While the superhero movie genre was well represented this summer blockbuster season, Incredibles 2 might have been the longest anticipated. Considering the first film hit theaters on November 5, 2004, leaving fans waiting for nearly 14 years is an incredible gap of time (cheap pun intended). Part of the reason for the delay might have been because of one of the character’s designs was the longest and most difficult to animate. And while you might think the character in question would be one of the two main characters with the most screen time, you would be mistaken. We’re talking about Violet Parr.
Image: Disney/Pixar
Although Violet is a supporting character in both Incredibles films, Violet’s role is integral to each movie. In the first film, Violet’s hair was key to her character because she was shy and would hide behind her hair, but as the movie progressed, her hair was pulled back away from her face as she braved the world and became a hero. So, the animators at Pixar had to make sure, with painstaking efforts, that her hair was perfect, which caused a lot of issues for the artists. Apparently, long hair is the biggest pain to animate. If you look back at the majority of the computer-animated films done by Disney or Pixar, most characters have short hairstyles (the exception to that rule being Tangled).
Image: Disney/Pixar
When the sequel hit theaters, moviegoers were shown a movie focusing on Elastigirl standing strong on her own, Mr. Incredible proving he could be more than just the big brawny crime fighter, and also (maybe more importantly for kids today) Violet growing into her own image. Violet’s story was one of growing up and not wanting to completely identify as her parents’ daughter but becoming her own person. And not only was her character growing up, the technology used to animate her and her hair was growing up too. The software (Renderman) Pixar artists utilized in Incredibles saw a ton of improvements over the 14-year gap. Now they could animate hair movement to make it look even more authentic. And we are grateful that the artists stuck with this endearing character and her hair, even if she was the hardest one to animate.
As the franchise continues into the future, we’re sure to see more development from Violet and, of course, her younger siblings as they grow up as Supers!
Want a Violet of your very own? Order the Incredibles 2 Violet Funko Pop! today! Not only can you get the perfectly painted and sculpted figure but you can try to get the Chase version which shows off her amazing power of invisibility.
Don’t be shy! Show your love for Violet in the comments below!
