2007 animated featureRating: 17/20 (Abbey: 20/20)
Plot: Remy is a rat with an atypical interest in fine cuisine. His interest leads to the forced retreat of his friends and family into the sewers of Paris. Meanwhile, Remy, led by (probably drug-fueled) hallucinations (maybe not drugs; maybe it's that special chemical imbalance that makes geniuses into geniuses), meets the son of his cooking idol. Together, they form a symbiotic relationship. The rat contributes cooking genius; the person uses hands. Interest in Gusteau's restaurant picks up, an interest that doesn't make the antagonists (the restaurant's owner Skinner who has more lucrative plans for frozen foods bearing Gusteau's name and a snobbish food critic Anton Ego who previously dismissed the restaurant and Gusteau's ideas that "anyone can cook") happy at all.
Every time Pixar makes a movie, I see the previews and predict that I'm finally going to be disappointed. And nearly every time, I've been pleasantly surprised. Not with Cars. That one's not that good. Ratatouille moves a step beyond pleasantly surprising into something pretty great, definitely higher echelon Pixar. For sentimental reasons, it's not my favorite Pixar movie, but it might be the most fully realized and consistently terrific one. The animation is shockingly great with that mix of things looking highly realistic and beautiful but not so realistic that you wonder, "Why is this even animated?" Enough of the cutesy remains. There are some scenes where there's so much going on, arguably too much action, but those Pixar details are still there. It's really unbelievable. The characters (and voice talent--Oswalt, Brad Garrett, Will Arnett, and especially Peter O'Toole as the critic) are great with the exception of one, actually the main human character who is distracting. Funny, energetic, suave, and touching. For whatever reason, the scene with the title food chokes me up a little bit. Typical Pixar with a great mix of creativity and heart. Better than The Incredibles, and I look forward to seeing what Brad Bird does next
"Ratatouille" is a very good film. However, it is not nearly as good as "The Incredibles", and as far as it being a top-echelon Pixar, that depends on how wide you cast your net. The beginning is great and the ending is very sweet (love the Peter O'Toole character), but in between it is not as memerable. It may be that Skinner is not a very compelling bad guy. He is almost a buffoon. I would also give it a 17, but I think it is a mid-level Pixar offering.
ReplyDeleteTier one: Ratatouille, Toy Story, Finding Nemo
ReplyDeleteTier two: Toy Story 2
Tier two and a half: Bug's Life, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc.
Tier three: Cars
'The Incredibles' is a fun movie, but you're way off on 'Ratatouille' being "not nearly as good" as it. Underdeveloped characters, a predictable plot, superhero cliches. There's certainly a coolness to it, but it wears away with repeated viewings and it doesn't really add up to much. 'Ratatouille' has got subtext. 'The Incredibles' is mindlessly entertaining. Not that there's anything wrong with that...
I haven't seen Wall-E yet. From what I've heard, I'll probably wind up liking it.
OK, now you're just trying to piss me off. To begin with;
ReplyDeleteTier 1: Toy Story, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, A Bug's Life
Tier 2: Ratatouille, Toy Story 2
Tier 3: Wall-E, Cars, Monsters, Inc.(Easily the worst)
What characters in "The Incredibles" are "underdeveloped"? Jack-Jack? When does a great homage get labeled a cliche? Predictable plot? Well, I did expect the good guys to win, but this had great style, humor, action and ORIGINALITY in getting there. I've seen Rat twice and I don't think there is much reason to see it a third. Subtext my a.. "The Incredibles" is a great spin on spy movies, and superhero films. My choice has a great villian! After at least 20 viewings it still remains a 19. I demand a review and watch the special feature "Jack-Jack Attack" while you're at it. Jeez.
Nah, not trying to piss anybody off...we just have a difference of opinion with one of us (you) being wrong.
ReplyDeleteYou really think Monsters Inc. is the worst of the bunch? It's my brother's favorite. I've always thought the idea is much better than the execution, and I've never been impressed with the animation in that one. Except the blue monster's hair, I guess. It all looks pretty cheap, and I thought it looked pretty cheap when it came out. At least the characters are developed though.
Speaking of characters...those Incredibles are flat. The bad guy is just not an interesting character. I prefer the midget chef as a bad guy because he's at least a different type of bad guy. The Incredibles bad guy is the one who is a buffoon! The dad is complex, but there's nothing to the kids, the mom, and Samuel L. Jackson's ice character. What's the purpose of that ice superhero even being in the movie? I also don't remember 'The Incredibles' being funny at all. My favorite parts of the movie (a little funny?) is the midget costume designer. I guess I just like midgets.
By the way...in the world of computer animation:
Tier 7 1/2: All Dreamworks productions that I've seen
And I liked "Jack-Jack Attack" as much as I liked the short about the green eye monster's car. That's not very much.
We will just have to leave it up to other readers of your blog (?) to decide which was the superior film. You are obviously a hopeless case and couldn't be more wrong. I pity you.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing the preview for Monsters, Inc., and was very excited because I thought the idea was fantastic. It was dark and poorly done. The door chase scene seemed to last about six hours. Your brother has worse taste in movies than you.
I won't bother trying to educate you as to why "Shrek", "Shrek 2" and "Over the Hedge" are great films. I would agree that "Shark Tale" and "Flushed Away" suck.
Finally, "Jack-Jack Attack" is five minutes of brilliant humor and you have a good sense humor. I guess this just must be a blind spot for you.
'Over the Hedge' wasn't bad. Maybe a 13 or 14. 'Shrek' wasn't as good as the second one which had a Tom Waits song in it. Neither were good, and I don't think I'll even bother seeing the third or sixth Shreks.
ReplyDeleteThat's it. I'm makin' a poll! We'll let the other reader(s) think about this Ratatouille v. The Incredibles thing.
Here's what my brother had to say about this debate:
ReplyDelete"i still haven't seen the rat movie, but the impossibles i think i liked less than cars."
There ya go. That settles things.
Your brother hasn't seen this film and he liked "Monster's, Inc." Settled, schmettled.
ReplyDelete