‘The Art of the Incredibles’ by Mark Cotta Caz Cries Out for a Sequel
The Incredibles, released in 2004, is the sixth computer animated movie by Pixar, after: Toy Story (1995), A Bug’s Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters, Inc. (2001), and Finding Nemo (2003).
These first five movies had one thing in common – humans were not the main characters. “Creating a believable human is pretty much the hardest thing you can do with a computer, much harder than creating believable special effects,” says John Lasseter, executive producer, in his foreword.
How did they do it? We don’t really find out. The majority of this book is taken up, not with the art of The Incredibles as it appears on the screen, but with the conventional conceptual drawings and story boards that were prepared prior to the beginning of the actual animation. (I learned more about the way human computer animation works from a one page Q & A session with Pixar’s Craig Good at National Review Online. (Do a Google search to find it, as it’s not findable through the front page of NRO’s website!) )
We get only a couple of paragraphs of information, in the Homecoming section. “A new muscle rig (a collection of synthetic muscles that move and change shape under animation controls) allowed for realistic motion and the performance animation needed to imbue the characters with the illusion of life. A huge advance was Pixar’s first use of “subsurface scattering,” a procedural code that allows light to penetrate skin surfaces and bounce out, creating a realistic skin luminescence (as opposed to the presiding CG techniques that produced a light that didn’t penetrate and could leave the human characters looking flat and plastic.”
That just whets the curiosity for everything that I really wanted to know!
Which isn’t to say that the art presented within isn’t glorious…just incomplete. We see preliminary sketches for all the characters…but no explanation as to how each one’s final look was decided upon. We see sketches of costume designer Edna Mode’s secret laboratory, but no explanation of how these simple ideas morphed into the ultimate costume testing area that it became.
There is much to be learned, of course. In addition to the artwork there are comments from writer/director Brad Bird, and many of the creative people who worked on the movie. And then there’s in-jokes in the movie that I hadn’t realized til I read th is book. Syndrome’s island is called Nomanisan (as in No Man is an Island, get it?). This is thrown out so casually in the movie, as the computerized captain announces their destination to Mr. Incredible, that I doubt if few audience members realized the reference.) The gigantic frieze in Edna’s house is based on scenes from the Trojan War.
This is a book that cries out for a sequel. What’s there is good, but what’s missing should be there, and would have made it so much better.
The books is divided into three sections, and each one contains so many sketches that show just how much work goes into the prelimary work of creation. The Incredibles has become one of my favorite movies and this book does illuminate much of the creative process. It’s a companion not so much to the movie as to the Behind the Scenes features on the recently released DVD – which are must viewing as well.
Meet the Parrs
The early character sketches for Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible), Helen Parr (Elastigirl), Violet, Dash and little Jack-Jack., Dash’s classmates, Violet’s school, Dash’s classroom, Kari the Babysitter, Metroville Freeway , The Parr Home, Vehicles, The Parr living room, Parr dining room, Insuricare, Bob’s office (the subtlety of his office having the column in it to make his workspace even more claustrophobic is mentioned in the Behind the Scenes documentary on the DVD, but not in this book), Insuricare co-workers.
The Golden Years
The Incredibile, Miscellaneous heroes, Frozone, Deleted scenes – bar and demolition site, Bob’s den, E’s house, Edna Mode
Showtime
Nomanisan Island, the evolution of the island, control room, island aircraft , Xerek – the original main villain, Syndrome, Mirage, Miscellaneous villains, Bob’s prison cell, 100 mile Dash, velocipods, Omnidroid battle and finally, a Gallery of characters featuring the way they look in the movie, and on the end page – the Underminer.
