BIRD: Part of the reason I wanted to write this little speech for Helen to tell the kids here, was that there’s expectations for animation. You make this connection with animation and superheroes, you think Saturday morning. And Saturday morning, they have these very strange shows, completely designed around conflict, and yet no one ever dies or gets really injured, or there’s no consequence to it. I think that came out of, you know, a team of psychologists determined that it was bad for children. And I think just the opposite. I think that it’s better if kids realize that there’s a cost, and that if the hero gets injured and still has to fight, it’s more dramatic, and it’s closer to life, you know. I wanted to say that this was a different realm. This is not one of those films where we put a pillow around every experience.

- Brad Bird, The Incredibles DVD Commentary Track, 2004