“A prequel to Monsters, Inc. all about Mike and Sulley’s wild frat house? Sounds legit. A Cars fanfiction where Mater leads a double life as James Bond? Sign me up. A sequel to The Incredibles? Nah, let’s just sit on that for a while.”

Okay, maybe the conversation didn’t go exactly like that, but it happened, and, after fourteen years, we finally have a new Incredibles movie. All Pixar movies are prefaced by some sort of short film, but before Incredibles 2, audiences also get a note of thanks from the cast and crew: “Yup, it’s been a while. Sorry. Thank you for your patience!” Though my patience was not rewarded with an after credits scene (I mean, what is this, a superhero movie?), Incredibles 2 was well worth the wait.

Though not necessary to enjoy the film, Incredibles 2 trusts that most of its audience has watched the original down to the last detail, and I, being famous for my perfect rendition of the “Where’s My Super Suit?” scene, received great satisfaction from the little details I noticed carried over from the first movie, and even references to the short film Jack-Jack Attack. Despite the differences in some voice talents and character designs, Incredibles 2 goes out of its way from the very first scene to embrace the style and feel of the original. Standing out especially is the jazzy, energizing score by returning composer Michael Giacchino and the nostalgically artistic credits and logos. The effects and animation are excellent, but to my pleasant surprise, there was never a point where it felt like more importance was put on the visuals than the story (cough cough The Good Dinosaur cough cough). It was more along the lines of, “Ya, of course we can do that. We’re Pixar. But today, we’re just here to tell a good story, with some explosions on the side.”

Speaking of that, Pixar, the studio known for once saying that they would never become a sequel factory, has received criticism in the past couple years for churning out such beloved cash grabs as Finding Dory and Cars 3, and seeing how there’s only one original film currently on the Pixar schedule…yes, that’s fair. However, I’m here to say that Incredibles 2 cannot be accused of the same hypocrisy. Contrary to my earlier mockery, the real reason it took so long to get an Incredibles sequel is because director Brad Bird refused to come back unless he had a story he felt was worth telling, so when it was announced that the Incredibles would be returning to the big screen, there must have been genuine inspiration behind it. Incredibles 2 is hilarious, exciting, surprising, relatable, and fun, so if you’re looking to end your boycott of subpar Pixar sequels, do it now. Please, before they release Toy Story 4.