Ten Incredible Little Things

The Incredibles

I’ve just finished watching The Incredibles again. I saw it in the theater when it came out and now twice on DVD.

What a great movie!

I’d considered doing my standard cartoon movie review, but let’s be honest here; everyone’s seen this movie and pretty much everyone agrees it’s really really good.

I’ve heard it said that God is in the details; so instead, here are some incredible details that really grabbed me:

1) I love the fact that Bob is humming the movie’s theme when he walks in from moonlighting with Frozone.

2) Bret ‘Brook’ Parker‘s performance as Kari. For a character with about 45 seconds of screen time, Kari steals every scene she’s in.

3) The 60’s/70’s (I’m not exactly sure) style of the Parr’s home. Nice touch!

4) The jazz trombonist in me dug the Sammy Nestico vibe in the score during the ‘everything’s going great for Bob’ montage.

5) “No capes!” Edna’s explanation of why she won’t design with capes is hysterical, and it sets up a nice gag at the end of the movie.

6) The grainy black and white newsreel documenting the downfall of the ‘supers’ is a joy to watch. Funny and dead on.

7) Helen checking her butt in the mirror while breaking into Syndrome’s fortress. If I remember right it was in the trailer and the commercials, but it’s so right I had to comment.

8) Mr. Incredible going out of focus as he lunges toward the ‘camera’ during the opening interview. It’s attention to detail like this that sets Pixar apart.

9) Mirage. Simply a stunning character design. From the shape of the head to the stick body and hair, a fascinating character to look at.

10) The end credits. Great art! Now I have to check out The Art of the Incredibles.

Gag Cartoonist John Gallagher Passes On

Veteran gag cartoonist John Gallagher passed away on Saturday. Gallagher twice won the NCS’ Best Gag Cartoonist award. He was 79.

Quoting his obituary…

Mr. Gallagher, who grew up in Bergenfield, developed a penchant for drawing as a child. He parlayed his talents into an award-winning career as a gag cartoonist. His work appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, Sport, Parade, Collier’s, Military Life, True and Argosy.

“If you really like cartooning and want to use it in some way in a future career, put everything you have into working at it and learning from it,” he once told aspiring cartoonists.

Amen, John.

(BTW, thanks to Mike Lynch for the heads up.)

National Cartoonists Society Site Get Welcome Facelift

NCS

As Mark Heath mentioned on yesterday’s Frog Blog, the National Cartoonists Society (NCS) has a new website up and running.

According to outgoing NCS president, Steve McGarry…

“This website was designed and constructed, over a period of many months, by the Presidential offspring, Joe and Luke McGarry. During my four years as NCS President, they have created the opening movies that we use to open the Reuben Awards evenings, they have helped design and operate the AV productions we stage during the Reuben Weekend seminars and have generally scanned and htmled way above and beyond the call of filial duty. On behalf of everyone in the NCS, I want to thank them for all their hard work and a series of jobs wonderfully well done … and promise that this is the last time we use them as cheap child labor. When Stromoski takes over in May, he vwill have to shamelessly exploit his own kid.”

I like the new look and usability a lot, although some of the headline graphics look a tad pixilated, but that’s just nitpicking.

I’m hoping this facelift signals a site that will be updated a bit more often.

I might even have to apply for membership some time…