I’m not exactly sure why it seems peculiar to call an animated feature just about the funniest and most exciting Hollywood movie of 2004. But that’s exactly what Brad Bird, the guy behind 1999’s memorable The Iron Giant, has done (or outdone, as it were) in creating The Incredibles, a high-spirited romp about a typical suburban couple struggling with day-to-day details of raising kids and who, oh yeah, just happen to be secret superheroes.

I caught up with Brad recently to chat about his decidedly original approach to creating an animated film that defies genre conventions, sidestepping the narrow target market to become a fast, loose, funny and warm movie in any regard, animated or otherwise.

Don’t be completely fooled by the film’s adventure-driven marketing campaign. The Incredibles, for all its whirligig panache, snappy humor and action set pieces, somewhere deep down, is about family ties that bind. Says Bird, "I was interested in using the superhero genre to comment about the role that people play in a family, and the kind of archetypes in a family. The father is always expected to be strong, so I made him super strong. Moms are always pulled in a million directions, so I had her be elastic. Teenaged girls are awkward and wish no one could see them, and she can put up a shield. Ten-year-old boys are little energy balls who bounce off the walls. Babies are kind of wild cards! I’m interested in finding what’s real and playing with that."

Indeed the film is as much of an unexpected treat for adults as for kids, earning the film a PG rating with Pixar’s blessing. "Some of my earliest discussions with Pixar (were) would they be open to (the PG)," explains Bird. "At first they said, ‘We believe any idea can be done well in the G format.’ I said, ‘That’s not true with everything. The Godfather wouldn’t be as good rated G.’ They thought about it a little bit, then said, ‘Well, if that’s the best way to tell the story then we’re down with that.’"

Indeed, The Incredibles skews to an older audience, though many younger kids will surely emerge delighted by its comic intensity. Adds Bird, "I think that you want to be able to amp a movie up and spin an adventure yarn in a way that's going to really make people sit on the edge of their seat. Sometimes that means being a little more intense than a five-year-old is going to want. When that five-year-old gets to be 8 or so, let’s rock him with The Incredibles."

One of the strengths of the film is its unpredictability and willingness to step out of animation genre conventions. "I’ve had to swim upstream in animation. It’s the only art form I know of where there is a presumed very narrow audience. They assume that because you work in the form that you’re making films for kids—an audience that doesn’t include you. Can’t I make this film for anyone who enjoys movies—kids, adults, teenagers? The goal is to make a great movie. The fact that it’s animated is almost beside the point. Do you empathize with the characters? Do you feel what we need you to feel, whether it be suspense, or comedy or emotion? Do we see the character thinking or feeling things? Are the shots composed well? Is the lighting good? And those are all things that are true of any film—live action or animation."