Lissa's Ratatouille

[Al]

Great review Liss. It *almost* makes me want to see it. Almost. Rats (even digital ones) that are that close to food just grosses me out a bit too much to voluntarily sit through.

[Head Mutant]

Lately, Pixar movies have been the type you know, in your head, will be good to go see... but there's a mountain of indifference between here and there to get me to watch them. Still haven't seen Cars, even. And French Rats Cooking... big meh.

However, I do want to say that you showed some pretty deep insight in your review, and I found myself impressed with your cross-comparison of this and other Disney/Pixar projects. Well done!

[sarahbot]

I have to say I liked this much more than Cars. I'd argue that this movie, like The Incredibles, may be kid-friendly but isn't necessarily a kid's movie. (He's being guided by a little chef, huh?) I wasn't that drawn to see it, but now that I've seen it I know I'm going to buy it and watch it over again. Al, I'd say that it's not so gross that the rat cooks (it emphasizes he always washes his hands), except for the parts where the rats move in a crowd. Their movements are realistic and it's just eugggghhhhh.

[Al]

I'm not really afraid of rats or anything (footlong NYC sewer rats excluded); it has more to do with hairy, dirty, winged, or many-legged things that close to my food.

[drew]

I hadn't been able to figure out in words how I felt about "Ratatouille", but this review pretty much nailed it.

As a side note, my spell-checker suggests "bouillabaisse" instead of "ratatouille". Everyone's a critic.

[Lissa]

Thanks! I have to admit, it's a lot harder to get grossed out by the rat when he's fluffy and clean. I think the theater nachos were a little more disgusting- but I can see where people would really be repulsed by rats + food (a few of the characters really freaked out, too.)

On a personal level, I liked it better than Cars. However, Ducklet LOVES Cars. (What else can you expect when the kid can tell a diesel engine from a spark ignition engine by 20 months? Actually, earlier?) He's particularly fond of the tractor tipping scenes- to the point where he turns all his trucks up on their back ends and declares "trucks sleepy". This explains why I see Cars on the average of once a week. (Although last time I got him to watch Monsters, Inc., which he seemed to think was hysterical.)

I do agree that Ratatouille and The Incredibles were similar in age appropriateness, though. I wouldn't say I liked those two movies better than the other Pixar movies, but I found them more relate-able than the others. But yeah, French and cooking jokes and an animated Atlas Shrugged (Kyle, that was such a brilliant comparison) just aren't as kid-friendly as surfer dude turtles, talking toys, and toddlers doing the peepee dance.

Bouillabaisse over ratatouille? Someone's a comedian in the programming department! (Of course, not liking fish, eggplant, or zucchinis, I'm not fond of either of them!)