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
Germain Lussier of io9 reviewed Violet as "arguably [one of] the best parts of "Incredibles 2"," writing that her "journey through adolescence not only gives her a great arc, but some truly hilarious and embarrassing moments too." "The Globe and Mail"'s Barry Hertz found Violet's design and animation to be particularly impressive, likening the scene in which she dries her wet hair to "glimpsing the future of animation, where the real and the unreal fold into each other." Patricia Puentes of CNET found Violet's role in the film to be empowering for teenage girls, praising the character's decisions to re-introduce herself to Tony and ultimately choose to fight crime over their date, concluding, "This teenage girl prefers to go catch some bad guys -- because she's a hero and that's her calling -- over having a date with the guy she likes." The Ringer editor Juliet Litman identified Violet as "a galvanizing force" in the sequel, crediting her with "propelling the plot in crucial moments and injecting raw emotion into the" otherwise comedic film. Litman also commended Vowell for recognizing "The precise balance of the serious and lighthearted[ness]" required for her role, concluding that it has become difficult to imagine Violet voiced by any other actress. Syfy Wire writer Kristy Puchko described Violet's reaction to being stood up by Tony as "all too familiar". Writing for Vulture.com, Edelstein called it "wonderful to hear Sarah Vowell and her euphonious quack as the irritable Violet," describing the character as "the quintessential brilliant but ever-stricken and angry teenage girl." "The New Yorker"'s Anthony Lane wrote that Vowell "still provides the pitch and yaw of adolescent speech—now tetchy, now timid, but touched here and there with a determination that might just save the day."