Michael Giacchino talks The Incredibles (2004)

In 2004, Pixar Animation Studios released The Incredibles, the story of a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers and live normal lives (after a series of events forces all superheroes to retire).

Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible, his wife Helen/Elasti-Girl, their son Dash (super-speed) and daughter Violet (invisibility/forcefields) and youngest son Jack-Jack (revealed to potentially have multiple powers at the end of the film), are doing their best to blend in when the former Mr. Incredible, extremely dissatisfied with living life as an “ordinary person” is given an offer to destroy a robot on a distant island. But there’s a lot more at play here than just a runaway robot, and soon the entire family will find themselves embroiled in a huge conflict with a strange figure from Mr. Incredibles’ past.

As it turns out, The Incredibles was the first major film commission for composer Michael Giacchino (known today for such works as Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness and Zootopia). Director Brad Bird noticed Giacchino after hearing his work on the tv show Alias (2001-2006). Prior to this, Pixar had only used the music of Thomas or Randy Newman in their films, so Giacchino’s jazzy style was a significant departure for the studio. To help give the score that “old-style” feel of the 1960s, Giacchino deliberately recorded the score on analog tapes (as opposed to digital recording).

The featurette linked above gives an in-depth look at the recording process of the film’s score, as well as how Giacchino initially developed the music on the piano. It’s always interesting to see where a major film composer first got their start, and I bet there are some people who don’t realize that Giacchino’s first film score was for an animated family film.

I hope you enjoy this behind the scenes look at the score for The Incredibles. With news of a sequel due out in 2019 , I am happy to report that Michael Giacchino will return to score that film as well. It will be very interesting to hear how the composer’s style has evolved over the years since the first film came out. Have a good Friday!