Pop Culture Flashback: That's Incredible! - (Nov. 5)

Long before Disney acquired Marvel Studios, Disney created some of their own superheroes in the form of The Incredibles, a family of five who try to live undercover with alter egos, but hey, those criminals are not going to arrest themselves.

2005 – ‘The Incredibles’ Arrive to Save the Day

Directed by Brad Bird, The Incredibles is a Disney/Pixar flick about a family of superheroes. The family includes Mr. Bob Parr, who is super strong (Craig T. Nelson); Mrs. Helen Parr, whose maiden name was Elastigirl (Holly Hunter); daughter Violet, who can become invisible and create protective forcefields (Sarah Vowell); son Dash, who is super-fast (Spencer Fox) and baby Jack Jack, who the family thought had no superpowers, but it turns out, they were very wrong. The family the fights crime together, stays together.

The movie takes place after years of damage created by superheroes and the “Parr Family” (The Incredibles!) live undercover in suburbia because of the Superhero Relocation Program. But that doesn’t mean that crime just stops happening. What follows is one of the funniest, touching, superhero comedies ever.

The Incredibles also introduced us to Bob’s best friend, Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), the evil Syndrome (Jason Lee), his assistant Mirage (Elizabeth Peña) and Edna “E” Mode – a fashion designer for superheroes (No capes!) and occasional babysitter. She was voiced by Brad Bird when he couldn’t find the right voice with the right inflection that he was looking for.

This super family movie won the 2004 Annie Award for Best Animated Feature. It was also nominated for four Academy Awards and won two Oscars for Best Original Screenplay and Sound Mixing.

Although fans requested a sequel for years, Incredibles 2 did not arrive in theaters until June 15, 2018, it too did “super” with the box office. Incredibles 3 will be coming to theaters on June 16, 2028 – ten years and one day after the second film.

1917 – Snail Mail

Vintage postcards — *(Photo by rc.xyz NFT gallery on Unsplash)*

It was on this day in 1917 when 21-year-old Walter Butler sent a postcard from the battlefield to his fiancée, Amy Hicks to let her know that he was still alive. The postcard didn’t arrive until February 2007!

Sent from the Flanders trenches, it read, “I am quite well. Letter follows at first opportunity. I have received no letter from you for a long time.” Nobody seems to know why the postcard arrived so late (although it was stamped with the date July 28, 1915), but the card arrived safely to the residence of Walter’s and Amy’s daughter, Joyce Hulbert (who was 82-years-old at the time) and living in her mother’s home.

2007 – Hollywood Goes on Strike

Actress Elisabeth Röhm — American actress Elisabeth Röhm during the 2007 WGA strike. *(Wikimedia Commons)*

On this day in 2007, film, TV and radio writers went on strike after negotiations break down with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Lasting until February 26, 2008, the strike shut down production on more than 60 TV shows.

Not surprisingly, the strike is said to have caused a loss of $3 billion to the local Los Angeles economy. TV stations were forced to air reruns over and over again. Some audience even learned how to read a book again.

1937 – An Un-Silly Symphony Wins Oscar

Movie posters for "The Old Mill" — *(Disney Animation Studios via TVDB)*

In the mid 1930’s, Walt Disney released a series of short cartoons called “Silly Symphony” which featured animation synched to music and little if any dialogue. It was on this day that The Old Mill, which was the first to be released by RKO Radio Pictures and the first to use Disney’s multiplane camera which gave the picture a lot more depth.

The story featured a worn-out mill and the creatures that lived inside of it and what happens during a terrible wind and rainstorm. Surprisingly realistic, there was nothing silly about this picture. It won the Academy Award that year for Best Short Subjects: Cartoons.