Holly Hunter thinks it is "important" for boys to see 'The Incredibles 2'.

Holly Hunter

Holly Hunter

The 60-year-old actress' animated alter ego, Elastigirl, takes centre stage in the new movie while her husband, Mr. Incredible is a stay-at-home dad, and Holly thinks it's great to see a female character "idolised" by others in the film because it's so unusual.

She said: "It's fun to see a woman idolised in this way. It's not common. We tend to idolise men.

"So it's great for all our eyes to see a woman revered and respected. Maybe it's even more important for boys to see it."

Holly admitted it was "thrilling" to see her character take on an unexpected position and is pleased there has been a demand for female superheroes.

She told the Sunday Times Culture magazine: "That's the cool thing about Elastigirl. She's not pretending to be a man.

"She is approaching the superhero job with a different skill set from any man's. It's thrilling in a way I never imagined.

"She inhabits this space culturally that is a little unexpected. It's fun to see her kicking ass, and how mathematically she approaches her solutions. She's alone, too. Autonomous. And there is a real appetite for that."

And Holly is unsure whether the role reversal between hers and Craig T. Nelson's characters would have been depicted in a similar movie around the time of the first film, 14 years ago.

She mused: "That's interesting. Because, of course, the 1960s happened. Gloria Steinem. Billie Jean King. We had our own civil-rights movement. Like, women are equal, right? Don't we get the same opportunities? And the answer in the 1960s was, 'Hell, yes!'. And then it didn't happen. But we are having a reawakening.

"I'm a tea drinker, right? Well, somebody gave me tins to put my tea in, and one was called Little Miss Bossy, the other Mr Strong. That's sexism. If you're a strong woman, you're bossy, if you're a strong man, you're strong.

"So, right now, it's imperative for us to see women being heroic."