HOLLYWOOD—I cannot believe moviegoers had to wait nearly 14 years, yes, 14 years before we finally got the long-awaited sequel to “The Incredibles.” Well the wait is over, as “Incredibles 2” has arrived and it is a ton of fun to watch. The family of superheroes are back to take on the baddies as the Parr family, Bob (voice of Craig T. Nelson), Helen (voice of Holly Hunter), Violet (voice of Sarah Vowell), Dash (voice of Huck Milner) and baby Jack-Jack (voice of Eli Fucile).

What works for this sequel and the franchise as a whole is family is at its core; the audience gets to know these people and we immediately connect as a result. They are superheroes, but heroes who have to stay under the radar. It’s like Batman, Superman and so many other iconic heroes; the only difference is we’re looking at things from an animated perspective.

The narrative follows the Parr family when an attempt to stop a villain goes bad and questions about their level of destruction and safety for others are raised. To keep things under control Rick Dicker (voice of Jonathan Banks) devises a plan to ensure the identities of our favorite heroes are kept under wraps. However, in implementing this plan it leads to a ton of chaos that turns out to be far more fun than expected.

I love the notion that the entire women’s empowerment movement of 2017 and 2018 is prevalent in this flick. While Bob is the patriarch of the family, Helen gets her moment to shine as Elastigirl. This is great because it presents to little girls they can be just as powerful and important as their male counterparts. The fact that the writers showcased this dimension in the sequel shows they are light years ahead of the rest of the films out there. We don’t see many female heroes in the superhero verse, rather it be live-action or animation. We see Bob and Helen swap roles and viewers get to see them struggle with new responsibilities. I mean Bob was terrified of the idea of taking care of baby Jack-Jack, but the more time he spends with his offspring, he realizes that he has superpowers as well.

The new antagonist for the family this time around is the Screenslaver (voice of Bill Wise), who has the ability to use screens to hypnotize people and brainwash them into doing his bidding. Look close because there is a twist or two along the way that doesn’t necessarily come out of left field. There are laughs, there is action, and a variety of emotions spectators will experience watching this movie. Director Brad Bird, who helmed the script and directing movies for the first film is back and Bird’s presence proves in my opinion that if you’re going to do a sequel justice, the person who crafted the first chapter needs to helm script and writing duties for the sequel.

Don’t underestimate the charm and the power of animation because this movie is not just cool it’s amazing. You may sense this flick is for the kids, but it offers just as much delight for the adults. “Incredibles 2” is a worthy sequel to an iconic classic!