Animation / Family / Superheroes

The Incredibles isn't just any cartoon: it's a Pixar cartoon. That's a genre of its own.

With humor and fun for the kids, and heart and thoughtfulness for the parents, Pixar takes animation, a genre typically associated with children, and makes it something everyone in the family can enjoy. That's a whole lot better than making a movie kids love but makes the parents want to pull their hair out. We're looking at you Air Bud.

But make no mistake: The Incredibles is a kids' movie through-and-through. The villain is one-dimensional. The violence is cartoony and blood-free. The characters and conflicts are easy-to-digest. Although the conflict between Bob and Helen might go over some kids' heads, the rest of the movie is built just for them.

The final ingredient in The Incredibles' genre souffle is the current ruler of the box office: superhero movies. The film embraces its superhero roots, making fun of common motifs like the bad guy monologue or impractical superhero cape, and even touching on ideas about government regulation of superheroes seeded by Marvel's iconic Civil War series. That being said, The Incredibles was released years before the modern superhero boom, meaning that it set as many genre standards as it borrowed within the film landscape.