I grew up with two sisters, and it’s fair to say we’ve had our share of sibling rivalry. From arguing about who gets to sit in the front seat of the car to who has to fold the next batch of clothes, there’s something about the siblings in Incredibles 2 that I can relate to. I loved speaking to Sarah Vowell, the voice of “Violet Parr”, and Huck Milner, the voice of “Dash Parr”, because today, as a parent to four children, I “get it”. And though this duo isn’t really siblings, from speaking to them, you would have no idea.
Sarah, how did you land the role of Violet?
Sarah Vowell: They were casting or thinking about casting the first film, and I think Brad was in his car listening to the radio and heard one of my public radio documentaries and was so taken with the gravitas and maturity of my voice that he made me into a junior high. He heard a junior high school student who becomes a superhero in that.
So people who are actors are like how do I become a voice actor? Go into journalism!
And Huck? How did you get the role of Dash?
Huck: When I was four, my sisters were in plays. And they introduced me to plays. And when I got into plays I just really loved them. So, I just loved the theater and then I got an agent and I got to auditions, I just really lucked out.
What real-life superpowers would you choose, if you could?
Huck: Mine would be super speed like Dash, probably because I’m really slow in real life. I cannot beat my cousins or my sisters at any game involving running. So I wanna be able to go somewhere and then just come back and be like I was here the whole time. I would just love to have Dash’s power.
Sarah: As a middle-aged lady, I would love super strength, because I don’t know if any of you have like those rubber jar opener things. Wouldn’t it be great to just open a jar of jam or like move a car with my hands, either of those two things, I would love.
How easy was it to get into character in the studio?
Huck: Well, Brad didn’t tell me to do this, but I actually one time put on the Incredibles suit and ran around the entire Pixar Studios! I’ll just run around the booth. Sometimes you would wanna do that.
And one time, I couldn’t laugh, so, I had to have someone tickle me.
Sarah: For me, especially working on the first movie, ’cause I had never acted before, the hardest part, especially coming from public radio where you just say words, you have to make all these sounds. So, like the first time I had to make a sound where Violet was being punched by her brother. I was like you’re gonna have to come over here and punch me.
So, I would stand at the microphone. He would stand next to me and like hit me in the arms. But I asked him to, in this one, there’s a scene where Violet does a spit take and I had to like puhh. I had literally like poured water down my throat to do that and we got the take, but then I vomited all over the studio.
Huck: It was actually really fun. Brad Bird made it really fun, and he just made everything really fun and it was really amazing.
Sarah, what does Violet represent to you?
Sarah: Like all the members of the family, their powers are stemmed from the psychology of like wherever that person is at their stage in life. So a ten-year-old boy has way too much energy and runs around. The fact that Violet, especially when the first movie starts, she hasn’t really developed her powers yet, but she has them and they reflect kind of her insecurities and her annoyances.
Becoming invisible is sort of like that teenage girl thing where you just wanna hide. Also her force fields you know, I don’t want to let you in. But then as she develops her powers and becomes her person and comes into her own and learns how to use the powers and not only learns how to use the powers but enjoys using the powers, then they become her strengths. Then those powers really reflect what she can do and not what she’s afraid of.
Sara, do you hope to see more Incredibles films with Violet?
I mean I do like fantasize about it sometimes if she gonna be a foreign exchange student? And will she live with a superhero family? And in what country? What if she’s living with a superhero family in a country where women aren’t allowed to drive? How would that work? Or how would she deal with all of that kinda stuff? I mean she’s so apart of her family. What happens when she leaves the family? Like, that is actually the story of every kid growing up.
As a superhero, I’m glad the film takes place in the same time period and to see how those powers represent a certain kinda person. But for Violet, it would be interesting to see what happens to her when she goes out into the world, and not just becoming a superhero out in the world. You know, it’s kinda funny. Like the first time a young adult has to go grocery shopping. Like, what would that be like, all that stuff?
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