Incredibles 2 Sibling Rivalry: An Interview with Sarah Vowell (Violet) and Huck Milner (Dash)

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Did you have a chance to see Disney•Pixar’s INCREDIBLES 2 yet? If not, what are you waiting for? It’s SOOOO good! A big part of what makes Incredibles 2 so likable are the characters that make up the Parr family, led by Helen and Bob Parr (aka Elastigirl and Mr. Incredible) and their kids Violet, Dash and Jack Jack.

Earlier this month I had a chance to interview the actors who portray the older kids in the family: Sarah Vowell as Violet and Huck Milner as Dash. I have been a fan of Sarah Vowell’s pieces on NPR for a long time, but somehow never put together the fact that she is the voice of Violet! Now that I know that I will never be able to hear her again without thinking about the Incredibles.

Just in case you HAVEN’T seen Disney•Pixar’s INCREDIBLES 2 yet, Violet and Dash are right at the beginning of the trailer:

The sibling rivalry between Violet and Dash in Incredibles 2 is FUNNY and definitely mimics what we’re used to in real life – particularly when they are arguing over who gets stuck babysitting their little brother. Some of that sibling rivalry also appears to have rubbed off on Sarah Vowell and Huck Milner despite their age difference and their infrequent opportunities to spend time together in person.

Huck is the youngest member of the Incredibles 2 cast and the only new Parr family voice in the sequel. He’s a sweet 10-year-old who says his favorite superhero is his own character, Dash, but if he had to choose a second it would be the Flash – another fast character.

When asked what super power he would like to have in real life, Huck said it would be “super speed like Dash because I’m really slow in real life. I cannot beat my cousins or my sisters at any game involving running. I want to be able to go somewhere and then just come back and be like ‘I was here the whole time’. I would just love to have Dash’s power.”

Sarah has a totally different answer as to what super power she would like. She said, “As a middle-aged lady, I would love super strength, because – I don’t know if any of you have like those rubber jar opener things… Like, wouldn’t it be great to just open a jar of jam on your own? … Like have you tried the trick where you like boil water in the tea kettle, pour that over the jar and then use the rubber jar opener to get it open? That’s the stage I’m at now. If I could just open a jam jar or like move a car with my hands, either of those two things, I would love.

Like other actors in the film we have met with, both Sarah and Huck rave about Director Brad Bird. Huck emphsized that recording with Brad Bird was “actually really fun. Brad Bird made it really fun, and he just made everything really fun and it was really amazing.”

Sara said about Brad Bird: “I just trust him so much, especially after the first film. He always uses the best take and he is really entertaining. He’s the voice of Edna Mode and an exceptional voice actor himself. So, he does all the other parts. Usually the first take you never use. He does such great impressions. He does such a good Holly Hunter impression that if he is doing Elastigirl’s part, I always laugh first because his impressions are just so dead on.”

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“It’s always really fun to do the things that come naturally, and for me that’s Violet’s sarcasm. She’s kind of a wise guy, and that’s what I’m like. But Brad’s very useful for the more emotional scenes. I was brought up to hide that stuff when you’re around people. There’s a scene where Violet has to cry and Brad was very delicate and very helpful with me and really respectful.”

“Because I trust him and because he really does believe in me (and he had to because I had never acted before the first film) I like being in that room with him. As you get older, you know the number of people who really believe in you and know what to do with you – it’s a pretty small number. And he has definitely been that for me.”

Sarah Vowell is known for her social and political commentary, so we just had to ask her about her thoughts on the messages in Incredibles 2. She said, “I think what you’re referring to is Elastigirl going and working outside the home and Bob staying home and taking care of the kids. That is the storyline for a while, and that’s interesting. I find that compelling politically but also hilarious, because he is just trying to reign in his jealousy.”

“But by the end when they’re all working together – I mean the goal, I would say culturally for us as a society, is maybe everyone gets to become the person they’re supposed to be and they all get to be who they are equally and they all work together. And each of their individual powers, you know, using those collectively for the greater good. To me that is an exciting, functional society where everyone gets to do that. And when you see them all working together, Frozone and the family, and each person contributing what they’re best at — I don’t know if that’s political, but that’s the country I wanna live in.”

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