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Edna Mode

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 4.168.201.64 (talk) at 07:31, 15 January 2009 (→Comic book influence: You can just as easily say other characters represent this character, or vice versa. Unnecessary addition). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Edna "E" Mode
File:Edna Mode.jpg
Close-up of Edna
Publication information
PublisherDark Horse Comics/Pixar Animation Studios
First appearanceThe Incredibles
Created byBrad Bird
In-story information
Full nameEdna Marie Mode
Supporting character ofIncredible Family, Frozone, any Super willing to pay her a significant sum of money for her designs and gadgets
AbilitiesPossesses an extensive knowledge of super-suit fabrication, qualities, and materials, in addition to technical know-how and perception, thus advanced or perhaps "super" intelligence.

Edna "E" Mode is a supporting character from the movie The Incredibles. A half-Japanese, half-German fashion designer and auteur, Edna has created custom-made original outfits for superheroes since the "glory days", saying that she designs for gods. It is apparent that she feels infinitely superior to all other designers in the world and shows much disdain towards runway boutiques and modern fashion models, claiming that she had gone to Milan to design clothing for the supermodels, and called them "Spoiled, stupid little stick-figures with poofy lips who think only about themselves." Edna is called out of a fifteen-year period of imposed retirement to repair damage to Mr. Incredible's supersuit, and ends up producing a series of completely new, matching outfits for the entire family. For safety reasons, she is very insistent on not including capes in the new design. She is very talented and as demanding of others as she is of herself.

Director Brad Bird has stated that he intended E to be a combination fashion maven/gadget builder along the lines of 'Q' from the James Bond movies. The character, who presented the Best Costume Design Oscar at the 2004 Academy Awards, along with Pierce Brosnan, is voiced by Bird himself.

Some believe that the character Edna Mode is based on real-life fashion designer Edith Head and possibly Mary Quant. Or she may be based on the real-life fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. Her name refers to EMode—a small piece of custom-designed software used by Pixar (not related to other similarly-named software). Calling the character "Mode" is also certainly a pun on the French and German word for "fashion". Also, her hairstyle, personality, and appearance at European fashion shows may be a vague connection to Vogue super-editor and fashion force Anna Wintour.

Others believe that this character may be based on costume designer Una Jones, who shares not only physical appearance with the character, but also personality. Jones is also the acquaintance of many Pixar staff, as she lives near Orlando, in central Florida.

Edna's hairstyle, ultra-diminutive stature, and facial features also resemble actress Linda Hunt's fashion editor character Regina Krumm, in Robert Altman's 1994 film Prêt-à-Porter as well as actress Linda Hunt herself, in fact. Her catchphrase of "dahling" may be a reference to actress Tallulah Bankhead.

Due to her astonishing talent with fabric and fashion design—for example, the minimum width of Elastigirl is stated as 1 mm on the National Supers Agency file on the special edition DVD, her supersuit is missile-proof, resistant to temperature extremes, can stretch as far as she can (without injuring herself) and still retain its shape, and breathes like Egyptian cotton—she may herself have some minor mental super ability.

Edna stars in the Disney on Ice play Disney Presents Pixar's The Incredibles in a Magic Kingdom Adventure. She somehow anticipates an emergency at the Walt Disney World Resort (the Parrs chose to go there after their initial vacation plans were foiled by Mother Nature). Then she hears about a robotic version of Syndrome interrupting the Main Street Parade and holding Mickey and Minnie Mouse hostage. When the Parrs arrive to become the Incredibles, she tells them that she had heard all about the incident and then monologues about how "ridiculous" Syndrome's homemade super-suit looks. After the day is saved, Edna goes with the Incredibles and Frozone to see the Enchanted Tiki Room (Helen wanted the family to go to the Room first, but her idea was rejected by the rest of the family). It is revealed in this play that she has a trio of comical assistants who apparently are Supers themselves—as evidenced when one of them is flattened in an ironing machine and recovers without getting hurt.

"E is as eccentric and bold as clothing designers come. The pint-sized fashionista with a personality ten times her size has a flair that only a superhero could truly appreciate." - Official Pixar Website

Voice characterization

In the Disney on Ice live show A Magic Kingdom Adventure, Edna is played by Pia Airaksinen and voiced by Kevin Delaney. Edna's comedic assistants are played by Shae Green, Kristian Ryan, and Richard Stringer.

  • Brad Bird says that he had approached Lily Tomlin for the character, but when he demonstrated the voice he was looking for, Tomlin suggested that he did well enough to perform himself.

Bonus content

  • In the special features section of the special edition DVD of the Incredibles, Edna is "interviewed" about her work in the film. When asked whether working with superheroes was difficult, she replies, "Superheroes are easy, darling. Mediocrity is much more difficult to work with—and it is in such great supply."

Cameos

  • An animated Edna (voiced live by Bird) presented Best Costume Design - with Pierce Brosnan - at the 77th Annual Academy Awards.
  • The photographer Pistache from That's So Raven seems to have the same outfit as Edna.
  • The novel Superfolks features a similar character, but it is a man, who is also short with a Eurasian accent and thick glasses. He designs and makes costumes for superheroes. It should be noted that in a one-shot Spider-Man comic, another man, Leo Zelinsky, admits to having designed superhero costumes.
  • In Marvel's Spider-Girl series, a similar character appears who also works in the fashion business and deals with costumed hero designs.
  • In Pokémon there was a fashion designer who looked like Edna.

Comic book influence

Edna's character resembles the supporting role of many comic book characters. Examples include the X-Men character Forge, in that she provides costumes and gadgets for the Incredibles in the same way Forge does for the X-Men.


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