The Mom Crowd

When I wrote about moms in movies a few months ago, I received a couple of comments about Helen Parr, a.k.a. Elastigirl, from The Incredibles. I hadn’t seen this excellent animated flick since it originally came out in 2004, so I had to do some “research” and re-watch it. (It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it, y’all.)

My friend said:

On my list goes Elastigirl from the Incredibles. Similar thing, she has to remain a great mom while her husband suffers a bit of a nutty, but in the end she shows her strength and brings the family together.

Yes, I agree. Helen Parr (voiced by the brilliant Holly Hunter) is a remarkable mom. As I watched the movie through my couture “mom lenses” (designed by Edna ‘E’ Mode), I noticed her special blend of levelheadedness, responsibility, and feistiness (not to mention her ability to stretch into any shape).

In the first half of the film, she’s seen running the gamut of mom responsibilities: picking up her son from school after he’d been sent to the office, feeding her baby (“making the weird faces” to entertain him, no less), doing laundry, vacuuming, making her family endure leftover night. When the kids argue, she’s right there, peppering their conversations with random insights that sound like they came straight from a psychology book (“Do not shout at the table!” “Oh, don’t just stand there, Bob, I need you to… intervene!” “I don’t think you’re striking the proper tone here!”) She appears to keep the house running smoothly without griping about it, and she shows unfailing support to her husband, no matter what he might be up to. And she doesn’t hesitate to put him in his place if the situation warrants it.

Helen’s biggest scenes involve her children. And that’s when we see her cool-as-a-cucumber personality and physical elasticity come in handy the most. First of all, she flies a plane! Out of nowhere, this momma starts barking out commands like “Mayday, mayday, India-Golf-Niner-Niner is buddy spiked!” Say-wha? That is one piloting-savvy momma! “Abort, abort, there are children aboard, say again, there are children aboard this plane!” Aw, and always looking out for her kids above all else.

Through a series of near-misses and dangerous situations, Helen & her kids learn to trust and appreciate one another’s abilities. In a free-fall from the aforementioned plane, her freaked-out kids find rescue in a lifesaving parachute, provided by mom. Shortly after that, she turns into a raft (handily powered by son Dash’s quick legs). In between, she keeps her cool and helps Dash and Violet do the same, saying things like, “I expect you to trust me.” “Be strong. I’m proud of you.” In addition to being incredibly quick on her feet, she’s both encouraging and wise.

She is also comforting and truthful. Her truthfulness really shines out in the scene where she leaves the kids alone in the jungle in order to search for Bob. Before going, she gives them a speech on the dangers they face, and what to do about them if necessary. She doesn’t sugarcoat their situation – she respects them enough to tell them the truth. And they listen.

By the climax, the whole Parr family is working together, using their powers for good. They share the load. They cheer one another on. And they couldn’t do any of it without Helen, who kept a level head throughout the entire adventure (and who literally carried them all home). Plus, she’s great with directions.

Finally, I chuckled at a little scene that only us moms could really appreciate: in her super-suit, she catches her reflection, stops, and sighs. Let’s just put it this way: the animators gave her a relatively realistic “mom figure”.

So remember, moms, no matter what size we are, no matter how elastic or talented we may be (hey, I’m no pilot on the side, how about you?), our kids will always love us if we show the admirable maternal characteristics displayed by Helen Parr in The Incredibles. What do you think? Happy weekend!