The first footage from Incredibles 2 (there's no 'The' this time around) was shown at Disney's D23 Expo 2017, and I was there to take it all in.
Set to arrive in 2018, 14 years after the first movie was released, the highly anticipated super-sequel will pick up with the Parr family exactly where we left them. Returning writer/director (and voice of Edna Mode) Brad Bird introduced the unfinished clip, and hinted at what's to come for the super-family.
After their house was blown up in the final showdown with Syndrome, the Parrs have moved to a swanky, upmarket pad – all floor to ceiling glass, flowing water features, and modernist design - not unlike somewhere Tony Stark might call home. This time out, Helen, AKA Elastigirl, will be at the forefront of the action – concept sketches of her on a motorcycle were glimpsed on screen – while Bob stays at home tending to baby Jack-Jack. “We’re having fun with that idea,” said Bird of the switch in parental roles compared to the first film.
Meanwhile, Bob taking care of the baby, or not so much, was the backbone of the footage I saw. When Bob snoozes on the couch, Jack-Jack spies a raccoon rummaging in the bin outside, and mistakes him for the villain from a black and white movie. Passing through the glass door, the youngest Parr then uses all the powers at his disposal in his scrap with the trash panda. Telekinesis, laser eyes, the ability to multiply into five Jack-Jacks, bursting into flames – you name it, Jack-Jack can do it. Bob, waking up and spying his son outside, is initially elated, beaming, “You have powers!” He then releases that having a baby who can pass through solid wall *and* multiply like rabbits might not be a good idea...
Samuel L. Jackson is confirmed to return as Frozone, and the story promises to be expansive, with Bird introducing a variety of new heroes. And while the main characters haven’t aged, they look a little different thanks to the improvement in animation in the intervening years. I particularly noticed it with the characters’ hair and Jack-Jack’s looser fitting romper... subtle changes that make you realise how far the tech has come; Bird made the analogy that it was like a driving a better model of a car. Animation tests showed off their faces in action, stretching, smiling, speaking. Fear not, the characters still look exactly as you remember them, there’s just a little more fine detail (and better hair).
While the footage I saw won't be released for a while (if ever), one thing we were shown which you can see now is a video of fashion industry experts, including Heidi Klum and Kendall Jenner, talking about the icon that is Edna Mode.
Incredibles 2 arrives in summer 2018, after Coco but before Toy Story 4 - unfortunately the Toy Story sequel was teased in a behind-the-scenes video which gave absolutely nothing away, dammit!
