Violet Parr
Screenwriter and director Brad Bird conceived Violet as "a teenage girl who just wants to be invisible". In early drafts of the screenplay, Violet is depicted as an infant as opposed to a teenager, since parents Bob and Helen Parr were originally intended to be introduced as retired superheroes who have just begun to attempt to live normal lives much earlier during the film. Violet is voiced by American author and actress Sarah Vowell, who related that she was offered the role unexpectedly. While beginning to cast the film's main characters, Bird had been listening to the National Public Radio program "This American Life", to which Vowell is a frequent contributor. During one of Vowell's regular appearances on the show, Bird heard her contribute an anecdote about a cannon she had helped her father, a gunsmith, build. Bird wanted to cast Vowell based on her description of the event, deciding that she was "perfect" for the part and immediately calling her to offer her the role. Vowell had already earned a reputation for declining several voice acting jobs prior to "The Incredibles", to the point at which her agent warned Bird, "She's a serious writer and she wouldn't do this, so don't waste your time!" However, Vowell states that she simply avoided pursuing animated roles in general because she was content being a writer and found few animated projects particularly interesting prior to "The Incredibles".
The animators animated a rough test sequence to some of Vowell's dialogue from the radio segment about her father's cannon, in which Violet is depicted being startled by a gun that repeatedly fires in her hands. Despite experiencing some hesitation due having never voiced an animated character before, Vowell accepted the role after receiving an e-mail from the film's producer, agreeing to participate in "The Incredibles" because she believes that Pixar is consistently "the best at what they do", comparing the offer to "if Nelson Mandela showed up asking for your help to fight racism". Additionally, she had also been a long-time fan of Bird's work as a filmmaker. Vowell ultimately decided to accept the role based on a sole image she had been sent of the character: a drawing of Violet surrounded by her schoolmates, all of whom appear to be happy and outgoing apart from Violet herself, who is instead hunched over and hiding behind her long hair. Vowell concluded, "I can be that kid. I was that kid. I love that archetype of the morose, shy, smart-alecky teenage girl."
Violet Parr
According to the character's official character description in press releases for "Incredibles 2", Violet is socially awkward, outspoken, sarcastic, intelligent and reserved, while Pixar's website describes her as "a typical shy, insecure teenage girl stuck at the crossroads between child and woman." "Maiden USA: Girl Icons Come of Age" author Kathleen Sweeney dubbed the character a "shrinking violet" who has a tendency to mumble and come off as angry. Similarly describing her as a shrinking violet, ReelViews' James Berardinelli observed that Violet "has entered that gawky stage of life when her body becomes uncomfortable to inhabit." Identifying her as an "oral character", John Kundert-Gibbs, author of "Action!: Acting Lessons for CG Animators", Violet's main arc revolves around transitioning "from being invisible to visible to others." According to Daphne Carr, author of N"ine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine", Violet adheres to "the archetype of the introverted, introspective artist-type kid." Oliver Lyttelton of IndieWire believes that Violet has more in common with actress Thora Birch's character Enid in the film "Ghost World" (2001) than most teenage girls. Observing that Bird approached the character designs in a manner that is "less cute" and more edgy than previous Pixar characters, Jeff Otto of IGN likened Violet to the goth teenager Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) from the film "Beetlejuice" (1988).