Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Shelly and I actually went to a movie theater to see a movie. Thanks greatly to M. and S. for inviting us to double with them. We saw "The Incredibles."

I've read reviews and talked to people that act like this is one of the best movies of the year, if not of all time. I certainly lean in that direction, though I'm not quite ready to make such superlative statements (after all, I can't think off the top of my head of another 2004 movie I, the non-new-release-video-watcher, have even seen). I'd like to leave aside the obvious stuff that's good about it like the amazing animation, likable characters, ability to keep us constantly smiling despite its somewhat formulaic plot, etc.

I want to talk about the film's two main themes: family and specialness. Both of these themes have been talked about before in other reviews, but my thesis is that they're related and complimentary. Unlike most Disney cartoons, we have here a two-parent, traditional, functional family. They fit into typical stereotypes (even their superpowers are related to their family roles: Dad is strong, Mom is stretchable, teenage daughter is invisible, and young son is frenetic), and they don't seem to have any more problems than the typical family does.

We establish early on in the movie that Mr. Incredible works alone. He's so incredible he doesn't need anyone else's help--even when Elastigirl helps him take out a crook, they banter about how her help was unnecessary. Yet through the course of the movie, he ends up needing his family (his wife and all of his kids) to rescue him, defeat the villian, and come out on top in the end. As the final battle scene is gearing up, he encourages the whole family to stay hidden while he fights the evil robot. But his wife gently points out that a family is a team, and we stick together. Once you've aligned your life with someone else's, and especially when you've created new lives together, there's no going back to solo heroics. Your destiny is tied up with theirs and you come as a package, solving problems, enduring defeats, and destroying evil robots. Individual members of a family are not allowed to work alone. (And that's a good thing.)

"Everybody's special in their own way," asserts Mom; "Which is another way of saying that nobody is," mutters Son. The evil villain's plot is to market his inventions that will give non-super people superpower abilities. "And when everyone is super, no one will be," he cackles. The film seems to take the position that if you have been given special talents, you are indeed special and should use them to the benefit of yourself and others. People with extraordinary abilities should be extraordinary. Where much is given, much is required.

On the surface, these two themes seem to be in conflict: Use your individual strengths to become individually special, but a family is a team where individuality becomes less relevant. I think the themes compliment each other. None of the predicaments the family gets into would have been possible to get out of without the combined special powers of each individual. Families need the contributions of the special abilities and personalities of each family member. At the same time you're surrendering your individuality to the family for the sake of the greater good, the greater good (and as the movie explicitly points out, your family is "the greatest good you're ever gonna have!") needs you to contribute precisely the things that make you a unique individual.

It's actually a lot like the gospel. Your personal salvation is determined by what you make of your life on an individual basis--everything depends on the choices you make as an individual. But you can't achieve the highest degree of glory without surrendering your individualism to 1) your earthly family and 2) your heavenly family (specifically your Heavenly Father).