I loved The Incredibles. When the trailer for The Incredibles 2 came out, I was skeptical that a followup after 14 years would be as good as the original. How could it?
But the new movie is action packed and (in my opinion) even funnier than the first. Since I’m working on a sequel to my novel, I’m still analyzing how Pixar put it all together. They tell a story so well.
One thing I like about both Incredibles is the idea of superheroes trying to get along as a normal, suburban family. Their fights are so relatable. They’re the same fights my siblings and I had growing up. But with superpowers, they’re a lot more interesting.
They know how to push each others’ buttons. Yet when they face a challenge, everybody knows what everybody else does best. When one person can’t handle something, they let someone else step in. Their combined efforts save the day.
My father is in the process of selling the house our family has lived in for 40 years, so my parents can move to a home suited to my ailing mom’s needs. It’s a huge undertaking. There are tons of repairs to be made, attics to clean out, and monster-truck sized dumpsters to be filled. It’s not just hard work, it’s emotional hard work. A lot of rifling through boxes, pulling out things and either sobbing or laughing hysterically over them.
The cool thing is, we’re doing this as a family. And everybody is playing a part. I’m The Communicator, making sure the realtor, contractors and family know what’s happening when. My brother is The Bulldozer, stepping in to throw clutter away when we’re too sentimentally attached to it.
One brother-in-law, The Prioritizer, excels at creating lists and visual timelines to keep us focused; the other, The Mover, works with incredible endurance and speed, moving furniture and boxes. One sister, The Decider, is ruthlessly no nonsense when it comes to finances and helping my dad make decisions; the other sister, The Guardian, lives in the house and has the biggest heart for my mom’s needs.
What one of us can’t do, someone else does. So far the arrangement is working out pretty well.
When we have survived all of this, and my parents are settled in their new place, we will be exhausted. I hope we’ll all still be friends. We will have gotten through it together, which will be incredible.
