The Incredibles

Every family has a secret. The Parrs are no different. Dad works for an insurance company. Mom stays home and looks after the kids. They live in the 'burbs.

The Parrs, however, are the Incredibles, a family of superheroes, lying low on a relocation programme, organised by grim-faced government agents, because litigation against daring acts of studendousity, in the cause of BGO (Bad Guys Out), have become so expensive that the exceptionally gifted X-men-and-women have been officially grounded and so Mr Incredible, who makes Desperate Dan look puny, and his wife Elastigirl, who does things with her body that would cause Potty Putty to blush, have to rein in their special powers and act normal in a world of brain-numbing predictability.

But not for long. Mr I and his pal Frozone, a living/breathing The Day After Tomorrow, go on illicit nighttime raids into the community, doing good deeds, super-style. They have to be careful, of course, because detection means a rap on the knucks from the Men In Black's department of DeSupervision, leading to instantaneous Relo(cation), name alterage, fresh employment with Yawn Corp, a Stepford bungalow in Nowheresville and a wife'n'kids revolution.

Things change BIG TIME when Mr I is drawn into the web of Syndrome, a disappointed brat fan of the hero of Heroes, who has become James Bond's worst enemy (multiplied by 10) and invented a robot, not unlike Alfred Molina's multi-limbed metallic monster from Spidey 2, capable of destroying a city...

Stop right there!

The Dept of GiveAway has embargoed this review and ordered, "NOT ANOTHER WORD!" The action of the department is indiscriminately killbillish, reflecting an attitude of conservative caution, concerning plot excavation.

Suffice to say that the man (Brad Bird), who brought you The Iron Giant in animated form - an undiscovered masterwork - has written and directed a future classic in the Pixar mould (Toy Stories, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo). His script is inventive, entertaining, quick witted and living proof, if such were needed, that the heart of a great movie beats on the keyboard of its creator.

The characters are perfectly rounded and beautifully observed, voiced with surprising emotional honesty by Craig T Nelson (Mr I), Holly Hunter (Elastigirl), Samuel L Jackson (Frozone), Jason Lee (Syndrome), with Spencer Fox and Sarah Vowell as the kids.

In the CGI workshop, they don't come much better. The Incredibles works on Level 1 (dads'n'mums), Level 2 (kiddage) and Level 29 (critics). Even taxi drivers's girlfriends (Level 13) won't throw a wobbly after this.