You guys are the ones that got carried away with all the fixing, now it's totally broken.

Ratatouille is in my top 3 animated movies of all time. (all of which are "american")

B, so of course critics will love this film since it pretty much worships the almighty opinion of critics. But, really, this movie felt a little bit too typical and I felt a lot less emotional attachment to these characters than in many other Pixar films. Only a bit better than Flushed Away, although the visuals were spectacular.

My Pixar rankings:

1. Monster's Inc. - A+
2. Finding Nemo - A
3. The Incredibles - A-
4. Toy Story 2 - A-
5. Toy Story - A-
6. Ratatouille - B
7. A Bug's Life - B
8. Cars - C

Did you miss the last like 6 minutes, it really takes critics down a peg.

Have I chimed in yet? I can't remember...

Anyway, the reason this is probably the best animated movie of all time is because of how cinematic it is, and I mean that in a couple of ways.

First, it's cinematic in the very basic sense -- The camera is dynamic and part of the narrative. In Ratatouille, the camera is dynamic in a way we have never seen in animation before. This movie is composed and shot like a live-action piece.

Secondly, it's cinematic in the sense that it is in love with movies, and is never shy about wearing its heart on its sleeve. The Fin seriously made me want to jump out of my seat and shoot through the ceiling.

Fin? I think you're thinking of Finding Nemo...

Clever.

As usual, there's a fine line between clever and stupid - - I like to walk both sides of that street...

You mean when all of them were eagerly awaiting the critic's review the next morning? And then the critic's review being read outloud to serve as the ending and message of the movie? Followed by the rat getting recognition by only the critic and his co-workers while ignored by the ignorant public?

I think I just found my retarded statement of the week.

...and second place goes to his follow-up post trying to justify it...



...now if he can just make one more follow-up retarded statement of the same quality in this thread, he can win the rare triple crown!!!

but the speech was about the shallowness by critics.


The Speech


Really that worships the almighty opinion.

B+. Good film

Saw it again last night.

Loved it even more.

So why are you quoting a critic's speech recited as the ending of the film for a argument that the film thinks that a critic's opinion supposedly doesn't matter? And if you read the whole speech, even though the beginning may sound negative, it is actually one of those "But..." speeches. Critics know (and disdain) "the bitter truth" that in the grand scheme of things the mass public likes and supports money for many pieces "of junk" in spite of the critics' criticisms. But the point he is making is that he praises the critics' role in helping to push the discovery of new talents, as if it is the critics' voice is the main determining force of whether a new talent can succeed.

Also, they portray Anton Ego as what an ideal critic should be, someone who is ultimately so unbiased that he judges the food on its own merits without regard as to his prior judgments, who was involved in making the food, or the fact that the cook won't meet him until at the very end of the evening. Are we not to supposed to infer from the film that most critics are just as unbiased and principled as Anton Ego in their reviews?

Finally, to argue that Ratatouille is anti-critic would be like saying Sideways is an anti-critic film because its protagonist has some self-loathing issues and character flaws.

C+

Overrated. Cuteness isn't really interesting.

Loooooooved it. Brad Bird continues to be one of my favourite directors. The best thing about the whole experience had to be the ending, which could have ended conventionally (with the critic loving the food and the restaurant remaining a huge success), but chose a far more interesting and very satisfying way to end the film. I love how everyone came back into play, including a health inspector.

Oh, and I'm totally campaigning for "Lifted" to be nominated at the Oscars for Best Animated Short.

P.S. I didn't know who was voicing Gusteau going in, and throughout the movie still couldn't figure out who it was. Boy, was it a shock to find out afterwards that it was Brad Garrett who voiced Gusteau! I am VERY impressed with Garrett.

Peace,
Mike

It already was last year.

Up until the ending, I found it rather clichéd. It followed the typical animated film plot, and even the end, which kinda circumvented that, wasn't totally immune. I know it's a kid's film, and a dark, twisted finish wasn't in the cards, but I felt that both of Bird's previous films had a much more interesting story. For all this talk of Pixar 'growing up', I felt this was more of a step back from The Incredibles, which I still view as their most adult film. Still, though, it was a lot of fun, with fantastic animation, great voice work, and a lot of little comic moments that added up. It wasn't laugh-out-loud funny, but it was rather enjoyable. Not the greatest animated film ever, but certainly a welcome respite from the crap that is populating this genre today.

the movie was boring.

Wow, did I love this movie. The first really, really, really good animated movie that I've watched in a long, long time. It's refreshing to watch an animated movie that isn't full of 1990s pop culture references, Hollywood it-names as the voices, or humor that appeals only to kids. When I watch movies like Shrek the Third and Madagascar, I see the attraction that some people have to them, but I still don't get that same enjoyment that I got from movies like The Lion King or Toy Story when I was 9 or 10. Honestly, I thought I lost my love for a good animated movie. But I certainly found my love again with Ratatouille.

Grade: A

I also like to make complete sentences.

I was a bit disapointed after all the raves it got here. The movie was sweet and great to look at but could have been way funnier and I was surprisingly bored every now and then. Finding Nemo is still by far and away the best pixar film to date. B