THE HERO'S JOURNEY - FILM REVIEW

The Incredibles (2004) is about two married superheroes Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl that are forced to assume mundane lives as Bob and Helen Parr after all super-powered activities have been banned by the government. While Mr. Incredible loves his wife and kids, he longs to return to a life of adventure, and he gets a chance when summoned to an island to battle an out-of-control robot. Soon, Mr. Incredible is in trouble, and it's up to his family to save him” This review will be looking at how the film The Incredibles (2004) follows Joseph Campbell’s stages of The Hero’s Journey.

Joesph Campbell’s theory of The Hero’s Journey is split into twelve stages, throughout three acts of the film. These twelve stages refer to a wide range of tales/ events in which the main character of the film comes across while venturing out to get what they need/desire. Doing so, often causes them conflict or distress but ultimately they become triumph. The twelve stages of The Hero’s Journey are; Ordinary World, Call to Adventure, Refusal, Meeting with the Mentor, Crossing the Threshold, (Tests, Enemies, Allies), Approach to Inmost Cave, Ordeal, Reward (Seizing the Sword), The Road Back, Resurrection and Return with Elixir.

Starting with the Ordinary World, this is where the hero exists before their story begins, uncertain of the future adventure which awaits them. Here the audience are shown their hero as an ordinary person or “human” going about their everyday lives. Bob and Helen are stuck in this normal communist world where Bob attends his boring office job as a insurance clerk everyday, while Helen stays home and looks after the children.(Fig. 1). 

Figure 1 - Bob in Car

The Call to Adventure begins when the hero receives a call to action, something which presents a threat to his safety. In this case, Bob’s Call to Adventure could be when him and Frozone go on one of their late night superhero runs but are caught by the police mid-escape. It is then found out that they have been watched by a mysterious figure with silver hair. 

The Refusal of the Call occurs when the hero declines a call to adventure due to the fears which it presents. In the film, this is seen when Bob chooses to not help a guy being mugged outside during a meeting. His boss threatened to fire him if he left to help the man therefore, this can be seen as his Refusal of the Call. (Fig.2)

Figure 2 - Office scene

Meeting the Mentor is a crucial stage of the hero’s development as at this point they need some form of guidance, the mentor figure provides them with what they need. Whatever the mentor provides the hero with, gives them strength and motivation to begin their quest. Bob finds a tablet that plays a message from the silver-haired woman, who introduces herself as Mirage. She explains a job involving a rogue robot that has taken over a secret government facility, and they need Bob’s assistance. 

Crossing the Threshold is when the hero is now ready to act upon the call of adventure. For Bob, this is accepting Mirage’s request and ventures out to the pacific to defeat this Omnidroid. However, this involves lying to his wife and family by pretending to attend a work trip. 

Tests, Allies, Enemies tests the hero, and they now figure out who they can truly trust. They encounter enemies which prepare them for deals yet to come, and earn allies. This stage often defines the hero as they gain various skills and overcome obstacles. For Bob he returns as the title Mr. Incredible, he gets back in shape, buys a new sports car and even rebrands himself by getting a new suit from Edna. However, Helen has her suspicions after hearing a phone call between him and Mirage. 

Approach to the Inmost Cave represents many things in the hero’s story such as an actual location which lies a terrible danger or inner conflict which the character has yet to face. Bob is chased by the newly introduced villain, Syndrome which leads him to jump into deep water, here he comes across the late hero (Gazerbeam), and the word Kronos encrypted onto the walls of a cave. He also finds out that Syndrome is planning to release a Omnidroid into New York as pose as a superhero. Bob is later captured and held in Syndrome’s lair. (Fig. 3)

Figure 3 - Bob captured by Syndrome

The Ordeal is a dangerous physical test or deep inner crisis that hero most face in order to survive, normally experienced by some form of “death” where the hero must then be resurrected. This grants him the power or insight to carry on in the story. It can also be a point where everything he holds dear is put on the line, if the hero fails then he may die to lose everything he loves. This happens when Helen decides to find about where Bob is, and takes a jet to fin him little did she know, the kids came with her. Syndrome tracks the family and sends a missile heading for their jet. Although the jet is taken down and the family survive, Bob is lead to believe that they have all been killed.

Reward (Seizing the Sword), this is the stage in which the hero defeats the enemy, and survives death. They are transformed into a new state, and leave the battle a much stronger person and often with a prize. This occurs when Helen helps Bob escape containment, where the family are then reunited to fight their way through Syndromes army. However, the Omnidroid was released into the city and is causing havoc. (Fig. 4)

Figure 4 - Omnidroid in New York

The Road Back is when the hero must return home with his reward but this time without the fear of danger, instead the hero now feels its their duty/ obligation to fight. This is the last push for the Hero to enter back into the Ordinary World. The family make it to New York just in the nick of time and become the crime fighting combo ‘The Incredibles’. They defeat the Omnidroid, which also building a strong relationship as a family. 

Resurrection, the hero’s final encounter with death, bringing consequences to his Ordinary World lifestyle. This occurs when Syndrome breaks into their home and kidnaps Jack-Jack, their youngest son. He flies away with him in his arms, but shortly releases that the baby has powers of his own, transforming into various forms and creatures which then lead Syndrome to drop him. Helen and Bob act quickly and he returns safely back to his family. Syndrome however, gets shredded by a jet engine of a plane, now the day is officially saved. 

Return with the Elixir is the final stage of The Hero’s Journey in which he returns home to his Ordinary World as a changed man. He has gained knowledge, skills and has faced death. His return may have changed the lives of the people that he left behind. For Bob, he has done exactly that, he has built a strong relationship to his family, understood more about his powers and capabilities, while changing everybody’s perception of superheroes. Although he has returned to his old lifestyle, things will never be the same again. (Fig. 5)

Figure 5 - End Scene