personal development plans: Jack Jack Attack Review

‘Jack Jack Attack’ is a short Pixar film that was made in 2005, as a follow up from ‘The Incredibles’. It is about a babysitter (Kari) who looks after a baby called Jack Jack. She soon realises he has super powers when he starts moving through walls and turning into fire. It is an excellent short film and very well created.

The initial title sequence follows the generic conventions of the Superhero/horror genre, for e.g. the typography is shaking, is bold and very large. This indicates the type of film you are about to watch.

The opening scene introduces Kari the babysitter, a young teenage girl with braces. She is very stereotypically dressed, in a t-shirt, jeans and converse style shoes. This signifies the type of character she is immediately to the audience. When she starts speaking, her voice and idiosyncrasies are very comical, for e.g. she has a slight lisp and is very over the top with her gestures. The scene is in a kitchen, which is made to look very ‘normal’, but with great detail, for e.g. the HD TV, swings in the garden, all the babies’ toys on the floor. Therefore, it is very believable to the audience. As well as the set being realistic, the clothes are also very well created, for e.g. Kari’s top creases when she moves and also the realism of her hair. Not a lot of people will recognise this because it adds to the realism of what people would expect someone to look like.

Even though, children are a major target audience for Pixar, they always include a huge amount of adult humour. ‘Jack Jack Attack’ is no exception. During the opening, Kari says ‘Who’s ready for some neurological stimulation’. Children wont know what this means, however adults will find this very funny and therefore it broadens the target audience greatly. Also, it makes the parents/aunties etc enjoy watching the film with their children.

The narrative is very interesting and exciting. At the start, the music is Beethoven which Kari put on the CD player. This automatically creates a calm, peaceful atmosphere which makes the audience uneasy as they know something is building up. As the narrative starts to build up, and the baby starts showing his superhero powers, the music gets faster and louder which emphasises the movement and pace. The story soon slows down again, when Kari sits down with the baby to try and calm him down. This up and down narrative structure is very important for a short film as not only does it keep the audience interested, but it makes the short film appear to be a much longer story than it is because the audience has felt so many different emotions.

When Jack Jack turns into fire, the genre turns from Superhero action to horror. This is created by the slow motion, loud music and dark lighting. Even though it is intended to scare, the primary reason for following the generic conventions in this particular short film is for humour.

Another way in which the film creates realism is the reactions of Kari. This is essential because the story line is based around Superhero powers which are unrealistic. Therefore to make the story successful and believable, Kari’s reactions mirror what we as an audience would do, for e.g. shock and panic. Near the end of the film, Kari is sitting down with her hair a mess and her eyes bloodshot as she watches the baby. Even though her tired look is related to the superhero powers she was trying to deal with, an audience can empathise with the situation from having ‘normal’ children and being tired all the time. This makes it very funny because Kari’s body language is exactly how real parents/babysitters feel, for e.g. fed up.

When the replacement babysitter turns up, the audience are in a very voyeuristic position because they know he is a superhero because of his outfit and the big ‘S’ on the front of it. Carrie however doesn’t realise this, and therefore it is very funny to watch and it also makes the audience feel good because they know something the characters don’t.

The ending is very open. She is in a dark room, when Mr Dickers, who you presume is a psychologist, shines a light in her eye and makes her forget the whole thing. It is up the audience to decide what happened to Kari, and also what happened to the baby. This is an effective ending for a short film because it makes the audience want to watch the film again to get a better understanding of what may have happened at the end.

Any film that you can watch over and over again, in my eyes is a huge success.