The Incredibles
Starring: (Voices of) Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee, Samuel L. Jackson
Director: Brad Bird
The film: Just when you thought the world of animation had become bogged down under a haze of irony and in-jokes, out comes Pixar with the kind of production the genre has been crying out for.
New characters, indeed, but what's more important is that the characters are allowed to establish themselves, rather than simply provide a mask for the identities behind their voices like so many alter egos. No hammy Eddie Murphy in a donkey suit here. And in establishing characters, the whole thing feels fresh and new.
Bob Parr (Craig T. Nelson) is a hulking family man on the surface. But beneath the calm exterior lurks Mr Incredible, a crime-fighting machine. The problem is that a few nasty public relations bungles have left the superheroes of the world out of favour. And so Bob retreats into a world of domesticity, with wife Helen (aka Elastigirl aka Holly Hunter) and their three kids.
But the Incredible in him just can't stay away, and so he sneaks out at night, with buddy Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) in tow, to do a bit of bad-guy busting on the sly. It's only a matter of time, though, before the world at large needs its heroes - and where better to find them, we can suppose, than right at home.