Recent
talk from Brad Bird this weekend has produced some Oh Don Piano vibes
manifesting in the form of rumors of a sequel to The Incredibles.
Specifically, Bird was quoted during press for Ratatouille regarding
that film “I love the world. I love the
characters, and if I could come with a story that was as good or better than
the original, I’d go there in a second. I have pieces of things that I would
love to see in a sequel, but I haven’t got them all together yet, and I
certainly wouldn’t want to come out there with something that is less than the
original. … Sequels are not part of the business plan at Pixar. It’s all about
the filmmakers being passionate about going somewhere.”
All of
which is fine and good, but faster than you can say a string of expletives very loudly and emphatically, Samuel L.
Jackson AKA Frozone AKA Cooler Than Freddie Jackson Sipping a Milkshake in a Snowstorm – who has his own impending film, 1408, arriving this week just before
Bird’s – says that the rumblings about The Incredibles 2 are just that and
also older than you might think. With cold water at the ready, Sam insisted
that “The last time I heard about [a sequel]
was when The Incredibles was coming
out. I haven’t heard anything since then.”
None of
this is to say that it can’t ever happen, but Bird’s scheduling may be the
biggest baddie in this story. Now that Ratatouille’s finished, Bird has to
prep for helming 1906, which is a live action story about the infamous
There’s been a bit of confusion as to whether this will be a Pixar film or not,
given not only the live action aspect but the more adult slant of the source
book it’s based on, but all signs point to it being a Warner Brothers film he’s
doing away from Pixar altogether. After that, he would still have to come up
with a blockbuster idea and muscle his way into the tight Pixar release schedule.
Personally, while I would love to see more of everything in that film – the characters,
the style, the action, that score – The Incredibles
is remarkable, among many other things, because it is a complete superhero film.
In these days of bloated, preordained trilogies petering out into asstastic
final installments, do we really want to risk tarnishing this gem? Not to say
that Bird or Pixar can’t do a great sequel – I just don’t think it’s necessary.
Selfishly, I want more, but practically, I think this property began and ended
with absolute perfection. Why tempt fate?