You guys… we’ve waited 14 years for a sequel to The Incredibles, and believe me when I say it was WELL worth the wait! From Mr. Incredible to Elastigirl to Jack Jack, Violet and Dash, you will be blown away when Incredibles 2 hits theaters on June 15.
Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) and Elastigirl (voiced by Holly Hunter) pick up where the first Incredibles film left off, not missing a beat or aging one bit. But what did their voice-overs think about a sequel? I sat down with Craig Nelson and Holly Hunter for an interview last week, and their thoughts were quite interesting!
(Disney invited me to Los Angeles on an all-expenses paid trip, in exchange for coverage of events. As always, all opinions are my own.)
We all know The Incredibles was a huge success, and it was a great movie. How did you feel about doing the sequel? Were you onboard right away and what were your thoughts on it when you heard that there was talk about it?
Holly Hunter: I mean, I think we both were, you know, I can practically speak for you, I mean, we were not hesitating in wanting to do this, this sequel.
Craig T. Nelson: It was exciting. I mean, it was exciting because it was, like, fourteen years- what is he gonna do; what are they gonna come up with; how can it be different; what’s- where are we gonna pick it up? I mean, we didn’t know anything. And then they talked about starting it right at the very end… and I didn’t age!
…And then it was just a question for me because I wasn’t sure if I could do it vocally, you know? Because I’d been doing Parenthood and Zeek had a different quality- a different vocal quality, so that meant I was kind of the trepidation nerve for me and anxiety, but it sounded like it was gonna be fun!
How easy was it to warm up back into character? Did you have to think about it? Did it just come naturally?
Holly: You know, I thought that it was quite amusing that the movie would pick out literally, like, fifteen seconds after the first movie. That was just so funny to me, and a completely and impossible thing to do in regular film, which Craig and I, that’s what we normally do is television and films. So the ability of animation to do that was just so delightful.
There were so many things about this opportunity for me which was kind of effortless. I mean, it’s just in terms of Craig and I — we record with Brad (Bird) and only with Brad, and so fourteen years later to encounter Brad again, you know, with a microphone between us was just fun. And he’s somebody that both of just inherently trust.
Craig: The (film) turns out to be huge, right? …
Indeed, it does.
You both have distinctive voices, obviously, which plays well with the movie. Do you find that you get recognized, like, people’s heads turn around when they hear you speak behind them? Are you being recognized through your voice?
Holly: If I don’t wanna be recognized, I don’t talk. It’s a giveaway, with one syllable.
Craig: You get tired of people saying or asking me, did I go to high school with you? But to the empowering question, also it’s like from the same standpoint it’s incumbent to understand, at least, a great part about the character in the film, for me, was that I was given the opportunity to get to know my kids.
And so I hadn’t discovered that, but at the same time Elastigirl and Mr. Incredible are competitive, and they have this kind of, you know, go ahead and do it, and when you do it, do it well like I know you can do it, but when you fail, you know, I’ll be there. But it’s all for a great cause.
One of my favorite lines in the movie is, ‘why are they trying to change math? Math is math.’
Craig: I don’t understand it as a dad or as a grandfather.
Holly: I can relate to that. It’s unbelievable.
Craig: Two plus two is four.
Did you at all dive into what they’re trying to do today with the new math?
Craig: It isn’t just new math. I’m confused about a lot of things. I really don’t understand the approaches to a lot of things, you know? When did they change the rules? Who gave them permission to do that? And it’s like, wait a minute… it’s not even being brought up. The kids; my grandkids; I have great-grandkids — I’ve got three of them. What a world they’re being raised in!
When I was raised, the beauty of the education that I received was that it was you were classically trained. You had classic literature to refer to and it was given to you and performed for you. So you learned words, you learned communication. And so I think for my kids and my grandkids that when I go to visit them, it’s very disturbing.
You guys have a great chemistry. Were you able to improv or bring anything to the table when you were doing the recording?
Holly : No. This is the gift of Brad Bird. This is what Brad can do that’s so phenomenal is that he- the chemistry that I think the cast has together, we do have chemistry, but you know — when Brad cast the Incredibles, the original one, he didn’t go down a list of actors and actress who were like the hot names of that moment.
He had in mind these- the sound of the movie; the sound of the characters together, and in that I think, you know, Brad had a chemistry in mind that was audio, because that’s the kind of guy that he is; that’s the kind of artist that he is. So Craig and I never met each other until about nine months ago.
Incredibles 2 In Theaters June 15
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