movies.
  • Uncanny Valley: Averted by the animators intentionally giving the characters cartoonish proportions.
    • Also, the animation designs were a shout out to the Rankin-Bass "puppet-toons" of the 60s. Syndrome in particular looks more than a little like Heat Miser.
  • Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Mirage, for happily assisting Syndrome commit his atrocities and lying to Mr. Incredible (and by extension, all other Supers lured) about the whole thing. She is against killing children, unlike Syndrome, and pulls a Heel Face Turn, but she still didn't show sympathy to victims of Operation Kronos.
  • What an Idiot!: Even with all the strange happenings with Jack-Jack, Kari hands him over to a complete stranger? Though she did get called out on it by Rick Dicker.
  • What Do You Mean It's for Kids?: Well, the bad guys are willing to hurt children. Also includes attempted suicide, violence and numerous deaths (some on-screen). It also included a complex plot that would be difficult for young kids to understand, that includes suggestions of an affair.
  • The Woobie:
    • Bob struggles to adapt to civilian life and has an extremely strict boss.
    • Violet is extremely introverted, being in a family where everyone else is much more vocal, and just wants to fit in with other kids her age.
    • The Parr family in general experience difficulty adjusting to a world where the use of superpowers is banned. They frequently have to move house, and family life was quite tense until they first fought as a family.
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