Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Movie Review: Ratatouille

Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars.

An incredible record of achievement for any studio. How does Pixar's latest movie, Ratatouille, directed by Brad Bird, stack up? Pixar is now a perfect 8 for 8.

When the groundbreaking Toy Story premiered in 1995, it was all alone in the field. Thanks to Toy Story's success, there are now at least a dozen computer animated movies released every year. So far this year we've had Shrek 3, Surf's Up, Happily N'Ever After, Meet the Robinsons, and more. While most are blah, a few are good, and some feaure interesting visuals. Still, Pixar consistently raises the bar, blowing its competitors out of the water every single time. Ratatouille is no exception.

What's notable about Ratatouille is not just the incredible visuals, but also the slightly more adult storyline. There's still plenty of entertainment value for children (Ben loved it) but the motivations and emotions of the characters are more sophisticated and adult than usual. As usual, Pixar effortlessly evokes emotional responses. In every Pixar movie, there's at least one moment that chokes me up. I think there may have been two or three in Ratatouille.

Ratatouille was easily the best movie I've seen so far this year.

The Pixar short included before the movie is entitled "Lifted". I won't ruin it by description but it's one of the funniest of Pixar's shorts. And that's saying something.

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