#1
Posted: 6/12/07 at 1:56am
This isn't much of a formal review--just my quick thoughts after seeing the latest Disney/Pixar film, Ratatouille (I have to brag to someone). I apologize for any spelling and grammar errors, I wrote this very quickly.
It was great! The audience was laughing and clapping the entire time (granted, everyone in the audience personally sought out tickets for this preview, so they were most likely all die-hard fans).
**potential spoilers***
First, what I loved:
The art design for this movie is beautiful. The color palette and lighting just felt very "French" and gave the film a certain dreamy quality (as you could probably tell from the trailers). The character work was phenomenal, particularly with Remy. His character was able to say so much with the simplest gestures and subtlest movements. It was impossible not to love him, he was adorable. The animation of the scampering rats, the delectible food, the panoramic view of Paris--it was all just amazing. The movie was very funny, but I feel like I need to see it again to catch all the jokes, because the movie FLEW BY. I really liked that about it. It was sentimental and sweet without dwelling on those moments too much (sometimes I felt like Cars got boring because it took so much time during the sentimental moments). The action is fast and the story finds it groove very quickly. It didn't have as many laugh-out-loud moments for me the way, say, Finding Nemo did. But like all the Pixar classics, it was beautifully animated, funny, cleverly crafted, and endlessly entertaining. It had an endearing timelessness to it that I think puts it very much in the realm of the great Disney classics. I think it will still be adored years from now, where as Cars may begin to feel a little bit "of its time," as it gave way to pop-culture jokes a la Shrek (not saying that's a bad thing, just saying that, down the line, it may give the film a somewhat cheaper feel). Anyway, I won't dote on the good, because rest assured, it is another Pixar classic (if anyone has any specific questions, I'd love to answer).
the Bad:
Like I already mentioned, it didn't have as many clever one-liners and character inside jokes as the other Pixar films...but ultimately, this is ok to me, because it had great physical comedy and can be seen as more of a work of art than a long stream of jokes (though it would have been nice if a couple of the chefs or rats could have had quirkier individual characteristics--like Edna Mode, Rex, Heymlich (sp?), Mater, Dory, etc).
Sometimes, it was hard to understand what was said because of the accents (particularly the character Collette).
Besides those things, I really can't complain much. Although I loved Cars, this film was a breath of fresh air, as it steered clear of the puns and pop-culture references of Cars and the Shreks (again, not that they are all bad...I just think it is an acheivment that a film can be funny, endearing, and gripping without being entirely of its time).
It was great! The audience was laughing and clapping the entire time (granted, everyone in the audience personally sought out tickets for this preview, so they were most likely all die-hard fans).
**potential spoilers***
First, what I loved:
The art design for this movie is beautiful. The color palette and lighting just felt very "French" and gave the film a certain dreamy quality (as you could probably tell from the trailers). The character work was phenomenal, particularly with Remy. His character was able to say so much with the simplest gestures and subtlest movements. It was impossible not to love him, he was adorable. The animation of the scampering rats, the delectible food, the panoramic view of Paris--it was all just amazing. The movie was very funny, but I feel like I need to see it again to catch all the jokes, because the movie FLEW BY. I really liked that about it. It was sentimental and sweet without dwelling on those moments too much (sometimes I felt like Cars got boring because it took so much time during the sentimental moments). The action is fast and the story finds it groove very quickly. It didn't have as many laugh-out-loud moments for me the way, say, Finding Nemo did. But like all the Pixar classics, it was beautifully animated, funny, cleverly crafted, and endlessly entertaining. It had an endearing timelessness to it that I think puts it very much in the realm of the great Disney classics. I think it will still be adored years from now, where as Cars may begin to feel a little bit "of its time," as it gave way to pop-culture jokes a la Shrek (not saying that's a bad thing, just saying that, down the line, it may give the film a somewhat cheaper feel). Anyway, I won't dote on the good, because rest assured, it is another Pixar classic (if anyone has any specific questions, I'd love to answer).
the Bad:
Like I already mentioned, it didn't have as many clever one-liners and character inside jokes as the other Pixar films...but ultimately, this is ok to me, because it had great physical comedy and can be seen as more of a work of art than a long stream of jokes (though it would have been nice if a couple of the chefs or rats could have had quirkier individual characteristics--like Edna Mode, Rex, Heymlich (sp?), Mater, Dory, etc).
Sometimes, it was hard to understand what was said because of the accents (particularly the character Collette).
Besides those things, I really can't complain much. Although I loved Cars, this film was a breath of fresh air, as it steered clear of the puns and pop-culture references of Cars and the Shreks (again, not that they are all bad...I just think it is an acheivment that a film can be funny, endearing, and gripping without being entirely of its time).
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