All images from: http://images.search.yahoo.com/THE INCREDIBLES
The Incredibles is an animated movie about a super hero family. This movie has your classic good versus evil theme or formula in it. The father and mother are a retired pair of super hero's living in suburbia. The dad ends up going on a secret mission and gets captured by the evil villain. The evil villain is a super hero wanna be who feels he was treated wrongly by Mr. Incredible. The evil villain is intent on destroying Mr. Incredible and taking over the world.
Mrs. Incredible figures out that her husband has gone off on a secret mission and is intent on going after him. She suits up and heads off to save her husband. Unknown to her the children stow away in the plane. Part way through the flight she discovers the stow aways and lectures the children about how they are endangering themselves by coming along. The children all suit up and realize they have super hero powers also. The children practice their powers on the plane. The plane gets shot down and the children use their powers to get safely to the ground. The mother is angry and tells the children to stay put and she's going to find the dad. The children wait and finally realize the mother was probably captured and they set out to rescue their parents. In the end they do rescue the parents.
The formula of good versus evil has been around forever. It is not a good film if evil prevails so almost all films are made with good prevailing over evil. This formula has remained untouched over time because everybody likes it when the good guys win. It give people a sense of happiness and a sense that all is right in the world.
Another formula represented in this movie is the trouble with a teenager finding her identity. The daughter in this movie was your typical teenager, always sulking around, withdrawn, didn't want to be around parents, and always fighting with siblings. She ends up finding her hidden super hero powers and in the process of developing these powers she discovers her identity. She finds her sense of self and becomes more confident, outgoing and charismatic. This is a formula that many teenagers face themselves daily. They have to choose what is right and what is wrong. Teenagers face many obstacles in defining themselves. This formula has been constant through out time as well. Children struggle daily with finding their purpose in life. Some formulas may change over the years but many will stay the same. They may vary slightly but the underlying theme stays the same. For film people to produce well liked movies they have to stay on top of what entertains people and what formula or theme is the most prevalent.
