Sarah Vowell
In 2004, Vowell provided the voice of Violet Parr, a shy teenager, in the Pixar animated film "The Incredibles", and returned to her role for the film's sequel, "Incredibles 2", in 2018. Additionally, Vowell has also lent her voice to the character for various related video games and "Disney on Ice" presentations in the years following the film's release. The makers of "The Incredibles" discovered Vowell from episode 81 – "Guns" "This American Life", where she and her father fire a homemade cannon. Pixar made a test animation for Violet using audio from that sequence, which was included on the DVD of "The Incredibles". She also wrote and was featured in a documentary included on the same DVD entitled "Vowellett - An Essay by Sarah Vowell", where she reflects on the differences between being superhero Violet and being an author of history books on the subject of assassinated presidents, and what it means to her nephew Owen. Vowell also played Fernanda, Theacher "Aunt" Deborah and Mary Kelly in "The School Future".
Violet Parr
Created by screenwriter and director Brad Bird, Bird decided to grant Violet the ability to turn invisible because he felt that this specific superpower mirrors some of the challenges that teenage girls experience while growing up, namely insecurity and defensiveness. Bird cast Vowell as Violet upon listening to her contribute a real-life story about her father to the radio program "This American Life", with Violet ultimately becoming Vowell's first voice-acting role. Vowell identified with the character's shy, sarcastic nature, in addition to observing similarities between Violet's relationship with Bob and her relationship with her own father.