Meet the Incredibles

Brennan is a little addicted to the movie The Incredibles. I am ashamed to say he can now recite the movie by heart and often you will find him whispering the lines right along with the characters as he watches the movie with rapt attention. His obsession has spread to his requiring us to refer to him not as Brennan, but as Mr. Incredible. He not only goes by the name Mr. Incredible, but he really, truly believes he has become Mr. Incredible. In fact, he spends a lot of time going around the house trying to prove how strong he is – just like Mr. Incredible - by lifting up a lot of our furniture. This means I spend a lot of time begging Brennan to “please put down the ottoman already Brennan okay?”

As part of the Incredibles obsession, we have all been assigned parts. Aidan is Fro-Zone, or as Aidan likes to call him, “Mr. Freeze Man.” Griffin has been assigned the role of “Dash.” I am told I am “ElastiGirl.” (My assigned character led to a long drawn out discussion among me and my sons because they were concerned that, perhaps, I would prefer to be Violet, because, you know, Violet can disappear and that is very cool. But ElastiGirl can stretch very, very far and that is cool too and she is the mom, so it was determined I must be ElastiGirl.)

When Chris returned from his business trip last week, the boys informed him he must also be a character from the Incredibles. (The family that pretends together stays together, right?).

After thinking about it for a moment, Chris said, “I’ll be Mr. Incredible!”

The boys shook their heads in unison as Brennan scoffed at Chris and said with fervor, “I am Mr. Incredible, Daddy.”

“Oh, well, then I’ll be Fro-Zone!”

“No, no, no – Aidan is Fro-Zone, Daddy!” Brennan exclaimed.

“Dash?”

“Nope, that’s Griffin.” Aidan said pointing to Griffin.

Chris looks over to me for some assistance. I laugh and shake my head.

“How about the baby Dad? Do you want to be the Baby?” Aidan asks with seriousness.

Chris looks mildly offended. “No, I don’t want to be the baby!”

Brennan looks thoughtful and then yells, “I know! You can be the thwreat.”

“Who?” We all ask.

“The Thwreat! The Thwreat!” Brennan yells back.

No matter how many times he repeats it, we still had no idea what he was talking about.

The next day Brennan and I are (once again) watching the Incredibles. The movie’s antagonist/ bad guy “Buddy” appears on the screen. Immediately, Brennan points to the television and yells to me, “There! There’s Daddy! The thwreat! He’s the thwreat. See, mommy? The thwreat!”

Oh, the Threat. I laugh so hard tears pour from my eyes.