Trying to figure out what phone number was show (fleetingly) onscreen in The Incredibles

November 9, 2004 11:01 AM

Question about Pixar's new film, The Incredibles (great movie, by the way): at one point, one of the characters holds a card on which a phone number is written. I couldn't catch the whole number, but I remember enough to know it's a toll-free (866) number that doesn't have a 555 prefix. Did anyone else catch the number, and if so, could you post it here? I tried Googling for it and couldn't find it. Thanks.
posted by EatenByAGrue to media & arts (24 comments total)

No... I don't think anyone will be able to catch that until the DVD is out. Maybe some crazy marketing ploy? Or a goof?

On a related note, did anyone catch the rape scene in this movie, the part where the dad is talking to his boss and someone is assaulted outside? Am I crazy, or did I see rape?
posted by ac at 11:29 AM on November 9, 2004

Rape? Are you serious?
posted by agregoli at 11:33 AM on November 9, 2004

I took it to be a mugging, not a rape.

I can't answer the original question, but I just have to add that this is one of the best films I've ever seen.
posted by bondcliff at 11:36 AM on November 9, 2004

I'm, uh... pretty certain that was just a mugging. It certainly didn't play as rape to me.
posted by jammer at 11:36 AM on November 9, 2004

Haven't seen it but I do know that the phone numbers that are dialed in GTA: Vice City work if you record them and dial them.
posted by fenriq at 12:04 PM on November 9, 2004

If the guy didn't run away so quickly I would have thought rape, so I'm quite sure it was a mugging (though I thought it took a little long and started to wonder myself).

Didn't even notice the phone number! Some of you guys are really sharp, and have good memories!
posted by evening at 12:35 PM on November 9, 2004

The phone number was impressively edited. Very subtle, but I don't think it was shown in its entirety.

And on the other thing, yeah... that was a mugging. The silhouette shows the robber taking money from the wallet, then discarding the wallet and running away. I mean, c'mon.
posted by Jeff Howard at 12:47 PM on November 9, 2004

Mugging. You've been hanging out with mr._crash_davis, haven't you?
posted by anathema at 12:48 PM on November 9, 2004

Doesn't Mr. Incredible (or his secret identity, technically) actually point out that it's a mugging? Without getting into any pseudo-spoiler discussions of plot, can someone else confirm this?

I noticed the phone number as well, but damn my prehistoric brain; I was not able to read the whole thing.
posted by bachelor#3 at 1:13 PM on November 9, 2004

Yeah, I seem to remember Mr. Incredible mention specifically something like, "Hey, that guy is being mugged."

I also wanna say that I worship at an altar to this movie. It's the best I've seen since Toy Story 2.
posted by GeekAnimator at 1:23 PM on November 9, 2004

The phone number was impressively edited. Very subtle, but I don't think it was shown in its entirety.

I am almost 100% certain you are wrong about this. I distinctly recall seeing the whole thing. I assumed it would probably get you Pixar's main reception desk or something like that.

Doesn't Mr. Incredible (or his secret identity, technically) actually point out that it's a mugging?

Yes. He not only points out that it's a mugging, but he specifically mentions that the victim is a man.
posted by jjg at 4:41 PM on November 9, 2004

Pixar's telephone numbers are here
posted by Mwongozi at 4:59 PM on November 9, 2004

Definitely not one of the numbers Mwongozi linked to -- the number was an 866 number. I think the prefix was 354 or something. I know it had a 3 in it. And I'm pretty sure that all the numbers appeared at some point, but I'm not positive because the card it was written on had a shimmering effect that obscured some of the numbers intermittently.
posted by EatenByAGrue at 6:43 PM on November 9, 2004

You're talking about the business card Mystique shows him, yes?
posted by jerseygirl at 8:30 PM on November 9, 2004

Mirage! Not Mystique.
posted by jerseygirl at 8:31 PM on November 9, 2004

Yes. (Although to be ultra-technical and geeky about it, she doesn't show it to him, just mentions it in the recording.)
posted by EatenByAGrue at 8:55 PM on November 9, 2004

I assumed it would probably get you Pixar's main reception desk or something like that.

I imagine far too many people would call for it to be a live person (when Bruce Almighty showed a (seven digit) phone number purported to be God's, people in several area codes had to cancel their numbers because of the bombardment of calls.)

Off the top of my head, Magnolia featured a real toll-free number prominently on screen (for Tom Cruise's character's infomercial). Calling that number would play a recording of Tom Cruise giving the sales pitch.

It would be great if calling the number in The Incredibles reached a recording of Buddy or Mirage. Mirage actually specifically says that calls to the number will be screened for voice recognition -- I'm sure Pixar could have a little fun with that.
posted by rafter at 9:04 PM on November 9, 2004

Just got back, and I did notice the last 4 digits were 7476, and I thought the prefix was either 778 or 788. However, all combinations of 888, 866 and 778-7476 or 788-7476 are dead ends. What we need is another person watching this - it'd be funny if the numbers were constantly shifting when you see it, so everyone sees a different number. But I'm pretty certain about the 7476 though. Google's still not much help, even with that.

Unles someone wants to try all the 1-866-***-7476 numbers ;)

Oh, and the movie was... Amazing. Yeah, that's the adjective.
posted by kokogiak at 9:32 PM on November 9, 2004

Unbreakable also had a number that showed up when the kid was watching TV news about the train wreck. Interestingly enough, the script apparently included a specific phone number (but different from the number used in the movie). I was hoping Disney might have recycled the number, but no such luck. Well, hopefully someone else will see this AskMe post before watching the movie.
posted by EatenByAGrue at 10:20 PM on November 9, 2004

Oddly enough, when I saw it I caught the area code and the prefix only, which I remember as 866-787. 1-866-787-7476 doesn't seem to be anything, though (I got a generic recording when I called it).

Even if I were to have a less-than-legal copy of the movie on my computer, which I don't, that copy would not be high-resolution enough to verify at 33:17 to 33:18. The fact that the typeface was designed to shift slightly wouldn't help, either. If I had a copy.
posted by toddshot at 12:21 AM on November 10, 2004

It wasn't a rape - the thing that might have thrown you off was the motion of the upper body of the mugger. It sorta looks like thrusting, but it's not.

The perp is holding on to the upper edge of the dumpster to give himself extra leverage as he is kicking the victim. It's an ugly little detail.
posted by Irontom at 7:47 AM on November 10, 2004

a post here gives the number as "866-787-3743 - that's 866-SUPER-HE(RO)", but its been a busy signal I guess. Oddly, when I tried it I got a single ring, then the regular recorded operator's voice saying "Your call cannot be completed from a payphone at this time. Message M7". 'Cept I wasn't using a payphone, just my work phone. Maybe it needs to be called from a phone that CallerID can track?
posted by jwells at 8:55 AM on November 10, 2004

OK, if the number really is 866-787-3743, maybe it's a good thing the number's really hard to catch. I just called it and I got a recording for another number: 800-345-1400. When I called that number, I found out it's the kind of number you need a credit card to call, if you get my drift.
posted by EatenByAGrue at 11:42 AM on November 10, 2004

... suddenly wondering if I should have called from work... *gulp*
posted by jwells at 11:55 AM on November 10, 2004