What's your take on when the ...
Everything old is new again
Question: What's your take on when the story of The Incredibles takes place? Some of the cars, interior decoration and clothes look like they're from the early '60s, but the dialogue has a modern feel to it. Thanks for finding the answer for me; I've loved your column for years.
Answer: The Incredibles (2004) takes place in a kind of indeterminate era, but the look and feel of the décor evoke the early '60s because the main inspiration for the story is Marvel's Fantastic Four comic-book series. The Fantastic Four debuted in 1961 and Brad Bird clearly grew up reading and loving those early issues. When he wrote his own superhero story, he retained the look (clothing, furniture, home accessories, cars etc.) that he associated with the comics of his formative years. At the same time, the underlying themes of The Incredibles include a critique of certain aspects of 21st-century life, so the dialogue and the characters' attitudes are completely contemporary. Which is a long way of saying, it's a combination of retro and new.
