Mr. Incredible and Pals (2005)

Mr. Incredible and Pals is a 2005 animated short film produced by Pixar, and included as a bonus on the DVD edition of its 2004 feature film The Incredibles. It features the characters of Mr. Incredible and Frozone from the movie, plus a "cute animal" rabbit sidekick named Mister Skipperdoo.

The film is produced in a style of limited animation that intentionally parodies the low-budget, low-quality TV Saturday morning cartoons that aired regularly during the era of the 1950s and 1960s. During this time, TV animation studios were contracted to turn out high quantities of product on low budgets, and this resulted in a large number of TV cartoons that have been derided and mocked by TV critics, film and animation historians, and audiences in general. Mr. Incredible and Pals provides examples of this style of low-budget TV animation, which produced such stereotypical fare as:


Still shots of drawn scenes, rather than actual frame-by-frame animation.
Actual footage of live actors' mouths moving instead of animated lips on the characters, a technique known as Synchro-Vox. The most well-known example of this form of "animation" was the Clutch Cargo series.
A Cold War-era plot pitting the true, freedom-loving American superheroes Mr. Incredible and Frozone against a stereotypical "Communist" supervillain, Lady Lightbug.
The sidekick is ensnared by the supervillain and there is complete emphasis on the main hero, who nevertheless thanks the sidekick for his involvement in stopping the villain.
Frozone speaking in forced "beatnik" slang, showing the out-of-touch depiction of minority characters in cartoons at the time.
A "cute animal" sidekick only added for "children's appeal." In this film, a glasses-wearing rabbit named Mister Skipperdoo does nothing but hop up and down, yet his actions are seen as crucial to solving the "mystery" that comprises the plot of this cartoon.
As of 2008, Mr. Incredible and Pals is the first of only three short films produced by Pixar Animation Studios in the traditional hand-drawn method, instead of CGI animation. The second film, Your Friend the Rat, was produced in 2007 and included as part of the DVD release of Ratatouille, the third, Day & Night, produced in 2010, was attached to the theatrical release of Toy Story 3. The later two films feature a combination of hand-drawn and CGI animation.

Synopsis

The episode begins with Mr. Incredible, Frozone, and Mr. Skipperdoo discussing the previous events, that while they were gone an evil villainess named Lady Lightbug (described by Mr. Incredible as 'sinister, yet lovely') stole the bridge connecting the city, leaving cars stuck on either side of the river trapped. Resolving to amend the situation, Frozone builds a temporary bridge of ice, and the three skate away to find the nemesis.

Actors