Incredibles 2

Following The Incredibles, Brad Bird directed his next film for Pixar, Ratatouille, which was released in June 2007. Near its premiere, Bird said he was open to an idea of a sequel to The Incredibles, but only if it could be better than the original. He stated, "I have pieces that I think are good, but I don't have them all together."[15] In a May 2013 interview, Bird reiterated his interest in a sequel: "I have been thinking about it. People think that I have not been, but I have—because I love those characters, and love that world ... I have many, many elements that I think would work really well in another Incredibles film, and if I can get 'em to click all together, I would probably wanna do that."[16] While publicizing the first film, Bird had already conceptualized the eventual approach where Bob and Helen would switch roles, and Jack-Jack would develop multiple powers unknown to the family.[17]

At the Disney shareholder meeting in March 2014, Disney CEO and chairman Bob Iger confirmed that Pixar was working on an Incredibles sequel, and that Bird would return as writer.[18] Bird started the script around April 2015,[19] and said that the Incredibles sequel would be his next film after Tomorrowland.[20]

One challenge in writing Incredibles 2 was how to deal with the large number of superhero films and television series that had been released since the first film, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[21] To try to differentiate the sequel, Bird wanted to avoid tropes related to the superhero genre: "I don't think that kind of idea stays interesting for very long. For me, the interesting thing was never the superhero part of it. It was more the family dynamic, and how do superhero things play into that."[22] He said he wanted to include some unused ideas from the first film,[23][24] and that the new story would focus on Helen Parr / Elastigirl.[25]

Though the sequel was released fourteen years after the first, Bird did not want to use a narrative element like an ellipsis or to come up with new characters, and instead continued from where the first film left off. This allowed him to keep characters with the same superpowers and not have to develop new ones, nor did he need to figure out how to deal with Violet and Dash being adults. This also allowed him to keep Jack-Jack as an infant with an array of powers, which Bird likened to how infants are able to understand numerous languages.[26] While the plot of the 2005 follow-up video game to The Incredibles, The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer, begins at that same point of time,[27] the film discards the game's continuity. The film was produced with a production budget of $200 million.[2][3]

One advantage that Pixar had with Incredibles 2 was the advancement of technology the company had seen since the original film and a team of much more experienced animators. Producer John Walker said, "I think that one of the things that excited Brad and Ralph Eggleston, the production designer, was the fact that the technology existed now to finally realize the designs in the way that they had hoped to realize them in 2004. There were no notions of, 'Well, we don't know how to do long hair, we don't know how to do humans, we don't know how to do muscles.' Everybody knows how to do it. It's just now about doing it quickly."[28] Because Pixar no longer used the same systems from the first movie, all the characters had to be created from scratch on the computer again. The studio also used physically based human eye models for the characters for the first time, even if the eyes are larger and more stylized than in real humans.[29]

Pixar announced in November 2016 that both Holly Hunter and Samuel L. Jackson would return to reprise their roles,[5][6] and at the July 2017 D23 Expo that both Craig T. Nelson and Sarah Vowell would also return with them.[4] Spencer Fox, the original voice of Dashiell "Dash" Parr, was replaced in the sequel by younger newcomer Huckleberry Milner.[4] Also that July, Bird and John Ratzenberger were confirmed as reprising their characters from the first film.[7][25]

In November 2017, Pixar announced that Bob Odenkirk and Catherine Keener had been signed to the cast.[7] In January 2018, it was announced that Sophia Bush and Isabella Rossellini would voice new characters Voyd and The Ambassador, while Jonathan Banks would voice Rick Dicker after the character's original voice actor Bud Luckey retired in 2014;[8][9] after his death in 2018, the film was dedicated to Luckey's memory.[30]

A 53-second teaser trailer premiered on November 18, 2017 during ESPN's broadcast of College GameDay. It received 113.0 million views in its first 24 hours, becoming the most-viewed trailer for an animated film up until the release of the teaser trailer for Frozen 2 in February 2019, which surpassed it with 116.4 million views in its first 24 hours. It is also the 14th-most-viewed trailer overall.[39] A new sneak peek premiered during the 2018 Winter Olympics on February 14.[40] On April 13, a new trailer was released.[41] The studio spent a total of $150 million promoting the film.[42]

An Incredibles 2 graphic novel and comic miniseries was published by Dark Horse Comics in 2018. The graphic novel, titled Incredibles 2: Heroes at Home, was written by Liz Marsham and illustrated by Nicoletta Baldari. A comic miniseries, titled Incredibles 2: Crisis in Mid-Life! & Other Stories, was written by Christos Gage and Landry Walker, and illustrated by Gurihiru, J. Bone, Andrea Greppi and Roberta Zanotta. Christos Gage also wrote (with Jean Claudio-Vinci as illustrator) another series titled Incredibles 2: Secret Identities. The series, like his Crisis in Mid-Life! & Other Stories, focuses on what happens after the film. This particular series is about Violet, published in a single graphic novel by Dark Horse Comics on October 1, 2019.[43][44][45]

In May 2018, a prose novel was released entitled Incredibles 2: A Real Stretch: An Elastigirl Prequel Story, which focuses on the life of the character Elastigirl before the events of the first film.

A Lego video game adaptation of both films was released on the same day as Incredibles 2.[46]

Incredibles 2 was released on digital copy on October 23, 2018, and on 4K UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on November 6, 2018.[47]

Incredibles 2 grossed $608.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $634.2 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $1.242 billion.[1]

On July 1, 2018, the film passed $648 million at the worldwide box office, surpassing the $633 million the original film made in its entire theatrical run.[48] It ended its run as the ninth-highest-grossing film of all time domestically and the highest-grossing animated film domestically.[49][50] The film crossed the $1 billion mark on July 30, 2018, becoming the seventh animated film and the 36th film of all time to reach the milestone. It was also the fifth animated Disney film, the third Pixar film, and Disney's 18th film overall to gross $1 billion worldwide, as well as the fastest animated film to gross $1 billion, doing so in 46 days, surpassing Minions (49 days), but later being surpassed by The Lion King in 2019 (21 days), also made by Disney.[51] On August 12, the film surpassed Toy Story 3 ($1.067 billion) to become the highest-grossing Pixar film worldwide.[52] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $447.4 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues, making it the third-most-profitable release of 2018.[42]

In April 2018, early box office projections had Incredibles 2 grossing $110 million in its opening weekend in the United States and Canada.[53] In May 2018, a month before the film's release, tracking revised to an opening weekend of $140 million or more.[54] A week prior to the film's opening, Fandango reported that pre-sale of tickets for the film had exceeded that of previous mid-year blockbusters Finding Dory, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Suicide Squad at the same point in their release cycles.[55] By the week of its release, opening weekend projections had reached upwards of $150 million.[56] A day before release, it became Fandango's top pre-selling animated film of all time, outselling the previous record-holder, Finding Dory.[57]

The film grossed $18.5 million from Thursday night previews, increasing weekend projections to as high as $174 million. The previews set the record for an animated film, doubling Finding Dory's $9.2 million, and were higher than the likes of fellow superhero films Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League. It made $71.6 million on its first day, including previews, the best ever for an animated film (besting Dory's $54.7 million by 31%) and 14th-highest all time. It went on to debut to $182.7 million, the eighth-best opening of all time, far ahead of Finding Dory's animated record of $135.1 million and more than the entire lifetime gross of Pixar's A Bug's Life ($162.8 million), Cars 3 ($152.9 million), and The Good Dinosaur ($123.1 million).[58][59]

The film set animated records for its Monday and Tuesday grosses, making $23.9 million (beating the $23.4 million made by Shrek 2 in May 2004)[60] and $27.1 million (beating Finding Dory's $23.1 million), respectively. Its Tuesday gross also set a June record, topping Jurassic World ($24.3 million in 2015).[61] By Thursday, its seventh day of release, the film had grossed $269.4 million, topping the entire lifetime domestic gross of the original, not accounting for inflation ($261.4 million). In its second weekend the film dropped 56% to $80.9 million, finishing second behind newcomer Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($148 million), marking the first time two films opened to over $100 million in back-to-back weekends.[62] It remained in second place in its third and fourth weekends, grossing $45.5 million and $29 million, respectively.[48] On July 7, its 23rd day of release, the film crossed $495 million, passing Finding Dory to become the highest-grossing animated film and Pixar's highest-grossing film of all time domestically,[63] and the following day became the first animated film to gross over $500 million domestically.[64] On September 2, its 80th day of release, it became the first animated film to gross over $600 million domestically.[65]

Outside North America, the film made $51.5 million from 25 countries in its opening weekend, for a global debut of $231.5 million. Mexico was the largest debut with $12.3 million, followed by Australia ($7.7 million) and Russia ($5.4 million).[66] In its second weekend of release the film made $58.6 million from 28 countries, bringing its two-week total to $134.7 million. Its largest market was China where it made $21.2 million, the best-ever opening for a Pixar film in the country. It was also released in India where it made $3.3 million.[67] In the United Kingdom, the film grossed $12.6 million in its opening weekend, the second-biggest opening for Pixar after Toy Story 3.[68][69] As of November 18, 2018, The biggest markets in terms of total earnings are the United Kingdom ($73.1 million), followed by China ($51.5 million), Japan ($43.9 million), France ($41.7 million), and Brazil ($37.6 million).[70]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 94% based on 369 reviews, with an average rating of 7.85/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Incredibles 2 reunites Pixar's family crimefighting team for a long-awaited follow-up that may not quite live up to the original, but comes close enough to earn its name."[71] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[72] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as the first film, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 93% overall positive score and an 83% "definite recommend".[58]

Robert Abele of TheWrap, praised the film, saying: "Whatever the opposite of phoning in a sequel is, that's Brad Bird's progressive-minded, thunderously fun mix of super saves, throwback aesthetics and family comedy."[73] A.A. Dowd, writing for The A.V. Club, felt it was "A sparkling contraption of an animated comedy, funny and often wondrous in its midcentury-modern vision of an alternate America frozen in the amber of a bygone idealism."[74] David Ehrlich of IndieWire, gave the film a "B+", saying: "When the Parrs are pushed out of their comfort zone, Bird settles into his... [after] inciting a Spielberg-level monorail chase that reaffirms Bird's lucid gift for kinetic and character-driven action filmmaking, the movie blasts off and never looks back."[75] Stephanie Zacharek from Time considered it "bold [and] rapturously entertaining,"[76] while David Sims at The Atlantic, dubbed it "dazzling, thought-provoking, and sometimes overwhelming in terms of plotting."[77] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, gave the film a 3.5 out of 4 stars and said: "Long-awaited follow-up brings back everyone's favorite superhero family—and suggests that we should give our caped-crusader pop obsessions a rest."[78] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times, wrote a positive review of the film, saying: "The family that fights together remains the steadily throbbing, unbreakable heart of Incredibles 2, even when Bob and Helen swap traditional roles. There's something too self-conscious—overcompensating much?"[79]

Variety's Owen Gleiberman called the film "fun but far from incredible" and wrote "It's true that the Toy Story films, all three of which are fantastic, did variations on the same theme of a toy's obsolescence, but as movies they kept the emotions close to the surface. In Incredibles 2, we never get that rush of feeling."[80] Mark Kermode of The Guardian gave the film a 4 out of 5 stars and said: "Slapstick genius, profound social comment and a monstrously funny infant combine to conjure a magical second outing for the superhero family."[81] John Nugent of Empire magazine also gave the film a four out of five stars, saying: "There's some quibbles to be had in an over-familiar setup, and an under-served villain, but overall this is a gloriously fun family parable, and as entertaining as any superhero movie you'll see this year."[82] Brian Tellerico of Rogerebert.com, gave the film a 3.5 out of 4 stars and said: "Having said that, Incredibles 2 understands something that most family sequels, even the Pixar ones, fail to comprehend—we don't just want to repeat something we loved before. We want to love it all over again. You will with Incredibles 2."[83] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune, gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars and said, "Incredibles 2 is content to punch the clock and stick to straight, bombastic action mode. In that mode, composer Giacchino's music is the most successful element, running nimble, beautifully orchestrated variations on themes that feel familiar in the best ways while retaining their spark. The animation is bright and visually dynamic. The script, well ... if the title were Satisfactories 2, it'd be about right."[84] Ty Burr for The Boston Globe called it a "clattery, unfocused affair that at times is more irritating than fun."[85] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter, gave the film a positive review, saying: "Boosted by central characters that remain vastly engaging and a deep supply of wit, Incredibles 2 certainly proves worth the wait, even if it hits the target but not the bull's-eye in quite the way the first one did."[86]

Disability advocates have warned that The Screenslaver's hypnotic screens (shown here) may trigger epileptic seizures.

Many disability advocates, including the Epilepsy Foundation, have raised concerns that scenes with flashing lights, particularly the scene of Elastigirl's fight with the Screenslaver, can trigger seizures in viewers affected by photosensitive epilepsy.[87][88][89] As a result, several theaters posted warnings for audiences.[90] Disney issued a statement to USA Today stating that they appreciated the efforts the theaters had already made in making signs warning people seeing the movie. They then asked theaters to warn audiences about the scene in a memo that read, "Incredibles 2 contains a sequence of flashing lights, which may affect customers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy or other photosensitivities."[91]

In response to this, a re-edited version was released in the United Kingdom with all affected sequences altered so that any flashing lights and strobe effects now pass the Harding test.[92][93]